To The People Of Scotland

2014-08-26 RockScotland+

Scots and other residents of Scotland go to the polls on September 18th to vote on independence (WP). The Rock Bar uses the image of Mel Gibson in Braveheart to encourage them to vote “Yes’; recent polls show a slight but persistent preference for a “no” response.  In the background of the wide shot (below), the Viva Palestine lettering can still (2014-08-26) be seen on Slıabh Dubh/Black Mountain.

2014-08-26 RockScotlandWide+

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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02122 X02123 supports you

The Flag That’s Never Furled

2014-08-25 BallyduffMemorial+

Translations of Psalm 60.4 vary, but it is something like “You (the Lord) have given those who fear you a banner so that they will not flee before your arrows”, which might work quite well alongside a Union jack. But in fact, only one source claims the poetic lines on the side of this Ballyduff electrical sub-station come from Psalm 60.4; they are rather the first stanza of a 1902 poem (earliest found mention), The Union Jack, by Edward Shirley, in Little Poems For Little People: 

‘Tis thy flag and my flag, the best of flags on earth;

Oh, cherish it my children, for ’tis yours by right of birth.

Your fathers fought, your fathers died, to rear it to the skies;

And we like them will never yield, but keep it flying high.

For the other three sides of the structure see Absent Friends | The Ultimate Sacrifice. For the mural in the distance (of the wide shot, below), see 1st East Antrim Ballyduff.

2014-08-25 BallyduffMemorialWide+

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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02110 X02113 at the going down of the sun 1914 1918 uvf ycv rir ulster volunteer force young citizen royal irish rifles so cherish it my children it’s yours by right of birth to raise it to the skies must never yield john stewart

The Ultimate Sacrifice

2014-08-25 BallyduffMemorialFrontLeft+

“They paid the ultimate sacrifice”. The UVF/YCV mural above on a Ballyduff electrical station shows WWI soldiers from the 36th (Ulster) Division in relief against an orange sky (perhaps “at the going down of the sun”), picking their way across the battlefields of Flanders. The Ulster Memorial at Thiepval, which commemorates the 5,000 lost lives and more specifically the role of Orange Order members, is shown in the top left corner of the smaller wall. A plaque, hidden behind the low wall to the right but shown below in close-up, indicates sponsorship from the UVF “1st East Antrim Battalion, Ballyduff & Glengormley”.

2014-08-25 BallyduffMemorialPlaque+

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X02111 X02113 at the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them for god and ulster lest we forget 1914-1916 1918

1st East Antrim Ballyduff

2014-08-25 Ballyduff1stBattUVF+

UVF mural showing the flags and insignia of the UVF and YCV (Young Citizen Volunteers), Ballyduff/Glengormley 1st East Antrim Battalion, alongside the flags of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

Previously, nearby: Absent Friends | Another UVF 1st East Antrim Battalion – in Glengormley

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X02108 For God and Ulster shamrock saltire

Absent Friends

2014-08-25 AbsentFriends+

David Lee was a founder, in 1985, of Pride Of The Hill Flute Band in Carnmoney/Ballyduff. Kris Muckle – now deceased – was a long-time member. (Band Parades) Both are commemorated in this mural. If you know what territory is outlined around the red hand in the centre, please comment/e-mail. Our best guess is that it is Carnmoney Hill.

2014-08-25 AbsentFriendsWide+

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Training Ground

2014-08-24 Carson+

Carson (above) and Craig (below), founders of the Ulster Volunteers and the first two leaders of the Ulster Unionist Party, stand watch at the edge of an outdoor pitch and children’s playground in New Mossley, beneath a flag of the 36th (Ulster) division (see wide shot below). Carson’s profile is shown next to the emblem of the 36th division; Craig is shown next to the flag of Northern Ireland.

2014-08-24 Craig+

2014-08-24 CarsonCraigWide+

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X02103 X02105 X02104  edward carson james craig somme thiepval messines fricourt passchendaele st. quentin ypres flanders

A True Red

2014-08-21 MarketsCliftonville+

Here is a mural in the Markets area of south Belfast celebrating the achievements of local boy George McMullen, who played youth football for St. Malachy’s and St. Matthew’s before joining Cliftonville in 2011 age 20.

On the left is the familiar Cliftonville huddle (see previously: The Red Army). The two poses in the centre and on the left are reproductions of Belfast Telegraph images. The first is from Cliftonville’s 2013 Dankse Bank Irish League-clinching win over Linfield, which the Reds won with a McMullen penalty in the dying seconds; the second in from the same moment in the 2014 campaign: Chris Curran has just scored to put the Reds two-nil up in a game against Portadown that would win them the League for the second year in succession.

Other Cliftonville players have been featured in murals: Joe The Goal in Ardyone and Rory Donnelly in the Bone.

Below is a shot of the piece in development and below that is a wide shot showing the mural’s location adjacent to the End The Siege On Gaza mural.

2014-08-08 MarketsCliftonville+

2014-08-08 MarketsWide+

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X02102 X02056 X02060 mallachy’s mcnally o’kane murray boyce gormley stats to date 2014 485 first team appearances 96 goals scored the penalty against linfield to win the irish league