“Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues” — commentary on the “Brexit” vote, coming up on June 23rd, from the Tiger’s Bay community in north Belfast, likening the EU to Babylon — “Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and Abominations of the Earth”, “the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird”, “that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth” — whose destruction is prophesied in the book of Revelation. Hence: “Vote Leave E.U.”.
A lily and written ‘salute’ have been added to the Fıanna Éıreann wall at the top of Berwick Road/Paráıd An Ardghleanna for the centenary of the Easter Rising: “1916 – 2016 – We salute the memory of those who have given their lives in the cause of Irish freedom.”
For the plaque and the tarp to the right (both of which commemorate four local teenagers), see Purity In Our Hearts.
In the left-hand corner is an RNU sunburst in green, white, and orange.
Tom Clarke is at the head of his fellow signatories as he looks down over a printed tarp reproducing photographs of events surrounding the Easter Rising of 1916, including soldiers from the Irish Citizen Army on a rooftop (see the original in this Spectator article) and members of Cumann Na mBan on parade. For the photo of the building in the top left, see this Irish Times article.
The previous Ardoyne – Bone – Ligoniel mural fell down almost as soon as it was completed, leaving only the portraits of locals killed during the troubles
St. Comgall’s Primary school on Divis Street opened in 1932 and closed in 1988. Here are two of the boards which currently decorate its boarded-up front windows. Above, St. Malachy’s Scout Pipe Band parades its way through the school yard. (If you know anything about the pipe band or the competition it is going to, please leave a comment.) Below, a céılí mór from 1969 is taking place. The school’s location at the bottom of Percy Street put it at the centre of events in 1969 as west Belfast tore itself apart.
Three bandsmen – the first two of which, at least, are members of the UVF Regimental Flute Band, one in a vintage and another in a modern uniform – parade together in a new mural in Pitt Park. The UVF Regimental will be going to France for the centenary commemorations of the Battle of the Somme.
A mural of HMS Belfast “Built in Belfast” being launched on March 17, 1938, next to a fake storefront for “B&M Electricals”, with a Billy Graham hoarding above: “What if you got everything you wanted and it wasn’t enough?”, echoing the mural’s Latin inscription, the motto of Belfast city: What shall we give in return for so much?
Here is the final board in the new “St Patrick” set on Tates Avenue (and a wide shot of them all, below). This one explains the composition of the Union flag as a combination of the saltire of Saint Andrew of Scotland, the cross of Saint George of England, and the saltire of Saint Patrick of Ireland. As the text notes, the saltire is much later than the saint: “The association with Saint Patrick dates from the 1780s, when the Order of Saint Patrick adopted it as an emblem. This was a chivalric order established in 1783 by George III. It is often suggested that it derives from the arms of the powerful FitzGerald dynasty [which dates to the 12th century].”
The text ends oddly: “The saltire has occasionally served unofficially to represent Northern Ireland and [has] been considered less contentious than other flags flown there.” Similar language is used on the symbols.com page for the Saltire.
Featured today are two (more) of the boards in a set on Tates Avenue. The central board, shown above, shows a young Patrick (without the clerical garb in which he is often portrayed) against the backdrop of Slemish mountain, where Patrick is thought to have tended sheep as a young slave to a local chieftain, c. 401 AD and developed his Christian faith.
The second image is of colourings of the Saint Patrick profile by children from the nearby Donegall Road Primary School.
The boards were unveiled on March 10th, 2016 by first minister Arlene Foster who remarked that the saint had become “very Gaelicised” and this — and the presence of Irish tricolours at parades — deterred unionists from celebrating “the patron saint of everybody in Northern Ireland” (Belfast Telegraph; also contains video of the launch). Anglicanism venerates saints but Presbyterianism does not, generally taking the “communion of saints” to refer to all members of the church.
Here is one of the new boards on Tates Avenue (the others will be featured over the next two days). It shows a ship racing towards shore, superimposed over a 1659 map of Ulster by Blaeu.
“The Red Hand Of Ulster: According to legend Ulster had at one time no rightful heir. It was agree that a boat race should take place and that whoever’s hand first touched the shore would become king. One contended, upon seeing that he was losing the race, cut off his hand and threw it ashore to win. O’Neill is said to have been the chieftain who cut his hand off to become the King of Ulster. The Red Hand is a key emblem of Ulster’s identity, an ancient and powerful symbol that is traditionally shown as a blood red hand.”
Some residents of Ballymuprhy Drive have erected their own Irish-language street sign. The council has not erected one because a substantial number of residents did not respond to a survey. The primary resident behind the move, Eileen Reid, contends that the 2/3rds is unreasonable. (Irish Times | Belfast Live | Irish News)
Seosamh Mac Coille Collection 