Belfast – north

The Northern Crusades

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Crusaders – off to a perfect start of two wins – travel the mile and a half across north Belfast to Solitude to  play Cliftonville at 3 this afternoon in the north Belfast derby. Today’s images are of the mural outside Seaview and the scene from the run-up to the team’s Irish Cup win over Ballinamallard (BBC-NI). In meetings between the two, Crusaders lead 151 wins to 84 (WP).

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Can The Centre Hold?

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In 2017 the New Lodge anti-internment bonfire was removed by the Housing Executive based on concerns that it was too close to buildings (BBC-NI) and in 2018 community negotiations arranged for it not to be built at all, in exchange for tickets to a Féile concert (Republican News | IRSP). But the bonfire is back this year, built directly on Queens Parade, and with it the anti-social behaviour that is thought by some (e.g. Alex Maskey) to be the real reason for the bonfire. “Such is the lawlessness,” reports the Irish News (one | two), that youths minding the fire have been seen powering an Xbox from a lamppost. Also, four nights of rioting (NewsLetter | iTV). In response to the growing attention, the graffiti above (“Our wood goes, this centre goes”) has appeared on a wall of the North Belfast Family Centre, along with graffiti threatening Sinn Féin councillor JJ Magee (see image below; Magee commented on the 2016 bonfire dispute in this Slugger article) and against any contractors who might be hired to remove the materials. As of 7 p.m. last night, the bonfire was still in place. If it has not been removed (by the Department Of Infrastructure) it will be lit tonight.

For the phrasing, see previously: Our Wood Goes Your Windows Go in Longlands.
For threats against contractors, see previously: Masked Republican Mercenaries.

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X06739 X06743 X06740 [X06741] [X06742] “JJ we know your address”

In The Defence Of The Citizens Of Belfast

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The re-developed memorial to the 36th (Ulster) Division along the Shore Road (see previously) now includes the emblems of the 10th and 16th Divisions, as well as a large metal plate “in honour of the brave men and women who served on the Home Front 1939-1945: the Ulster Defence Volunteer Force, the Women’s Voluntary Services, the Auxiliary Fire Service, the Air Raid Precautions Wardens. This memorial is dedicated to the thousands of local people who volunteered during World War II and to the York Road Civil Defence Hall which played a vital role in the defence of the citizens of Belfast.”
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Murdered By Those Who Followed In Their Footsteps

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The “Provisional” split from the IRA in early 1970 and the feud between the Provos and the “Official” IRA went on intermittently throughout the 70s. This board on Teach Oisín in the New Lodge commemorates three local OIRA members who were (or, were thought) killed in the feud (John) Mario Kelly was killed in Newington near his home in November 1975. Trever [Trevor] McNulty, education officer for the Republican Clubs and OIRA, was shot by the Provisionals in the entrance hall of Alexander House (later Teach Fhinn) in the New Lodge. 11 people, mostly OIRA, died in the feud in the two weeks from the tail end of October into November (CAIN). The third person shown is Patric​k​ McGreevy from Carlisle Square, a youth member aged 15 or 16 (hence the Gal Gréine) who was shot from a passing car outside a café on Clifton St​reet. Originally his killing was thought to be part of the feud (which explains his inclusion here), but it is now generally accepted that he was shot by the UVF (Lost Lives). 
The genealogy of the republican movement goes through the pike-men (silhouettes on the left and right) of 1798 and 1803 to the Easter Rising (the quote from James Connolly: “The cause of labour is the cause of Ireland and the cause of Ireland is the cause of labour”)
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Billy Hanna

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“William ‘Billy’ Hanna” murdered 21/6/1978. We will remember. Pride Of Ardoyne FB.” On the 40th anniversary of his death, a memorial plaque and cross were mounted at the top of Ardoyne Road to Billy Hanna, founder member of the Pride Of Ardoyne. The word “murdered” is notable. Hanna was shot in an SAS ambush of a PIRA attempt to bomb the Ballysillan post office depot; it is alleged that the SAS snipers opened fire without warning and discharged 170 rounds (An Phoblacht). An alternative interpretation of the event might put the focus instead on Hanna being caught in the crossfire (BBC-NI) or mistaken for an IRA member (Sutton).

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X06614 X06612 X06613 h/t Tony Crowley

Still The People Spoke

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The first Dáil Éireann met in 1919 in the wake of a Sinn Féin sweep of the elections of 1918. Current leader Mary Lou McDonald addressed her deputies at a centenary commemoration, recounting the rise of the party: “They banished us, imprisoned us and bereaved us. But still the people spoke.” The mural above presents a montage of historical images, from the women of Wicklow (Barton) and Dublin (Mulcahy) being urged to exercise their new right to vote (also Arthur Griffith in East Cavan), to Bobby Sands and Owen Carron, to Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness. (Cormac’s Fight Back was turned into a mural on the Springfield Road.)
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Republican Prisoners Memorial Wall

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James Connolly was executed on May 12th, 1916. Both the (freshly painted) Connolly plaque shown above and the Martin Meehan mural on the adjacent wall paint the struggle of the republican prisoners and the Provisionals of the ‘Troubles’ as descendants of 1916’s Easter Rising. Several name-plaques have been added to (what is now officially titled) the ‘Republican Prisoners Memorial Wall’ compared to the number seen in September.
For close-ups of the door and sculptured rocks, see Father Time.
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Make A Difference

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The IRNC (Irish Republican National Congress Fb | web), founded in 2014 aims at uniting Ireland. (See previously Join The IRNC | Maid Of Erin.) Park Taxis (Fb) aim at helping people on the Oldpark get around.
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text: X06111 Ardoyne Ave

Britain Remembers

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Although not completely visible in the image below, the ‘Britain remembers’ Remembrance Day flag includes the Ulster Banner, the flag of NI parliament until 1972, rather than the St Patrick’s Saltire. This is also the flag used by the Irish Football Association, the governing body of soccer in NI, to represent its teams, as is shown by the personalised supporter’s plaque in Cosgrave Heights. The organisation’s name derives from the fact that the body pre-dates partition and used to govern the whole island and not just “our wee country”.
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Manny’s N Belfast

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The “N”orth Belfast Manny’s now matches the city centre location, with a mural featuring local faces and places, even down to the inclusion of a vintage mural, in this case the old Joe Doherty mural from the New Lodge Road in the late 80s. Among those included are a trio of boxers – Carl Frampton, Ryan Burnett, and Paddy Barnes (the latter two went to school together at Bearnageeha) — and media personalities Eamonn Holmes and May McFettridge (John Linehan). Locations include the New Lodge towers and Manny’s itself, including the plaque to Dana and Kevin Fitzpatrick who were hit by death-drivers.
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