printed board/placard

Blast Off

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A metal banner (attached to the two barrels) outside the Bowtown Youth Club in Newtownards shows the classic image of the signing of the Ulster Covenant against the background of a Union flag, and also a rocket taking off, in the children’s mural painted on one side of the club.

“NVF” in the left-hand insignia stands for “Newtownards Volunteer Flute [Band]” (Fb). On the right is the insignia of another flute band, the North Down Defenders (Fb).

The caption below the image of the covenant signing lists a good number of those in the picture:

Sir Edward Carson (later Lord Duncairn) signing the Ulster Covenant in the Belfast City Hall, September 28, 1912.

Left to right, 1st row: Mr. R.J. McMordie, Lord Mayor of Belfast, Lord Charles Beresford, Marquess of Londonderry, Sir Edward Carson, Captain James Craig (later Lord Craigavon), Mr. J.H. Campbell, K.C. (later Lord Glenavy), and Dr. W. Gibson.

2nd row: present Lord Londonderry, and Col. R.H. Wallace, C.B., D.L. Behind the latter, Ronald McNeill, M.P. (later Lord Cushendun).

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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On The Brink Of Sectarian Disaster

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2013-12-10 ClondaraUpper+

A selection of Republican iconography above the James and Nora Connolly mural in Clondara Street: a tarp to Joe McCann – ‘Soldier of the people, Joe McCann 1947-1972 Official IRA’ (WP) – a board with a Liam McMillen quote – ‘”We stand not on the brink of victory but on the brink of sectarian disaster”, Liam McMillen, Bodenstown June 28th 1973’ (see the entry on McMillen in the Peter Moloney Collection) – and two circular pieces, one showing the Starry Plough (created in 1914 as the flag of the Irish Citizen Army) and one to co-founder of the ICA ‘James Connolly 1868-1916’ (WP).

Clondara Street, west Belfast

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01479 Official Republican Movement

May I Never Hear Such Cries Again!

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2013-11-28 KitchenerStWWI+

These Kilburn Street boards commemorate the “Young Citizen Volunteers Of Ireland” and the battle of the Somme. The text in the side-wall board (shown below) is from the diary of a Somme soldier: “We surge forward. Bayonets sparkle and glint. Cries and curses rent the air. Chums fall, some without a word … and others … Oh, my God! May I never hear such cries again! There goes the YCV flag tied to the muzzle of a rifle. That man had nerve! Through the road just ahead of us we had crossed the sunken road. We could see khaki figures rushing the German front line. The Inniskillings had got at them.”

The larger board, on the right, describes the transition from rebels to British Army soldiers: “On the 17th May 1914 the Young Citizen Volunteers became a battalion of the Belfast regiment of the Ulster Volunteer Force. This formed part of the Ulster Division authorised on 28th October 1914 which officially became the 14th battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles, part of the 109th brigade. The 14th saw action throughout the First World War.”

It includes a quote from Edward Carson, “You will find in your ranks men with the same ideals, men with the same loyalty and the same determination to uphold the rights of their country”, and a quote from VC winner William Fredrick McFadzean, “You people at home make me feel quite proud when you tell me I am the soldier boy of the McFadzeans. I hope to play the game and if I don’t add much lustre to it I certainly will not tarnish it.”

X05300 2013-03-27 YCV+

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Covenant Of Hearts

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2013-11-26 TavanaghStCovenant+

“Ulster’s covenant of hearts” is the title given to the main board in this collection commemorating the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Covenant in 1912 and the figure of Edward Carson, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, founder of the Ulster Volunteers, and first signatory of the covenant.

