The Blues

2012-12-03 OurMessageIsSimple+

East Belfast Protestant Boys (Fb) mural “dedicated to Gareth Keys” with the statement “Our message is simple: where our music is welcome, we will play it loud; where our music is challenged, we will play it louder.”

In the old Hemp Street, nearly opposite Derwent St.

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00756 X05267 our message is simple where our music is welcome we will play it loud where our music is challenged we will play it louder

Rising Sons

2012-12-03 RisingSons+

Rising Sons Flute Band mural at the Newtownards Road junction with Dee Street.

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X00759 east belfast their name liveth forever more 36th ulster division 1985, for god and ulster

The Times

2012-12-04 ExtraExtra+

An Airtricity hoarding above a UVF mural in Ardenvohr Street. Airtricity is a Dublin-based power company, (though is now owned by a Scottish group).

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X00760 in memory of our forefathers, 1912 willowfield

East Belfast Remembers

2012-12-03 EastBelfastRemembers+

Relatively recent (late 2011?) mural replacing an advertising hoarding in Derwent St. (Newtownards Rd.) remembering the first world war, immediately next to another commemorating the dead and injured of various attacks during the troubles. The panels of the mural on the right are in/on bricked-up windows.

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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00755 Kingsmill, Shankill Enniskillen, la mon 12 dead 17th feb 1978 bloody friday 21st july 1972 9 dead 130 injured omagh 15th aug 1998 29 dead 300 injured darkley 20th nov 1983 3 dead 7 injured teebane 17th jan 1992 8 dead ballygawley 20th aug 1988 8 dead 28 injured tullyvallen 1st sept 1975 5 dead 6 injured

Our Wee Country

2012-12-02 OurWeeCountry+

This mural celebrates a 1-0 win by Northern Ireland over England. The image reproduces this Belfast Telegraph photograph of David Healy scoring.

Carnforth Street, clearly visible as you proceed along Albertbridge Road.

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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00754 John Stewart we’re not brazil my players are national heroes and have achieved immortality in folklore lawrie sanchez n.i manager; pride passion belief, http://www.ourweecountry.co.uk www ebhcs.co.uk, east belfast historical and cultural society, irish football association, wed 7 sept 2005 Healy (74) att. 14,000 windsor park

To Those Who Built The Titanic

Pictured in the centre of the mural is Captain Edward John “Ted” Smith – who, as captain of the ship, went down with Titanic after it hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic – in between shipyard workers at Harland & Wolff, where the ship was built.

On the painted “plaque” to the left: “Her name is publicly announced in April 1908. Designation begins in March 1909. On May 31. 1911, the Titanic was launched here in Belfast, April 10, 1912. She left Southampton for New York. April 14, 1912 disaster struck in the North Atlantic ocean, 1523 people lost their lives in the disaster, 705 passengers and crew survived.”

At the bottom of the mural: “This mural is respectfully dedicated to the men, women and children who lost their lives in the waters of the North Atlantic on the night of April 14, 1912: to those who survived – whose lives from that night on were forever altered; and to those who built the Titanic [at Harland and Wolff]. We forget them not.”

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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00840

Memory Chair

The chair and shoes in the foreground of the David Ervine board are a bronze sculpture, shown above. There are a number of (sculpted) items on the seat of the chair: a ticket for the Titanic, a little (prayer?) book with a poppy on the cover, and a pipe.

According to the Belfast Telegraph, the whole is meant to symbolize the industrial and cultural heritage of the area and the pipe is David Ervine’s pipe. The pipe would also tie him to Gusty Spence (cited in this republican mural about collusion), who also smoked a pipe. The prayer book would be for Protestantism, the poppy for loyalism and service in WWI, and the ticket for the shipyard. As for the boots, they appear to be of a modern design, but are perhaps meant to symbolize the working class, today and yesterday.

Both the sculpture and the board are by Ross Wilson.

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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00614

Flags Flying

A view of the outside of the Orange Hall on Albertbridge Road (from three weeks ago), with flags and banners of the Queen and today’s Covenant celebrations. Here’s a piece from the Tele on Covenant celebrations in 1962, at the 50 year mark.

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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00617 ulster unionist party, east belfast advice centre, junior l.o.l. queen elizabeth diamond jubilee, 1952-2012 sponsored by royal arch purple district chapter no. 6, east belfast celebrates ulster covenant 100th anniversary, 28th september 1912-2012, sonia copeland, w.d.m., w.l.o.l. district no. 2