This Monkstown mural commemorates four UDA volunteers: Malcolm Fisher, Colin Weir, Jim McClurg and William Hobbs. Hobbs and McClurg were killed when a bomb went off prematurely (CAIN’s Sutton Index 1977) ; there is no mention of the other two. Please leave a comment or send an e-mail if you have any information.
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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02118 absent friends quis separabit at the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them
“A friend is a hand that is always holding yours no matter how close or far apart you be; A friend is someone who is always there and will always always care. A friend is a feeling of forever in the heart.” A new community mural in Ballymurphy shows locals seated in a circle of hands. Among the surrounding quotes (visible in the second image, below) are two lines from Robert Burns’ Auld Lang Syne (“And there’s a hand my trusty friend [fiere] And gies [gie’s] a hand to [o’] thine”, and, “We’ll take a cup of kindness yet For auld lang sang [syne]”)
The other lines are from …
I’ll Tell Me Ma (“Out she comes as white as snow, rings on her fingers a bells on her toes”, and, “My Aunt Jane she called me in, she gave me tea out of her wee tin”)
I Know My Love (“I know my love by her way of walking”)
The Gypsy Rover (“The gypsy rover came over the hill, down through the valley so shady”)
The Fields Of Athenry (“Low lie the fields of Athenry, where once we watched the small free birds fly”)
The Cobbler (“Oh, my wife she is humpy, she’s lumpy, my wife she’s the devil, she’s black, and no matter what I may [do] with her, her [tongue it goes clickety-clack]”)
and a skipping song (“On the hillside stands a lady, who she is I do not know”)
A wide shot (third below) shows the other two murals on this stretch of Ballymurphy Road: Between and Bryson-Mulvenna.
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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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“Sam Thompson 1916-1965 Playwright ‘Over The Bridge’ 1960. Born in 2 Montrose Street beside this house.” In addition to his written works, Thompson was a painter for H&W and the Corporation, a trade unionist and Labour candidate (WP).
Montrose Street South, Belfast
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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus, white-headed sea-eagle (WP)) is typically found only in North America, but the one above can be found in Ballymurphy.
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“Hill Street was originally called Pot-House Lane after pottery works located here in the late 17th century. By the 1790’s it was known as Foundry Lane, after Stewart Hadski’s iron foundry, the first of its kind in Belfast.” The original of the tin-glazed earthenware tankard shown can be seen in this lot from Christie’s (worth 10,000 pounds). The words “Queen Anne 1720” are inscribed on the tankard, a memorial to the queen who reigned from 1702-1714.
See previously: Old Foundary 1767
Here is some information about excavations in the area, and below is a brief video on the history of Hill St:
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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01972 belfast city council queen anne artist’s initials “KN”
A repainted “Support the POWs” next to the New Lodge grotto. The image below shows the flats directly behind the writing.
Previously: BVM Supports POWs
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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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A pair of boards have been added to either side of one of the Bone memorials in Clós Ard An Lao, one for Na Fıanna Éıreann – the boys – and one for Cumann Na gCaılíní – the girls. The words are those of the Marching Song Of Na Fıanna Éıreann, except that in the second verse (the third stanza shown, first in the image below) the words “Cumann Na gCaılınní [sic]” have been inserted instead of “Fıanna Éıreann”.
The third image, below, shows the whole wall; for a close-up of the central boards, commemorating locals who lost their lives in the troubles, see Bone Memorial.
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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02202 X02203 X02204 cumann na mban firm each footstep erect each head soldiers of freedom unfearing and eager to follow the teaching of our hero dead on for freedom set we our faces to the dawning day in our own land when strength and daring shall end for evermore the saxon sway truth on our lips purity in our hearts strength in our arms blessed be our and like the who won for her glory in the days that are gone clean be our thinking and fruitful our teaching that we may deserve here when the fight is won soldiers and champions of eire our mother fear we no sassanach his schemes or steel foes of no foeman by comrades sisters all who are striving for weal
The background, at least, has been repainted on this UFF mural in Monkstown with three hooded gunmen in balaclavas, black jackets, and blue jeans posing with assault rifles on an outline of the north coast in the colours of the Northern Irish flag. For the original, see Monkstown UFF 1st Batt.
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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02128 ulster freedom fighters rifle Ards Pk
Two Scottish street artists, Conzo Throb from Glasgow and Elph from Edinburgh, combined to produce the street art above. It features Elph’s distinctive psychedelic landscapes with Conzo’s Taps Aff, with Terror Cheb protruding. (A wide shot is below.) They also each did an individual piece for CNB14: see previously Fill Up On Colour (Conzo Throb) and The Imaginarium (Elph) as well as Elph’s work for the Menagerie bar in The Piano Has Been Smoking and Eyes Wide Shut.
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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02223 X02224 conzoxelph
Extramural Activity 