These are images from loyal Ballyclare of goods for sale in the shops along Main Street, including “flegs” and slates commemorative of the coronation of Charles III.
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“In honour of the men and women from Ballyclare and surrounding areas who gave their life in war. ‘They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old, age shall not weary them nor the years condemn, at the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them’. Lest we forget.” With emblems of the Royal British Legion (left), Navy and Merchant Navy (right), and a separate stone for the UDR “When danger threatened, some made the supreme sacrifice”.
The main obelisk is dedicated “in the honoured memory of those men from Ballyclare & District who gave their lives for King and country in the Great War 1914-1918, 1939-1945. ‘Look not on this in sorrow but in pride and may ye live as nobly as they died.”
The remaining image shows the info board describing two aeroplane crashes around Big Collin Mountain, in which eleven airmen died while on training flights, one the result of an engine fire, the other crashed into the side of the mountain.
Ballyclare War Memorial Park, Ballyclare Road, Ballyclare. There are also separate murals in Erskine Park to the locals who died in WWI and in WWII.
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Bristol Blenheim X6273 Consolidated Liberator bomber EV954
“Ballyclare supports Soldier ‘F’. Our soldiers are heroes, not criminals.” “Soldier F” is the pseudonym of a British Army paratrooper who faces charges of murdering two civilians, William McKinney and Jim Wray, in Derry on Bloody Sunday (January 30th, 1972), as well as five counts of attempted murder. Proceedings began in September (BelTel), a witness list was presented in December (BBC-NI), and the case will resume on January 17th.
Main Street, Ballyclare.
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Ballyclare Comrades football club – motto is ‘Nihil nisi optimi’ [nothing but the best] – was founded in 1919 by members of the local Great War ‘comrades’ association. That heritage is used here for the Ballyclare Protestant Boys flute band. In the centre, between images from WWI, the flowers of the four ‘home nations’ are joined by orange lilies, and in the shield are the lion and the unicorn from the coat of arms of the UK.
“To Flanders fields some men in our town were sent and along their way many would repent their priority goal to keep Ulster free that we may have freedom both you and me as part of Great Britain they fought and died and their names we will remember and remember with pride. Lest we forget. Comrades from Ballyclare. Nihil nisi optimi. The Comrades.” “Ballyclare Protestant Boys Est. 2004”
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“[South East Antrim] UDA remembers. ‘They shall not grow old/As we that are left grow old/Age shall not wary them/Nor the years condemn/At the going down of the sun/And in the morning/We will remember them’ [The Fallen]” For the large mural, see The Men From Ballyclare & District.
Charles Drive, Ballyclare.
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“We support all Ulster’s soldiers.” The UDA and the UDR brought under the same umbrella of “Ulster’s defenders” in Charles Drive, Ballyclare. The UDR was established in 1970 to relieve the RUC and B Specials of military operations and was disbanded in 1992, in part because it was only 3% Catholic and 5-15% of members had links to loyalist paramilitaries (Irish News).
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UDA volunteers in balaclavas stand ready to defend Erskine Park (Ballyclare) against forces from the south. “South East Antrim Brigade – “Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees in an Irish republic.” (A slogan from Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata.)
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Whitehead artist Janet Crymble “designed & created this new collage in Ballyclare, featuring south Antrim sporting heroes past and present: Kyle McCallan, Steve McCooke, Paddy McNair, Jimmy Todd, Gary Longwell, Ronnie Lamont, Henry Turkington, William Cowan, William Thompson, Johnston Todd, Willie John McBride. John Reid from the NIHE – which sponsored the mural – has an image from the launch of local children posing with the piece.
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The 12th battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles was drawn from central Antrim towns such as Ballymena and Ballyclare. There is a web site and a Facebook page dedicated to the battalion. For more pictures of the Ballymena arch, see Cross And Crown.
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The ‘cross and crown’ is the emblem of the Royal Black Institution, an institution two years younger than the Orange Order; a list of local preceptories in District 6 (Ballyclare) is given in the first image below. To the left (in the image above) is the Square And Compasses, the symbol of the Freemasons. This is a newer arch than seen previously in 2009.
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Extramural Activity 