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01468 28th september 1912 centenary province it is needful that we knit together as one man each strengthening the other and not holding back or counting the cost ulster council resolution signed by just under half a million men and women home rule bill belfast city hall lord londonderry chruches protestant craigavon unionists some in their own blood

Every Street Tells A Story

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2013-11-23 BridgeWestClose+

Above is the centre portion of the board on the west side of the underpass on Donegall Avenue and Tates Avenue. It shows ‘John catching spricks + tadpoles’, ‘men playing pitch ‘n toss’, ‘gypsies who collected our potato peelings’ and ‘Nancy + Josie swinging from the lamppost‘. The wide show, below, also includes Mickey Marley’s Roundabout (the Townsend Street image of which was shown previously) on the left and ‘me and Dad going to the football’ past Jamesons shop, on the right. The companion board on the east side of the underpass was recorded separately. The title of today’s post is the official title of the project, by david creative.

2013-11-23 BridgeWestWide+

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Pulling Back The Curtain

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2013-11-23 BridgeEastClose+

The wide image, below, shows an elderly gent pulling back a curtain under the Tates Avenue-Broadway overpass to reveal a scene from times past which includes suited men “going to the football”, a “Broadway hairdressers”, a “Nummy grocery van” and the two figures shown in the detail, above: “Andy of Broadway” and “Rev. Charlie Maguire, the minister on a bicycle”.

The piece (and its companion across the street) were done by “david creative,” (David McClelland) and you can see images of the conception and development of the piece at his web site.

2013-11-23 BridgeEastWide+

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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No Topless Bathing – Ulster Has Suffered Enough

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2013-11-16 SunflowerFront+

The Sunflower pub in Union Street has added a sign replicating the graffiti that stood for a long time two blocks further along the street (at the junction with Little Donegall Street): No Topless Bathing – Ulster Has Suffered Enough. An image of the graffiti appears on Flickr user James Hughes’s page. CAIN reports that another version was in Upper Queen Street in 1999. The Union Street graffiti is also the version that inspired a 2005 gallery show of the same name, except that the show had “Belfast” in the title; an image of a “Belfast” version, which is perhaps an altered version of the Union Street “Ulster” version, appears on the show’s page at Green Dog Arts.

The graphics on the rear of the building were done by Malarky (Fb) for Culture Night Belfast 2013.

2013-11-16 SunflowerRear+

2014-09-26 MalarkySunflower+

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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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On That Journey

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2013-11-10 Collins+

Part mural, part board, this is a new piece honouring Colonel Timothy Thomas Cyril “Tim” Collins, OBE, whose speech to troops on the eve of the Iraq invasion in 2003 is reproduced in part on the right: “There are some who are alive at this moment who will not be alive shortly. Those who do not wish to go on that journey, we will not send. As for the others, I expect you to rock their world. But if you are ferocious in battle, remember to be magnanimous in victory.” (More at WP)

As can be seen from the second image, the piece was sponsored by Charter NI (amongst others). The piece is one of three pieces which have recently been completed (NewsLetter), the other two being Boxing Through The Ages and Past/Future (Lendrick St). It replaces one of the two UDA 4th battalion panels in the set, the other of which can be seen in the third and final image: the piece in its setting alongside the Kenbaan Street memorial and the pink UDA, UYM and LPA murals.

2013-11-10 TimCollins+

2013-11-10 PinkWide+

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Martin Meehan

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2013-11-04 Meehan+

Above is a recently unveiled printed banner to Martin Meehan, an IRA volunteer from the local Ardoyne area. As can be seen from the flyer in the second image, the launch took place on November 3rd, on the sixth anniversary of his death. A gallery of images of the launch can be found at Demotix. The photograph which informs the controversial central portion can be seen on Meehan’s WP page. The piece was paint-bombed on Nov. 6th (Irish News)

Replaces The Flight Of The Earls, and before that, Collusion Is Not An Illusion.

2013-11-04 MeehanReflection+

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01431 X01432 Ardoyne Ave independent commemoration in honour of óglach sunday 3rd avenue organized by family & friends fáılte gach daoıne everyone welcome poblacht na héıreann the provisional government of the irish republic 1945-2007