Larne Invites You

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“The popular Ulster seaside resort – Larne invites YOU this summer! – Attractions for the old and young. – The place to spend a happy, healthy holiday. Free guides from the town clerk (Dept 5), Larne, Northern Ireland. – McNeill’s 7-day conducted tours, May till September. Motor excursions to Gobbins caves and cliffs, Whitehead, Glenariff glen, Giant’s Causeway, Portrush, Belfast, Garron Tower, Antrim and Lough Neagh, Sallagh Braes, and the famous Antrim coast road.” – This last is shown in the image above, with the Black Arch in the foreground.

Previously: Larne – The Original Tourist Resort | Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X10597 X09373 X09376 State Line ship company 1873-1889 emigration

The Battle Of Ulfreksfjord

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

According to 13th century Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson, The Battle Of Latharna (now Larne) took place in 1018 between Irish warriors and Orkney vikings at Larne Lough or “Ulfreksfjord” which name eventually became “Olderfleet”, to the south of the harbour.

This is the contribution of artist Kim Montgomery (web) to a Larne Council project to add art to the city centre (BelTel). See previously, Dawn Aston’s Dire Wolf.

Main St, Larne

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X09368 larne renovation

The Irish Dancer

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

One goal of the voluntary group Larne Renovation Generation (Fb) is to bring “Main Street alive with community spirit in the evenings”. To this end, they are supporting various murals along the street, with this Irish dancer providing a bookmark at the eastern end on the side of the Silver Lounge Café (Fb).

By Visual Waste (web | ig), based on a photograph by Bernie McAllister of a dancer perhaps from the Lisa Dempsey school (Fb).

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X09375 [X09374]

Norman Anderson

Extramural Activity1 Comment

RUC Constable Norman Anderson was set upon and executed in 1961 by the IRA on the Fermanagh border as he returned from visiting his Co Monaghan girlfriend (SEFF) but he and his family hailed from Larne and he is remembered by the Constable Anderson Memorial flute band (emblem below), which was formed in the same year (Fb), and the Auld Boys (emblem above). These are two of three flute bands in the Factory area of Larne, along with the Clyde Valley flute band – see The Gunrunners.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X09330 X09328 X09329 Herbert Ave border campaign auld boys

This Is Ireland

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Richard Hayward was born in England but spent his childhood in Larne in a time Henry McNeill was developing the tourist industry (see previously Larne – The Original Tourist Resort and Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines) – the Black Arch on the Coast Road is shown over Hayward’s right shoulder.

He collected songs, both Orange and traditional Irish, and played the harp. He went on to record 156 records, act in at least eight movies and write 11 travel books, the most popular of which was In Praise Of Ulster, with drawings by the landscape artist James Humbert Craig – some images from the book can be seen here.

(Ulster Biography | IMDb | Atlas Obscura)

The mural, in Larne’s Main Street, was designed by emic (ig) and painted by Dee Craig (Fb). Since 2021 you can also follow a trail around Richard Hayward’s East Antrim .

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X09378 Larne Renovation Generation

The Earth Writes Upon The Sky

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Two Larne trees: above, the tree mosaic at the Town Hall steps created by artist Janet Crymble (see previously Sports We Love), with support from Larne Renovation Regeneration, Larne Trader’s Forum, and Mid & East Antrim Borough Council (NIWorld); below, the “Armada Tree” that is purported to have sprung from a chestnut or chestnut seeds in the pocket of a dead sailor in the Spanish Armada – the tree fell over after 432 years in 2020, a victim of root disease (anglican.org), but is remembered by the board depicting it in Upper Main Street, Larne.

“Local legend has it that when the Spanish Armada was passing these shores in 1588, a sailor was washed up at Ballygally village, no doubt from one of the ships blown off course by gales. Locals were said to have taken the body and buried it in the graveyard of the picturesque St Patrick’s Church at Cairncastle. The ancient tree beside the chuch grew from one of the chestnut seeds that the sailor had in his pocket when he was buried. The tree has been analysed and found to date back to the sixteenth century, adding credence to the story.”

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X09383 X09385

Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines

Extramural Activity1 Comment

Hotelier Henry McNeill, it is reported, brought the horseless carriage to Larne in 1899, in the form of a Daimler Wagonette that he used to ferry guests up and down the coast and in to scenic spots in the Glens Of Antrim – the mechanical future combined with of the timeless beauty of the natural world. Here is a photo of McNeill aloft in 1899; emic (ig) recasts the image as though he were at the helm of a flying machine.

For more emic hands, see: Nothing Is Lost, Everything Is Transformed | 35 | A Lifeboat From Despair | In Bloom

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X09355 X09357 X09354 [X09356] larne renovation

Friendship Across The Water

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Walker Clubs – one of the associated clubs of the Apprentice Boys – are named for George Walker, joint Governor of Derry (with Lundy) during the siege, who died at the Boyne, on July 1st/12th, 1690 while going to the aid of the Duke Of Schomberg. In the centre is the crest of Londonderry: “Vita, veritas, victoria“.

This board in Larne’s ‘Factory’ districts shows, (clockwise from bottom left): the apprentice boys shutting the gates, the breaking of the boom to relieve the siege, Walker (who was also an Anglican priest) inciting the apprentice boys to shut the gates with a cry of “No surrender”, and, clasped hands signifying the connection between Larne Walker Club (Fb) and Maybole Walker Club in South Ayrshire, Scotland. A list of all the Walker Clubs can be found at ABOD.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X09334 X09333 herbert avenue

The Flax And The Lily

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The orange lily and the (pale blue) flax flower take their place around the Ulster Banner alongside the English rose and Scottish thistle, and the Irish shamrock is retained even in the presence of the lily. The flax is perhaps included because we are in the Factory area of Larne, near the site of a (former) linen mill. The Welsh daffodil is excluded. The detail above is part of a wider board “Boyne Square celebrates 100 years of Northern Ireland”; the flanking emblems of the Boyne Defenders (LOL 1297), Rangers Supporters club (Larne Branch) – which also uses the shamrock – Boyne Square Bonfire Forum, and Larne & District Great War Society and included below; the emblems of three flute bands can be seen in Norman Anderson and The Gunrunners.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Extramural Activity
X09325 [X09318] X09319 X09320 [X09321] [X09322] X09323 X09324 X09317

Stop Mephedrone Before It Stops You

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Be aware: Mephedrone is destroying our community. Prescription drug misuse is the biggest killer. Stop mephedrone before it stops you. How to spot the signs and save a life.” Mephedrone has been classified as a Class B drug since 2010 but it and other (still-legal prescription) drugs continue to take a heavy toll. According to the 2020 NIAO report, a majority of drug-related deaths involved prescription drugs such as diazepam, tramadol, and pregabalin. The two boards shown in today’s post are in Larne (Lower Waterloo Road, above, and Drumahoe Gardens, below).

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X09315 X09312 [X09311]