The Irish Regiments

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Various other murals pay tribute to the 10th and 16th Irish divisions alongside the 36th division (see, e.g., We Are The DeadBrothers In Arms | Killed Wounded Missing | Their Only Colour Was Khaki) but this tarp outside the Whiteabbey British Legion (Fb) shows instead the eight regiments raised in Ireland, whose battalions served not only these three but many other divisions: Royal Irish Rifles, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Connaught Rangers, Leinster Regiment, Royal Dublin Fusiliers, Royal Irish Fusiliers [should be Royal Irish Regiment], Royal Munster Fusiliers. The geographical distribution of the regiments (royal-irish.com has a map of the recruiting districts in Ireland; for battalions, divisions served, and regimental headquarters, see WP.) The background image is of the 36th in their trenches at the Battle Of The Somme.

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Three Scottish Soldiers

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Highland Fusiliers Joseph McCaig (18), (his brother) John McCaig (17), and Dougald McCaughey (23) were lured by members of the (P)IRA from a city-centre pub to their deaths in the fields above Ligoniel in 1971 (WP). Their deaths contributed to the resignation of Chichester-Clark and the introduction of internment in August. There are monuments to the three men in Ballysillan and at the site of their deaths on White Brae depicted on the right of the mural – for images of the monuments see The Highland. This new Rathcoole mural to their memory replaces one to Queen Elizabeth II.

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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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Their Only Colour Was Khaki

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This is a close-up of the painting in the window of My Old Toy Box (Fb) in Smithfield Market (BelfastCity). It includes the 36th (Ulster) Division, and 10th and 16th (Irish) Divisions. It is not clear why the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division (WP) is included as it does not appear to have any connection to Ireland. Please leave a comment if you can explain the connection.

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Scotland, England, Wales

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After almost fourteen years the long-standing Rising Sons Flute Band mural off Newtownards Road (at the old Bright Street) has been replaced with a mural to the (modern) YCV, the youth division of the UVF. The vine of flowers in yellow includes the shamrock, thistle, and Tudor rose (but not the daffodil of Wales, which is named along with Scotland, England, and the YCV battalions of east Belfast extending to Newtownards and Bangor).

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Inspire, Uphold, And Make Happy

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The wall at the top of Springhill Avenue was knocked down to great acclaim in 2017 (Guardian) but the impact was merely cosmetic as a wire fence and substantial shrubbery continued to block the way. The removal of the wall also meant the removal of the pro-Palestinian murals painted on it: Palestine Abú | Man Against Machine | Hellfire. In its place has now been put a large board celebrating the history of the area and especially the contribution made by Des Wilson and Noelle Ryan who worked in Springhill House for over forty years. Both Des and Noelle were interviewed by NVTv in 2012. Des turned 93 in July (encomium by Gerry Adams); Noelle died in 2014 (An Phoblacht | BBC-NI).

The left hand side of the mural shows Mother Teresa, who lived and worked in the area with four nuns from 1971 to 1973 before being put out (allegedly) by the Catholic church (TripleVision documentary).

On the right, the old and new Springhills are contrasted, with images taken from the same spot approximately 30 years apart.

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This Is Our Republic

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Sınn Féın won 73 of 105 seats in the Westminster election of 1918. Instead of taking their seats, they formed an independent Dáıl Éıreann, meeting for the first time on January 21st, 1919, in Dublin. On the same date, Irish Volunteers in Soloheadbeg, Tipperary, ambushed a convoy of gelignite, escorted by two RIC police, both of whom were killed – this attack would mark the opening of the War Of Independence. This new stencil by Lasaır Dhearg (web) aims to promote the Democratic programme of the first Dáıl Éıreann. This is our mandate. This is our Republic.” beginning with the Proclamation of the Easter Rising.

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Unknown Soldier

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As time passes, volunteers who survived the Troubles are being taken by natural causes. There are thousands of such people and it is not clear on what grounds some will be publicly commemorated and others not – it might as simple as whether surviving friends and family take the pains to do so. See, for example, the plaques of republican ex-prisoners being added to a wall in Ardoyne (Door Into The Dark). The plaques above “In loving memory of Volunteer Dennis/Denis Brine, associated with Glasgow Red Hand Commandos” are in the lower Shankill estate.

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