Two varieties of this “Stand Firm” placard are going up in PUL west Belfast: (above) “Power-sharing or protocol. Stand firm. There is no basis for power-sharing while the protocol remains. Equal citizenship.” and (below) “Power-sharing or protocol. Stand firm. Restore the acts of union. All UK citizens on an equal footing. Equal citizenship.” The context: Jeffrey Donaldson and the DUP have been making noises about a return to Stormont after a year of refusing to participate, which has led to criticism and the threat of “street protests” from hard-line unionists (BelTel).
Castlemara residents’ various emotions are on display at the entrace to the estates: celebrating the jubilee of Elizabeth II, the coronation of Charles III, the creation of Northern Ireland in 1921, and Rangers’ 55th league title; saluting Tom Moore; commemorating Prince Philip, 1921-2021; and remembering with gratitude the “100th anniversary of the Battle Of The Somme”: “We must not forget what they gave so we may live. Let not their deaths be in vain. Lest we forget.”
Here is Carrickfergus castle by Dan Kitcherner (ig), painted on a wall in the town centre that had a piece of “RIP GFA protocol” graffiti on it (Street View). The mural is based on the actual scene, though the shopfront marked “castle” is actually Mayur Indian restaurant.
Funded by the International Fund for Ireland’s Peace Impact Programme (BelTel).
According to Housing Executive figures, only 405 social houses were built in 2022-2023, compared to a projected a need of more than 24,000 homes (ITV). Belfast City Council’s ‘Local Development Plan’ has set a quota of 20% social and affordable housing for developers (Inside Housing).
Titanic Studios in the Titanic Quarter of Belfast provided one of the primary filming locations for the hit HBO series Game Of Thrones. The series ended in 2019 but its influence lives on in a series of free-standing stained-glass “windows” on “Maritime Mile” (web), the tourist attractions around the Titanic museum.
Shown in today’s post are (from top to bottom) the Stark, Iron Throne, Targaryen, and White Walkers windows.
The Ulster Unionist Council organised the signing of the Covenant in September, 1912, and in January 1913 voted to bring together the militias that had been formed in various places into an Ulster Volunteer Force. One of these was a South Belfast battalion that had formed in 1912 (History Ireland). Hence, both “1912” and “1913” are given as dates for the creation of the battalion. When the Volunteers were integrated into the Ulster Division for the Great War, the South Belfast Volunteers joined the 10th battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles.
Of course, the boards above and immediately below concerning the 1912/1913 Ulster Volunteers serve double duty alongside the three other boards shown here which concern the modern UVF and the current protests against Brexit/NI Protocol/Windsor Framework.
The advertising hoarding has been informally re-purposed by the UVF for several years, and its de-commercialisation is now complete with the addition of this printed board.
“Loyalist Village says No! to an Irish Sea border.” “The prevention of the erosion of our identity , our culture and our heritage. We will preserve this no matter the cost. We will not be the generation to fail Ulster.”
After WWI, the Royal Irish Rifles became the Royal Ulster Rifles (and later became part of the Royal Irish Rangers). This board prioritises WWI as the Rifles were part of the 36th Division. The hero of WWI portrayed in the central panel is William McFadzean, awarded the VC for falling on two live grenades in the trenches on July 1st, 1916. McFadzean is familiar from many previous murals both individually and in the company of other VC winners; for his family home in Cregagh, see Rubicon.
Alongside McFadzean, the hero of WWII is Blair “Paddy” Mayne, who was only briefly in the Ulster Rifles before making his name in the Parachute Unit (later, and better, known as the SAS). His many medals of honour are shown in an old Newtownards mural though he was denied the VC.
“Centenary Scripts: “The future lies in the hand of my Irish people themselves. May this historic gathering be the prelude of the day in which the Irish people, north and south, under one parliament or two, as those parliaments may decide, shall work together in common love for Ireland upon the sure foundation of mutual justice and respect. King George V.”
After the Northern Ireland parliament was opened, the debate continued as to whether Ireland would yet have a single parliament with Dominion status. The idea that Ireland, in whole or in part, would leave the empire was unimaginable to Britain – hence “my Irish people”.
“Mutual justice and respect”, it turned out, was generally in short supply. Unionists claimed they had accepted Home Rule (for Northern Ireland) as a sacrifice, preferring to be included in the empire parliament at Westminster, though one doubts the sincerity of this claim given their stance in the subsequent negotiations, which made clear that sharing power with nationalists and republicans would be intolerable. Thus, the sentiment that the future of Ireland lay in the hands of Irish people was understood to have limits.
A united Ireland was desired by nationalists and republicans, but as the negotiations continued throughout 1921 and into 1922 we can perhaps see republicans cut their losses – i.e. Northern Ireland – and instead drive towards independence for the Irish Free State. Departure from the empire and the fixity of partition quickly (in a matter of years, though it formally took a few decades) became a reality for Southern Ireland/Irish Free State/(Republic of) Ireland.
Here is a gallery of images from the now locked-up and boarded-up (and over-grown) Vault building, formerly the Belfast Met, awaiting demolition and redevelopment as housing. The images below move from left to right beginning with a piece that has not been featured before (outlines of human figures, with hearts on their chests); for the others, see Vault Guard Cat | Show Some Love | Build Communities | Vaulty Towers | In Bloom | Bizarre Bazaar .
Extramural Activity 