painted wall

Like The Souk In An Hibernian Casablanca

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Here are two more images of the new mural of the old Smithfield Market in Gresham Street by KVLR and JMK. According to the Glenravel booklet on the market, its creation goes back to about 1770. The title of the post is how the market was described in when a cover was added in the late 1800s (CultureNI); the booklet contains a directory from 1880 that includes tinsmiths, a basket maker, a cooper, and a hackler (a flax-comber).

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Old Smithfield

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Here are two images – one close-up, one wide shot – of the new mural in Gresham Street by KVLR and JMK of the old Smithfield Market. The market was fire-bombed in 1974 (gallery of 10 images at the Tele), quickly rebuilt with wood, and replaced permanently in 1986.

See also Like The Souk In An Hibernian Casablanca.

For images of the existing market, and paintings inside it of the old market, see Smithfield Market and My Old Toy Box.

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Over The Bridge

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The large mural of H&W shipyard workers at the turn of the century has been restored by Dee Craig (Fb). The mural is on the footbridge linking Dee Street and Queen’s Island. Inspired by paintings of William Conor such as Shipyard Workers Crossing Queen’s Bridge and Over The Bridge. For images of the previous version, see Titanic Workers.

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Ulster’s Present Defenders

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This mural forms a pair with Ulster’s Past Defenders in the middle of Newtownards Road’s ‘Freedom Corner’. The present defenders are the UDA/UFF; the past defenders were the UDR, and before them, the B Specials, (and before them, Cuchulainn – 2005 and 1992). Both pieces were repainted in 2016 after the previous murals disintegrated (see Freedom Corner for possible causes).

“The UDA was formed in 1971 as an umbrella for loyalist vigilante groups being formed. There role to defend protestant community from IRA violence. They remain today. The UFF was formed in 1973 as military group for the UDA to defend protestants from acts of Irish Republican violence over 30 yrs of conflict.”

From left to right: For Freedom Alone | As Long As 100 Of Us Remain Alive | Loyalist East Belfast | The Strangest Victory In All History | Ulster’s Past Defenders | Nationality is included in Loyalist East Belfast | Ulster’s Present Defenders | Freedom Corner

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The Strangest Victory In All History

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From Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, 1953: “The strangest victory in all history: Heremon [Érimón] O’Neill racing a rival chieftain for possession of Ireland became the first man to touch its soil by cutting off his own hand and hurling it ashore! His sacrifice made Heremon the first king of Ulster, 1015 B.C. The red hand of Ulster is still the provinces coat of arms thousands of years later.” Most people believe it not.

Newtownards Road, east Belfast

From left to right: For Freedom Alone | As Long As 100 Of Us Remain Alive | Loyalist East Belfast | The Strangest Victory In All History | Ulster’s Past Defenders | Nationality is included in Loyalist East Belfast | Ulster’s Present Defenders | Freedom Corner

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Image result for ripley's believe it or not 1953 red hand of ulster

East Belfast Brigade

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The original version of the hooded UFF gunman, with pistol and quotation modelled on the Declaration Of Arbroath (“As long as one hundred of us remain alive …”), was painted on the Newtownards Road in 1994.

Taking their place now is a list of the battalions of the East Belfast Brigade (in numerical order): Young Newton, Dee Street, Ballybeen, Castlereagh, and Tullycarnet, plus North Down (see Always A Little Further).

The second image, below, shows the gunman but not the right-hand side painted out (from a February 2017 entry); the third image is from a 2015 post, when the “Bendy Gunman” was painted. Only the UFF fist now remains from that 2015 version.

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Generation Edd Balls

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No idea about either the original or the modification – possibly to do with Ed Balls Day, April 28th? Please comment/e-mail if you know more.

Update: Based on the comment from ‘anonymous’, the original was the symbol of Generation Identity, a lambda in a circle (discussed previously in Identity Movement Ireland), which was then blotted out by the anarchists and further modified with “Edd Balls” by a wag.

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