Belfast west

Andrew Jackson

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“Andrew Jackson was the 7th President of the USA and the first of Ulster-Scots descent, his family emigrated from Carrickfergus to North Carolina in 1765. After leading the army to victory in the Battle Of New Orleans in 1815 Jackson became a national hero and became known as “Old Hickory” after the tough wood of the native American tree. His “common man” credentials earned Jackson a massive popular vote and swept him into the Presidency for two consecutive terms (1829-1837).” He also hated the British, owned slaves, and signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which led to the infamous “Trail of Tears” (Irish Times).

See also the Visual History page on Ulster-Scots murals.

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Copyright © 2008 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Stevie McKeag

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“In loving memory of military commander Stevie ‘Top Gun’ McKeag – sleeping where no shadows fall. Born 1970, died 2000.” McKeag’s portrait (now a head-and-shoulders shot rather than just the face – see M03803) is on a board at the centre of a mural of flags – UFF, Ulster Banner, St Andrew’s Saltire, and UDA .

A previous McKeag mural (on Shankill Parade) had been re-imaged in 2004 (into a Cuchulainn mural). This one was painted in 2006 across the green in Hopewell Crescent.

Lower Shankill, west Belfast.

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Copyright © 2008 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Freedom 2000

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This lower Shankill mural commemorates prisoners kept in Long Kesh and the H-Blocks during the Troubles (and prior to the Agreement).

Previously, the left flank bore the letters UDA and the right flank UFF, with LPOW at the bottom of each.

Hopewell Crescent, lower Shankill, west Belfast

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Copyright © 2008 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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C-18

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“Kill all taigs [Catholics]”. C-18 is ‘Combat 18’, a neo-Nazi movement in the UK, hence the swastika.

Glenvale Street, west Belfast.

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Copyright © 2008 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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UFF–UYM

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These are images of three sides of the electrical sub-station beside Boundary Way (at the bottom of the lower Shankill estate) – the fourth side is up against the hoarding around the construction site. Divis tower is the distance.

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Copyright © 2008 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Great Ape

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Spotted in the lower Shankill estate: a gaping gorilla dressed in Orange Order collarette carrying a Union flag.

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Copyright © 2008 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Gibraltar

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Sean Savage, Maıréad Farrell, and Dan McCann were “Executed by the British SAS 6th March 1988.”

“Oh! Cold March winds that pierce the dark/You cry in aged tones/For souls of folk you’ve brought to God/But still you bear the moans//Oh! Weeping winds, this lonely night/My mother’s heart is sore/Oh! Lord of all, breathe freedom’s breath/That she may weep no more! – Bobby Sands Weeping Winds“

Replaces the painted board seen in 2001.

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Copyright © 2008 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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The Women Of 1916

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“This mural is dedicated to the Women of Cumann na mBan, Óglaıgh na hÉıreann & Sınn Féın.” Image “from R[uth] Taillon’s book The Women Of 1916“. For the mural on the left, see Sister Soldiers.

Hawthorn Street, west Belfast.

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Copyright © 2008 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Cuba–Ireland

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This is the ‘Cuba – Ireland’ mural in Shiels Street, middle Falls, west Belfast, at the end of its life in 2008. The mural dates back to at least 1998 – see the images from 1999 in the Peter Moloney Collection.

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Copyright © 2008 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Collusion!

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“A web of double agents, death squads and deceit” involving PSNI, RUC, Special Branch, RHC, UFF, MI5 MI6, LVF, UDA, UDR, UVF. The web begins at the door of 10 Downing Street. On the side wall of the Sınn Féın office on the Andersonstown Road.

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Copyright © 2008 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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