PUL

No Matter, Try Again

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Glen Molloy’s Samuel Beckett mural in the Dundela area of east Belfast was largely whitewashed the day after it was finished – see the second image, below. (This was only a few weeks after the Maya Angelou mural across the street was painted and graffitied.) (Belfast Live) The portrait was restored last year, with blue sparkling blue eyes, and the quotation was added again this summer.

(The Angelou mural was partially repaired at the time, and support for Ukraine added this year – see We May Encounter Many Defeats.)

The quotation is from Worstward Ho! (not “Westword Ho!” as written on the wall): “Say for be said. Missaid. From now say for missaid. Say a body. Where none. No mind. Where none. That at least. A place. Where none. For the body. To be in. Move in. Out of. Back into. No. No out. No back. Only in. Stay in. On in. Still. All of old. Nothing else ever. Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”

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Upward

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The new arch at Denmark Street and Carlisle Circus, next to the Clifton Street Orange Hall, was a year in the planning, both technical and financial (News Letter). There are seven windows and four flag-holders built into the arch. On the Denmark Street side, we see the emblem of the Association Of Loyal Orangewomen Of Ireland, the breaking of the boom (to end the Siege Of Derry), National Memorial (in the arboretum in Staffordshire), Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee (crown and Bible over rose, thistle, shamrock, daffodil, New Zealand silver fern, and Canadian maple leaf), City Of Belfast Loyal Orange Widows Fund, Orange Order symbols. On the Carlisle Circus side, we see the shutting of the gates (to start the Siege Of Derry), William Johnston (WP), the stained-glass window in Schomberg House to murdered OO members, Pietro Annigonni’s 1995 portrait of Queen Elizabeth on garter day (WP), Wehle’s portrait of Martin Luther, and the 36th Division going over the top.

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When Young People Are United …

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“… they can never be divided.” The two parts of this slogan are found at the end and the beginning of two murals and symbolically join together PUL Tiger’s Bay (with a mural at the end of the “peace” line on Hallidays Road, shown in the first three images) and CNR Newington (with a mural on Limestone Road, shown in subsequent images). Youths from both communities worked on the murals (Belfast Live).

The Hallidays Road wall previously had a similar ‘Welcome’ mural on it – see The Bigger Picture.

Presumably these are Blaze FX (web) productions. The murals were started back in May but were only completed last week. The muralists are perhaps busy with another job …

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North Down First Flute

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“Those we love don’t go away/They walk beside us every day”. The images in this post show Upper Greenwell Street in the Movilla of Newtownards, in the summer of 2022. The small boards are not new (see North Down West Belfast and North Down Ulster Young Militants) but the NHS/keyworkers and the North Down First Flute (Fb) murals have not been seen before.

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The Scales Of Justice

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The giant mural around the offices of Russell & Co solicitors in Newtownards combines legal imagery with famous north Down sites and people.

There are two main parts, in High Street and in Lower Mary Street. In High Street, we see Blair “Paddy” Mayne; the Jordan ‘Hissing Sid’ Formula 1 race-car (Eddie Irvine, who is from Newtownards, drove for Jordan until 1996); a weaver working a loom (the image is from Waringstown, but is perhaps meant to represent local mills such as Walker’s or Ards & Webb); an image of the Ards TT.

In Lower Mary Street, from behind Scrabo Hill, Lady Justice weighs scales each containing Rodin’s statue The Thinker. We also see a modern agricultural tractor, as designed by Harry Ferguson; a portrait of James Russell who founded the solicitors’ firm in 1948; a Cessna light aircraft, presumably at Newtownarrds airport, the first purpose-built airport on the island (Ulster Flying Club); the former Ards Maltings; a sack of Comber Earlies.

Acting as a joining motif on both sides of the building are roses from Dickson Nurseries.

The mural was painted by Mark Ervine. The partially-completed mural was featured in the Financial Times all the way back in November 2018; it was eventually finished in 2021 and given an anti-graffiti coating this (2022) summer.

With thanks to Colin Haddick of Russell & Co.

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In Glorious Memory Of Our Fallen

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For a long time (at least 2016-2018) there was an unfinished mural on this wall along Drumhirk Drive in Kilcooley, Bangor. It has been replaced by this UDA North Down Battalion board.

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For The Fallen

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“They fought together as brothers in arms, they died together and now sleep side by side. To them we owe a solemn obligation. They died that we might live. The Great Wars 1914-1918, 1939-1945 – Admiral Chester W Nimitz”. The central image of this Newtownards homage to the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division and the Australian ‘Rats Of Tobruk’ who held that city against Rommel’s forces in north Africa during WWII is the Tyne-Cot cemetery near Passchendaele, Belgium, the biggest Commonwealth cemetery in the world but named ofter the “Tynside cottages” that the German pill-boxes in the area resembled (WP).

New for the NI centenary are three emblems on the side wall, with (on the left) the Red Hand Comrades Association and (on the right) the Strain-Lightbody Memorial flute band (Fb).

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Stronger Together

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“Suicide awareness and mental health initiative – Larne, stronger together.” With contact information for Extern (web), Lifeline (web), Childline (web), Samaritans (web). Possibly connected to Stronger Together NI (Fb).

For the drugs-awareness board on the left, see Stop Mephedrone Before It Stops You. For the sectarian boards, see The Flax And The Lily and The Loyalty Of Northern Ireland. For the women’s board, see Women Are A Whole Community.

See also the Stronger Together shutters on the Shankill.

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We May Encounter Many Defeats

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“… but we must not be defeated.” Racists graffiti was added to the Maya Angelou mural in Dundela Avenue shortly after it was painted last July (Belfast Live). The repairs got rid of the graffiti and restored the lettering but the face was not restored to its original condition. The mural has remained intact since then and the yellow background provides an ideal surface for the Ukrainian flag and words of support: “We stand with you, Ukraine!” and “Slava Ukraïni – heroyam slava! [Glory to Ukraine – to the heroes, glory!]”

The quote is attributed solely to Angelou and appears to come from her personal writings (Order Out Of Chaos); she died in 2014 (Independent).

Commissioned by David Holmes, designed by Jody Hackett and painted by Glenn Molloy in 2021.

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Bond’s Field

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Although only Bond’s Place now retains the apostrophe, all of the “Bond” placenames in the Waterside (Bond’s Place, Bonds/Bond’s Street and Bonds/Bond’s Hill) are named after the Bond family, one of whom – William – was a United Irishman (Derry Journal). Bond’s Field is the site of the former Ebrington factory – home to Young & Rochesters shirt factory (Smart Tour) – and now part of the Ebrington complex (Scrivener). Four other Ebrington institutions are included in this Ebrington Street mural: Ebrington Primary school (web) which was originally at the end of Roulston Avenue, Ebrington Presbyterian (web), the Waterside branch of the Royal British Legion (Fb), and (in the centre) Pages bakery, which is now the Ebrington Bake House (Fb).

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