British Army soldiers from four streets are commemorated in a plaque in Barrington Gardens. All four streets – Abingdon, Barrington, Colchester, and Dorchester – have changed their names or disappeared entirely (Dorchester) since 1914. “Erected by 1st Belfast Rangers Friends Of The Somme Society” – the supporters club is right next door.
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Ross Wilson’s statue ‘Mother – Daughter – Sister’ was launched in 2015 (Art Council NI), two years after his King William mural which towers over it (see final image). “This sculpture celebrates the female cultural identity of Sandy Row and the generational contribution women have made to this community both in the family and workplace.” With a verse from the Doris Day song ‘Que Sera Sera’ from Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much.
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The HUBB community centre is host to a number of social groups, including those represented in the mosaic above: the Old Comrades group, the Seaview chapter of the Royal British Legion, North Shore and Ladies Somme memorial groups, a spotlight (perhaps in connection with the Civil Defence bowling club? – the HUBB is in what used to be a civil defence building), and the Kingdom of Dalaradia society. According to the eponymous web site, Dalaradia was “was a kingdom of the Cruthin in the north-east of Ireland and parts of Scotland in the first millennium.” Hence, perhaps, the red hand of Ulster together with the Scottish thistle.
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The Irish Football Association (web | tw) is the governing body for Northern Irish soccer, overseeing both domestic and international events. The original Our Wee Country (fan organisation Web | tw) mural was in Carnforth Street, east Belfast. For another and one of the emblem with Ulster banner and Union flags, see Irish Football Association and Our Wee Country.
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The map in the lower left corner of this WWI commemorative mural shows the defensive lines of both the Allies and the Central Powers. As the inscription on the mural describes, the Ulster Tower is situated close to the Schwaben Redoubt, the primary objective of the 36th Division on the first day of battle.
The plaque (shown second, below) refers to a similar mural painted in 2010.
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X04711 X04710 X04724 conway st This Tower is dedicated to the glory of God in grateful memory of the officers and men of the 36th (Ulster) division, and of the sons of Ulster in other forces who laid down their lives in the Great War, and of all their comrades-in-arms who, by divine grace, were spared to testify to their glorious deeds. The Ulster Tower stands on what was the German front line during the Battle of the Somme, 1st July to 18th November 1916. It was erected on the site of the Schwaben Redoubt, a strongly fortified position which the 36th (Ulster) Division made it’s historic charge on 1st July 1916, and within close proximity to the village of Thiepval. 32,186 killed, wounded, missing. greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends
A little too much detail to be a Rothko.
Today’s two posts are two in a (very infrequent) series of ‘accidental fine art’. See previously Composition With Orange, Bathroom Tile, And Dolphin Wallpaper | Composition With Electical Cable And Shadow Of Power Line.
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An Ulster Banner with a Union flag in the corner (a UDA flag?) in Mount Vernon (UVF territory) is reflected in the glass doors of Rehoboth Evangelical Mission, which “invites you to our gospel meeting every Sunday night at 7 pm. 3 Mount Vernon Road. Contact Pastor David McClure – A visit to our meeting can change you[r] life.” Previously: The Lord Has Made Room For Us.
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A plaque has been added to the controversial 2013 UVF mural in Inverwood Court, commemorating (fairly) recently-deceased volunteers Kenny Black, Neill Reeves (21 years old, possibly from tainted drugs) Kevin Carvil, and Robert Armour.
The quote – Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed – is from Martin Luther King. For more on the history of this wall and the MLK quote, see Direct Action.
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A line from WB Yeats’s The Cloths Of Heaven in (loyalist) south Belfast:”I have spread my dreams under your feet – Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”
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Some of the children’s mural in Boyne Court (off Sandy Row) is still hanging on, though quite faded and with about half the panels missing. The first two images (from 2017) show children playing on a lamp-post swing in the middle of the street (panel 4); the latter two (from 2012) show a broader view (panels 4-5-6) of Sandy Row buildings and (on the last of the ten panels) an alien landing.
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Extramural Activity 