CNR – Page 16 – Extramural Activity

Far Dearer The Grave Or The Prison

2023-07-012025-03-31Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Far dearer the grave or the prison,
Illumed by one patriot name,
Than the trophies of all who have risen
On Liberty’s ruins to fame.”

Thomas Moore’s lyrics were written for the air The Lamentation of Aughrim, in honour of the Jacobites who died on 12 July, 1691, but they are applied here to Joe Malone of the IRA’s “Expeditionary Force”.

In January 1939 the IRA declared war against Britain and carried out a bombing campaign called the “sabotage plan” (WP S-Plan). Malone was arrested in May when a tear-gas bomb intended for the New Victoria cinema in London exploded prematurely in the cloakroom, injuring his arm and wrist (Belfast Battalion p. 103 | West Australian).

Malone and other prisoners refused to co-operate with prison authorities and began a hunger strike in January 1941; on day five of the strike, force-feeding began and Malone was injured and ordered off the strike by OC Conor McNessa; despite stomach surgery, he died a year later. (Belfast Battalion p. 126, 136)

“In proud and loving memory of Volunteer Joseph Malone, No. 1 battalion, Irish Republican Expeditionary Force. Captured in London May 1939 and died in Parkhurst prison 21st January 1942. RIP.”

As the info board points out, the red hand is used to denote the graves in Milltown of volunteers from the 1920s to 1940s.

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Copyright © 2023 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Garden Walls

2023-06-262025-01-08Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Garden walls by Peaball (ig) in the garden of Ashmore House, Derry.

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Copyright © 2023 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
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Strong

2023-06-252025-01-08Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

As part of the ‘Get Up Derry’ graffiti and street art jam, seven substantial panels were painted at the Tesco superstore in Quayside, including work by NOYS (ig), Zippy (ig), emic (ig), PENS (ig), Kyle McGinley (ig), Friz (ig), and Razer (ig).

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Copyright © 2023 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
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Liquid Chrome Shamrock

2023-06-252025-01-08Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

New work by Dave Bonzai (ig) William Street, Derry, part of the ‘Get Up Derry’ festival of graffiti and street art.

Previously by Bonzai (with Bodé) in Derry: Metalmorphosis.

Also from Get Up: Crash Bandicoot in Strand Road.

Replaces OMIN’s Great Hunger battering ram: Stars Look Down.

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Copyright © 2023 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
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Pobal Ag Fás

2023-06-222025-01-08Extramural Activity1 Comment

“Pobal ag foghlaım, pobal ag forbaırt, pobal ag fás” [a community learning, developing, growing]

Students from “Naíscoıl & Gaelscoıl An Lonnáın (Fb) bun[aithe] 1999″ [Nursery-school and Irish-language [primary] school of the loney, founded 1999] are shown playing Gaelic games, Irish dancing, and playing traditional instruments (and the guitar). On the left are representations from Irish mythology: the Children Of Lear and Setanta killing Culann’s hound (and taking the name Cú Chulaınn in taking its place), along with hedge-row school (see Hedge Row School).

The origin of the name is unclear; the nearest loney [lane] was the “Pound” loney, so-called because of the animal pen just outside Barrack Street, used to store livestock before moving on to the markets the following day (Rushlight | Uachtar Na bhFál). (The Pound Loney is included in the mural in Durham Street – see Et In Arcadia Ego.)

The other well-known loney in Belfast is the “buttermilk loney” which was either/both what is now Ballysillan Park (that is, connecting Olpark with the horsehoe bend) or the top part of the loney that connected Wheatfield (the top of Ardoyne) to the Ligoniel junction and on towards the old Ligoneil House (there are a mixture of usages in this Belfast Forum thread); this image from the 1930s might show the lane in (what was still at the time) the hills above Oldpark; a new housing-development towards the top of the Ballysillan Park is euphemistically called “Buttermilk Loney”. (It is also said to have been a prior name of Skegoniell Avenue (Belfast History).)

(The Uachtar Na bhFál page also mentions “Turf” loney, “Mountain” loney, and “Killoney”.)

The history of the Irish word “lonnán” is unclear. Uachtar na bhFál says the word is of Scots origin (perhaps as “loanin”). (See this BelTel article on the opening of the Ulster-Scots centre in 2014.) Spelled “lonnen”, it is also a Geordie word (Heslop’s Northumberland Words | wiktionary). The Irish News and Belfast Live, working from the same (uncited) press-release about Páırc An Lonnáın (which is along the Westlink below Raıdıó Fáılte), state that “loney” comes from the English word “loaning”. The Irish word “lonnán” does not appear in Dinneen 1904; Dinneen 1953 defines it (hyper-specifically) as “a grassy recess running up into high basaltic cliffs”.

For more ‘in-progress’ shots, see the Paddy Duffy collection.

May 19th:

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Innocent

2023-06-192025-01-08Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

On January 30th, 1972, the Parachute Regiment, 1st battalion (“1 Para”), opened fire on a civil rights march in Derry’s Bogside, hitting dozens of people of which fourteen ultimately died.

Seven of the dead were teenagers, including Gerald (“Gerard”) Donaghey/Donaghy, who is featured (in younger days) in the apex of this new mural commemorating the dead, none of whom were judged to be attacking Army soldiers when they were shot.

It was alleged, however, that Donaghey had nail bombs in his pockets. This judgment was upheld in the Saville Report, though most of the people who were with him and who handled his body – including the medical officer who pronounced him dead – did not see any bombs (WP | BelTel). The launch was on June 15th, the same date that the Saville Report was issued in 2010.

The ‘Bloody Sunday ’72’ emblem is to Donaghey’s right – see Bloody Sunday 72 | Domhnach Na Fola | Remember Bloody Sunday. The oak leaf is a symbol of Derry.

Painted by JMK (ig) in Fahan Street, Derry, (on the wall that was briefly home to the Mike Jackson “War Criminal” mural – see From The Top Down). The owner of the gable wall granted permission for the painting of the mural (see the video of the launch on the Museum Of Free Derry’s youtube channel).

The names of the 14 dead and 17 injured on the side walls were painted by Paddy Nelis (tw). His previous work includes the 2013 Brıogáıd Dhoıre mural in Lecky Road and in 2022 (with Razer) the Bogisde mural to his brother, Donncha Mac Nıallaıs.

As a fıan, there is a plaque to Donaghey at the spot where he was killed in Glenfada Park (M09537) and he was included in the roll of honour in Shantallow (X02870).

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Copyright © 2023 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
X12622 X12623 X12624 X12625 Gerald Donaghey, Patrick Doherty, Jim Wray, Hugh Gilmour, Michael Kelly, Michael McDaid, Kevin McElhinney, William Nash, Bernard McGuigan, John Johnston, William McKinney, Gerard McKinney, John Young, Jackie Duddy. Bloody Sunday Trust. Damian Donaghy, Margaret Derry, Michael Bridge, Michael Bradley, Pius McCarron, Patrick Brolly, Alana Burke, Thomas Harkin, Alex Nash, Joe Friel, Michael Quinn, Joe Mahon, Patrick O’Donnell, Daniel Gillespie, Patrick Campbell, Daniel McGovern

New Lodge Gardens

2023-06-162025-01-08Extramural Activity2 Comments

Here is a gallery of images from the new, multi-panel, floral mural in the middle of the New Lodge.

The mural was painted by emic (ig) with young people from the New Lodge Youth Centre, sponsored by Communities In Transition (a programme of the Executive Office) and organised by Community Restorative Justice Ireland (web).

For the POW mural, see Unbowed, Unbroken; for the JFTC2 mural, see JFTC2; for the Noah Donohoe mural, see 14 4 Ever.

Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied

2023-06-152025-01-08Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Justice delayed is justice denied by the Office of the Chief Constable, Attorney General and The Police Ombudsman.” McGurk’s bar was bombed in December, 1971, causing the death of 15 people. At the time, the security forces maintained that the bomb was left by someone from the IRA for later collection and that the pub was affiliated with the IRA, despite the fact that a loyalist group claimed responsibility and a witness saw the bomb being planted a few moments before it went off. Among those repeating the “own goal” story was Brigadier Frank Kitson (McGurk’s Bar twitter | BelTel), who was recently named in a Derry mural in connection with Bloody Sunday – see From The Top Down.

For the bar-front (visible in the wide shot) and the plaques at the spot, see McGurk’s Bar Bombing | McGurk’s Bar | McGurk’s Bar.