#RememberMyNoah

14 year-old Noah Donohoe went missing on June 21st while cycling in the York Road area en route from his south Belfast home to the Cave Hill. His body was found in a north Belfast storm drain six days later and the postmortem showed death by drowning (Irish News). Many details of his last hours remain unknown, however, including how he came to drown in the drain. His mother, Fiona, started a campaign on August 11th on Facebook and Twitter to press for answers and signatures are being collected for a petition into the PSNI handling of the case. CCTV images of Noah were released on Friday by the BBC. An inquest will be held in January, 2021 (BelTel) with a preliminary hearing on September 30th.

Previously: Gloria Ab Intus

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07424 X07423 Divis St ML and MD

This Year’s Twelfth

Here are seven posters from the wall of the Shankill Leisure Centre and the Shankill Road Mission building urging people not to congregate when watching the parades. “This year the bands are coming to you!” “This year’s 12th is about the battle with the bug”. See previously: #SafeShankill | Battle Of The Bug

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07325 X07327 X07326 X07331 X07328 X07330 X07329

Against The Terrorist Threat In Ulster

The original cairn commemorating three part-time members of the UDR (which can be seen in Carrickfergus RIR/UDR) – Henry Russell, Steven Carlton, and Walter Kerr – was replaced by a new obelisk in 2017. The medal in the middle is the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, which was awarded to the entire RIR and UDR in 2006. (The UDR was merged with the RIR to form the Royal Irish Regiment in 1992.) (Video of the launch.)

Cyril Smith was a Catholic from Carrickfergus and a Royal Irish Ranger. The original cairn in his memory tells the story of his death at age 21 in 1990. For commentary, see this Irish Times piece.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07376 X07375 Marine Gardens

On Foreign Fields

“This plaque is dedicated to those men and women of the Orange Institution who volunteered to fight in the Great War for king and empire and who made the ultimate sacrifice on foreign fields.” A WWI commemorative plaque has been added to the Orange hall in Carrickfergus (seen previously in M05249).

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07374 X07373

#SafeShankill

Social distancing was hard to maintain in some areas (BelTel) but many people celebrated the 12th from home this year, thank in part to messages such as appear on this pair of paste-ups in Olive Street and Glenvale Street off the Woodvale Road. “This year the bands are coming to you!” “This year’s 12th is about the battle with the [coronavirus] bug.”

X07786 2020-12-11 Prot Flute+

X07785 2020-12-11 Prot Boy+

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07356 [X07357] X07358 X07786 X07785

Prayer In The Time Of Coronavirus

Another entry in a growing list of religious placards adorning the streets during the covid-19 pandemic, this time from the Shankill: “Drive-In Gospel – Gospel Hall Matchett Street, Sunday at 7:00pm.” According a survey cited in this FT article, the faith of Americans has generally strengthened during the pandemic.

Previously: Rediscover The Power Of The Rosary | Freedom Of Religion | Nearer My God To Thee

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07350 X07351

You Were Given This Life

“You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it.” This Shankill Road poster actually dates back to the anti-suicide #MessagesOfHope campaign undertaken at the end of 2018 (see You Are Enough) but continues to be relevant as the Covid-19 epidemic continues.

The tree is alongside the Shankill Memorial Garden: Who Went To War And Never ReturnedAmong The Fallen | XXXVI | The Sacrifice Remains The Same.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07353

Balmoral Showrooms

The fact that there are three memorials to the Balmoral Furniture bombing speaks to the shock felt at devastating bomb on a busy Shankill Road. The oldest is the small circular plaque: “Balmoral Furniture Showrooms bombed 12.25 pm Saturday 11th December 1971. 2 adults & 2 babies killed”; then the Poppy Cross (c. 2015) “in memory of the two men and two babies murdered at this spot by a no warning sectarian IRA bomb attack on the Balmoral Furniture shop on 11th December 1971”, and finally the traditional plaque (c. 2017), which names the victims: Colin Nicholl, Tracey Jane Munn, Harold King, Hugh Bruce.

On the side of the Shankill Leisure Centre.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07337 X07338

Something Old, Something New, Something Red, White And Blue

Above is one of the few remaining houses in the old style in Tiger’s Bay. This is one of three on Mervue Street, which back onto a row of six in Mervue Court; there also is a row of six on Halliday’s Road which survived the rebuilding there – for images of loyal drawings in the boarded up houses that were replaced, see The Queen In Tiger’s Bay. Below, however, is an image of the freshly-repainted kerbstones just above the house, at the junction of Mervue and Edlingham streets.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Sabine Troendle (web | Fb)
X07304 X07070

Brexit Loyalists

“Loyal” and “Brexit” boards on lamp-poles and walls in Tiger’s Bay. If you know when they were put up (or any other information), please comment or get in touch. The final “Brexit” is on the same pole as was Hand-Crafted.

Click image to enlarge
X07301 X07303 Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07170 Copyright © 2020 Sabine Troendle (web | Fb)
X07302 Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle