poster/paste-up/sticker

Wear Your Easter Lily With Pride

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16 republicans, the seven signatories of the Proclamation among them, were executed in the wake of the Easter Rising, 14 of them in Dublin in a 10-day period from May 3rd to 12th. They are depicted in this Saoradh  (web) poster blindfolded and wearing suits: (from left to right) Patrick Pearse, Thomas Clarke, Thomas MacDonagh, Joseph Plunkett, Edward Daly, William Pearse, Michael O’Hanrahan, John MacBride, Éamonn Ceannt, Michael Mallin, Seán Heuston, Con Colbert, James Connolly, Seán MacDiarmada, Thomas Kent, and Roger Casement. Their deaths and the Rising are commemorated in Belfast each Easter with a parade

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Copyright © 2019 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Stop The Witch Hunt

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21 soldiers of the Parachute Regiment opened fire on marchers in Derry on January 30th, 1972, killing thirteen people (on the day; one more died later). One of them – codenamed “Soldier F” – was charged last month by the Public Prosecution Service in the deaths of James Wray and William McKinney and wounding of four others. Family members of the deceased reacted with disappointment (e.g. BBC-NI | Kate Nash on Twitter) while others, such as pressure group Justice For NI Veterans decried the PPS decision. The poster above in support of Soldier F is being pasted in north and west Belfast and perhaps beyond. The poster shows protesters facing off against British soldiers in William Street shortly before they opened fire. (See also And The Next Moment …) Posters on the Shankill, however, are being torn down (see second image, below) perhaps (confirmation: BelTel) in sympathy with two locals killed by the Army in 1972 (Irish News | AP video). The Paratroop flag is shown flying on the Ballysillan Road.

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Copyright © 2019 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Vote All Unionist

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Polls close tonight at 10 pm in voting for the 11 local councils. According to this poster, Sinn Féin are “led by murderers” and are attempting to ‘rewrite history’, a case in point being North Belfast councillor JJ Magee’s (tw) refusal to call PIRA murders “criminal” – in the background is an image of the bombing of Frizzell’s fish shop on the Shankill Road, in which nine people died, plus one of the bombers. Register now to “take back city hall”!

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Copyright © 2019 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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They Control You

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Ending The Harm is a Department Of Justice (Tackling Paramilitarism Programme) campaign of posters, radio ads, and hard-hitting videos (YouTube) aimed at combatting paramilitary-style violence. This hoarding is on Newtownards Road, in competition with the UVF mural in the Iceland car-park (see Please Pay Here).

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Copyright © 2019 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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The Devil’s Bagpipes

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In this grotesque image, a monk’s head serves as an instrument of the devil – a Reformation criticism of the Catholic church. The woodcut dates to c. 1530. The ogham script in the bottom pair of posters, which reads “Fucc [sic – there is no “k”] the DUP”, is not included in the original (British Museum). The modern reinterpretation is by TLO (ornamentalhermit.org). The ogham on the devil’s arm is unclear; it appears to read “cussfbelung” – comment if you can help.

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Copyright © 2018 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Sweet Way To Go Gay!

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“Handily packed, delicious to eat, Spangles are the fruitiest sweet! Only 3d a packet. Made by Mars.” A 1952 magazine advertisement for Spangles in the window of a vintage shop in Carrickfergus, showing a street party, perhaps in anticipation of the coronation of Elizabeth II, 16 months after she became queen in February 1952. The boiled sweets were a staple of life until 1984 (WP).

Other early ads for Spangles, which were introduced in 1950, note the price is 3d “and only one point”, meaning that customers would have to use one of the 16 points for non-essential goods from their ration books; control of sweets did not end until February, 1953 (WP).

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Copyright © 2018 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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