Belfast south

The Somme 1st July 1916

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The Young Citizen Volunteers began as a civic organisation and domestic reserve force in 1912 but by the time of the first World War had become a battalion of the Ulster Volunteers and went to the Western Front as the fourteenth battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles, part of the 36th (Ulster) Division, landing at Boulogne in October, 1915. The force was mainly Protestant but History Hub Ulster has a page on the 42 Ulster Catholics who served in the 14th (YCV) RIR.

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Copyright © 2017 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X04760 Grove St E

A Little Part Of Belfast

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Sandy Row is “steeped in 400 years of tradition”, according to Historic Sandy Row (and sister site Sandy Row Community Forum which has developed a “growth strategy” for the area). Some of that history is presented at the junction with Hope Street, one each for Buildings & Housing, People, Industry, Culture, and History.

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Belfast Rangers Friends Of The Somme

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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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Que Sera Sera

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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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Sandy Row Remembers

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“‘A’ Battalion Sandy Row remembers” fellow members of the South Belfast Brigade. The use of poppies in UDA murals is unusual, as it is the Ulster Volunteer Force that shares its name with the Ulster Volunteers who fought in WWI as the 36th (Ulster) Brigade.

This new Sandy Row mural is next to the tiles on the David Scott Tile Refinery.

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Grey, Red, Yellow

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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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Copyright © 2017 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X04681 Thalia St/Donegall Road

Portraits Of The Market

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Artist Raymond Henshaw undertook a series of six collages of photographs of the Markets area of south Belfast (in 2008): Social, Bars, Industry, Social History, Sport & Culture, and – shown in today’s post – Portraits of locals, such as snooker player “Joe Swales” (Joe Swail) and familiar buildings, such as Loughran’s Shop. The boards were part of the 2008 re-imaging campaign and sponsored by the Arts Council.

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Tread Softly Because You Tread On My Dreams

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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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Copyright © 2017 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X04318 donegall ave

At Play In The Row

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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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The Poppy Trail

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“This memorial is in honour of the men from our neighbourhood who made the ultimate sacrifice in the First World War. The handmade ceramic poppies were created by the GVRT [Greater Village Regeneration Trust] Well Women’s Group.”

The Poppy Trail: 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917

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