Above: Henry Joy McCracken RFB [republican flute band (web)]. Annual Henry Joy/United Irishmen Commemoration. March will be held in the New Lodge area, Sunday 2nd of September. Parade will start at Duncairn Parade at 3 pm sharp. All republicans Welcome. Republican Network For Unity.”
Here’s a flyer from the summer inviting folks to a quite different (that is, left wing, rather than right) tea party than you might find in the States these days.
This poster is widespread throughout working class Belfast at present. This one is from the Ballysillan Road (though the electrical box has been tagged by someone from the Westland). The posters started going up previous to the announcement of 760 (Guardian) or 920 (BBC) job losses at FG Wilson’s this week. The route involves both loyalist and nationalist areas and the poster refers to the Outdoor Relief Strike (account from nationalist source | brief loyalist account) of 1932. The poster has phone, e-mail, QR, Facebook and Twitter links. The marcher carries … a Blackberry.
Mixed reaction to the Diamond Jubilee visit of Queen Elizabeth II. Above, the remains of an RNU (Fb) poster which (in full) read “Send the Brit queen packing back to the depths of Hades – royal jubilee not welcome here, signed by: the army of unemployed.” and showing Elizabeth with half-human, half-skeleton face (reminiscent of a mural idea from 1989/1990 in Springhill and in Beechmount). (Full poster at Alamy.)
Below, “God save our queen” and “Fuck the queen” graffiti.
The impending resurrection of Titanic looms overhead, a new and shiny “reason to visit Belfast” in contrast with the boarded up houses on Lawnbrook Avenue.
Click image to enlarge Copyright 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle X00553 festival 31 march – 22 april ni 2012 our time our place ni2012.com
In the summer of 2011, both sides of the Flax St/Crumlin Rd interface were pasted with images of the view from the other side, a city scene on the Flax St side as though looking into Woodvale, a hilly scene on the Crumlin Rd as though looking up Flax Street. You can see the Crumlin Road side on Street View. What remains of the other side can be seen in the image above, along with IRPWA posters (see below) concerning “Maghaberry Concentration Camp”, calling “on Sinn Fein [sic] to publicly state that the interpretation of the August agreement of 2010 is the correct one … [and to] … call on their members and supporters to get behind the protesting POWs.”
Both the type of “MagHaberry” and the arrangement of the posters make the connection to the H Blocks of the 1970s and 80s.
Saturday 25th June (Whiterock night) Young Conway Volunteers Presents a loyalist cabaret evening and disco, featuring various bands, Ulster Rangers Supporters Club, Shankill Road.” The flute band is associated with the local , with murals to both the flute band There are murals on either side of Conway Street at Conway Walk to both the YCVFB (featuring Thomas and Noel Kinner) and the associated 5th platoon (UVF).
Seosamh Mac Coille Collection 