Secret Army Silhouettes

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Secret army silhouettes of the UDA’s 3rd Battalion, D Company from Antiville, Larne.

The first wide shot, below, shows the complete line-up of UDA/UFF/UYM boards, including Eddie acting as a UDA flag-bearer. The second shows the royal family boards on the north side of the wall.

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X03789 X03787 X03790 hampton cr

Amazing Night At Larne

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“Amazing night at Larne – Wholesale gun-running — Thousands of rifles landed — Three-and-a-half million cartidges – Motors from far and near – Astounding achievement — Special To Telegraph”.

The weapons on board the Clyde Valley began their journey on a different ship, the Fanny. However, Fanny’s papers were siezed by Danish authorities, as they thought the weapons were destined for home-rulers in Iceland! The ship escaped in bad weather and Clyde Valley sailed from Glasgow to the Irish sea off Wexford where it met Fanny, took the materiel on board, and temporarily renamed itself Mountjoy II using canvas sheets. From there, it sailed to Larne and then Bangor, off-loading weapons in both places for use by the Ulster Volunteers.

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X03784 X03783 Greenland Dr

The Battle Of Antiville

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The experts’ best guess is that the gentleman on the white horse (on the right of the painting) is James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, at the siege of Maastricht in 1673. Scott was commander of the English forces fighting with the French during the Franco-Dutch war. It’s not clear, thus, what the connection is to the Antiville area of Larne or the wars fought in Ireland over the English crown. It was painted by Jan Wyck, who also did a painting of the Battle of the Boyne. On either side (as shown below) are a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the English version of the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom.

This trio of boards has been added to a wall behind the Antiville community centre, softening (somewhat) a very aggressive set of six UDA boards (seen in UDA Flag Bearer and Secret Army Silhouettes.)

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They Shall Not Grow Old

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“Remember With Pride” (with a poppy). Although the dates of his birth and death are given, Stevie “Top Gun” McKeag’s name appears only on the side-wall of this new mural in the Lower Shankill estate. McKeag was the top assassin in the UDA during the 1990s, claiming at least 12 victims. Both his WP page and this Guardian article describe his career and preeminent standing within the UDA.

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X03892 X03888 X03890 X03889  X03891 X03893 1st april 1970 24th september 2000 ulster young militants terrae filius 2nd batt c.13 shankill road military commander they shall not grow old those we love don’t go away they walk beside us every day sleeping where no shadows fall at the going down of the sun and in the morning remember with pride

Gulliver’s Voyage To Brobdingnag

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Minuscule humans work in the land of the giants: a lily in London-/Derry and Larne’s crowning glory.

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X03775 X03760 Rossville St Circular Rd Roundabout

For Bravery In The Field

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Robert King, of the 12th Royal Irish Rifles, who joined the army from the Ulster Volunteers, was “awarded the Military Medal for gallantry in action on 1st July 1916” at the Somme. The two sides of the medal are shown in the top right, with George V on one side and “for bravery in the field”. The 12th Rifles were drawn from the Central Antrim regiment of the Ulster Volunteers including the Newington area of Larne; King, however, was from Ship Street.

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X03763 X03764  Wellington Grn Central Antrim Regiment newington

A Mother And Father Of Ulster

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Billy Moir, who died this past May (2016) was a central figure in the Glasgow flute-band scene. The board above, dedicated to Billy and his wife Anne, is in the lower Shankill estate. “Dedicated to a mother & father of Ulster: William (Big Billy) & Anne Moir, in appreciation for their Dedication, Loyalty, Support and Friendship to all the people of the Shankill Road and their beloved ULSTER. In Glorious Memory, Lest We Forget, Quis Separabit.”

Hopewell Crescent, lower Shankill, west Belfast

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Culture Night Belfast

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Pay the £5 “door tax” and you can attend the Fernhill Flute Band’s “Full night of loyalist culture” including “Blood And Thunder, Melody, DJ, disco, ballots, prizes, and more”.

(We’ll start posting images from that other culture night — #CNB16 — tomorrow.)

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X03841 Shore Rd

Civil & Religious Liberty

William III of England, commonly known as William of Orange, led his troops to victory on July 1st, 1690 at the Battle of the Boyne against the forces of James II, the deposed English monarch and the father of his wife. The Williamite campaign began with successful resistance against the Siege of Derry in 1689 and James’s final defeat came a year later on July 12th, at Aughrim.

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X03786 X03785 Greenland Dr Larne

The Brave Thirteen

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The repainting of the Mountjoy ‘Breaking The Boom‘ in the Siege Of Derry is the second of three recent works in the Waterside. (The first of the three to be featured was City Of Temperance.) The work has been retitled ‘The Brave Thirteen’ and extended to include the closing of the gates by 13 Apprentice Boys, whose surnames are given here as Sherrard, Morrison, Steward, Campsie, Cunninghman, Sherrard, Conningham, Cairns, Hunt, Crookshannks, Irwin, Harvy, Spire (for first names and alternate spellings, see Apprentice Boys).

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X03796 X03795 X03794 Roulston Ave BSCA bond street community association