Relative

This Dublin exhibition from The Complex pairs images of rebels from the 1916 Rising with a statement from witness accounts and an image of a relative. (Witness accounts of soldiers from 1913-1921 are archived at the Bureau Of Military History.) Above is Mamie Kilmartin, a nurse. Bríd Smith, grand-daughter of Barney Murphy (shown in the final image, below) is People Before Profit TD for Dublin South Central and launched the original exhibition, which ran for nine months in the Law Society Of Ireland in 2016 before being moved to Benburb Street.

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Copyright © 2017 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X04323 X04322 X04324 X04325 photographs by steve mccullough curated by annemarie kilshaw the complex at little green street fourcourts three hundred irish volunteers cumann na mban and fıanna éıreann law society of ireland

Run-DMC

Run-DMC took hip hop into the mainstream in 1984 and were eventually declared the greatest hip hop artist/group by both MTV and VH1. The trio are Joseph “Run” Simmons, Darrell “DMC” McDaniels and “Jam Master Jay” Mizell (who was shot and killed in 2002). Street art by Glen Molloy (previous work including Beastie Boys) in Pattersons Place.

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Copyright © 2018 Cathal Woods
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We Will Remember Them

Dozens of boards to local soldiers from the 36th (Ulster) Division (by the 2016 Committee) have been added to the Mount Vernon memorial garden to the soldiers of the Great War (the mural) and contemporary UVF volunteers (the garden). For the mural, memorial stones, and outside plaque, see At Home And On The Mainland.

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Copyright © 2018 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Pride Of Ballymacash

The Pride Of Ballymacash flute band, formed in 2011 from the Pride Of Prince William (bottom left) and Ballymacash Young Conquerors (bottom right), uses the emblem of the 36th (Ulster) Division, in the centre of the mural. In the background on the left is the Thiepval Memorial and, on the right, the UDR memorial statue in Market Square, Lisburn. To the left (in the second image) is a UDA plaque “In memory of fallen comrades Ballymacash B coy D battaltion, South Belfast Brigade. Quis separabit.” For a close-up of the memorial on the ground, see Death & Life.

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Copyright © 2018 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Death & Life

The skull-and-crossbones is the emblem of the Ballymacash Young Conquerors, which merged with the Pride Of Prince William in 2011 to form the Pride Of Ballymacash. (Fb)  The symbol is a potent one, however, and still used by the new band in addition to its own. In the mural in its memorial garden, it is surrounded by poppies, thistles, and orange lilies. If you know the name of the young man in the memorial display (second image), please comment/get in touch.

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Copyright © 2018 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Ballymacash Bonfire

The bonfire in Ballymacash, Lisburn, is big and getting bigger in recent years, and generating some controversy (e.g. 2015 BelTel | 2017 BelTel) which is perhaps the reason for the “No shooting – police notified” sign in the final image. This year is no exception, as today’s images make clear. The third shows that the pyre can be seen over the tops of the houses. Here is drone footage of the 2017 bonfire.

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Copyright © 2018 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Loyalist Ballymacash

Ballymacash estate, now part of Lisburn, was once a village around the location of Drayne’s Farm, with a school at the junction of Glenavy, Brokerstown, Ballymacash, and Nettlehill roads. Lisburn.com has a history of the area. Today it is famous for its enormous 11th night bonfire (see Ballymacash Bonfire, as well as Skull & Crossbones | Death & Life).

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Copyright © 2018 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Hard Brexit

A “hard Brexit” would involve the UK leaving the European Union and the European Economic Area. For Northern Ireland, that would mean (at least) customs checks at the border with the Republic. Politicians on all sides are concerned about what that might mean for the peace, but the split is encouraged by the board above on the “sports zone” next to the Mount Inn on North Queen Street, Belfast. The Navy and RAF ensigns perhaps suggest how the UK’s borders are to be secured.

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Copyright © 2018 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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