Belfast west

For God, Ulster & Scotland

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03216 2015-12-04 Protestant Boys Stirling+

This panel (one of three) of a new mural on the Shankill celebrates the Stirling Protestant Boys Flute Band and its association with the Shankill Road: “Stirling Protestant Boys Flute Band [Fb] were formed in February 2003 and to this day take part in parades across Scotland, England and Northern Ireland. The band has a great connection with our friends from Belfast, especially those from the Greater Shankill area. In November 2012 Stirling Protestant Boys were presented with the battle honours of the Young Citizen Volunteers and the 36th (Ulster) Division. The band would like to thank the people of the Shankill Road for their continued support.”

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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03216 Sir David Stirling Memorial Vol. Brian Robinson Parade

Free As A Bird

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03232 2015-12-26 Seasons Greetings Ardoyne+

The mural shows a line of fir trees rather than steel gates but the robins on the spiked rail above give away that we’re on the “peace” line separating loyalist west Belfast from nationalist north Belfast and that the road is still closed. “Seasons Greetings” Belfast-style.

UPDATE Jan 3rd: a similar trompe l’oeil piece by Breandán Clarke could be found at this location previously, showing cars parked on the street (via Old Belfast Photographs/Glenravel History).

“Like a bird on a wire, like a drunk in a midnight choir, I have tried in my way to be free.” – Leonard Cohen Bird On The Wire

03231 2015-12-26 Seasons Greetings Ardoyne d+

03230 2015-12-26 Seasons Greeting Ardoyne w+

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X03232 X03231 X03230 crumlin rd

The Prison Of Mistrust

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03205 2015-12-01 Prison Of Mistrust 2+

Graffiti below the towering Cupar Way wall of hostility: “Free us all from the prison of mistrust, misunderstanding, and misdeeds.”

03206 2015-12-01 Prison Of Mistrust 3+

03204 2015-12-01 Prison Of Mistrust 1+

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Slí Na Gaeltachta

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03225 2015-12-18 Slí na Gaeltachta+

Slí Na Gaeltachta (The Gaeltacht Way) is a 2.5-mile trail of twenty-six “art and heritage” stops from the city centre to the Whiterock Road in west Belfast. A gaeltacht is an Irish-speaking region.

See previously: Onwards – memorial mural to Clive Dutton, author of the Dutton Report calling for the regeneration of west Belfast by (in part) developing its Irish-language identity.

02752 2015-07-24 SlíNaGaeltachtaSquaring+

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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03225 X02752 brighton st www.forbaırtfeırste.com fáılte go welcome to Ag fíorú ghaeltacht bheo Bhéal Feırste – Driving forward Belfast’s vibrant Gaeltacht.

Some Day Soon We’ll March Proudly On Parade

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03213 2015-12-04 McCallum+

Brian “Herbie” McCallum was a 29 year-old attending a contentious loyalist parade to Whiterock Orange Hall, being re-routed by the RUC, when the grenade he was carrying exploded prematurely, killing him instantly. The mural and memorial shown above is at the top of Ainsworth Avenue, close to the spot of the incident. He died in hospital three days later. (CAIN | Border & Border Politics | Irish News article at Nuzhound | Independent)

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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03213 29-6-93 YCV young citizen volunteers PAF protestant action force we will remember him. The officers and members of Sweeney’s ‘A’ Company 1st Belfast Battalion Ulster Volunteer Force.

Reclaim The Republic

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02987 2015-09-03 Poblacht Na hEireann+

The masthead of the 1916 proclamation declaring a “Provisional Government of the Irish Republic” to the “People of Ireland” is faithfully reproduced in this éırígí stencil, along with busts of Padraıg Pearse and Tom Clarke. Pearse, Clarke, and the other signatories will likely be familiar faces in the months leading up to Easter 2016, which is at the end of March, and the anniversary of the date itself, April 24th, 1916.

See also Thursday’s post featuring a fly-paper reproduction of the 1916 Proclamation: Brotherhoods.

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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02987 poblacht na héıreann

Blackjack Tattoo

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03221 2015-12-11 Blackjack Tattoo+

Colourful work by Glen Molloy (Instagram) for Blackjack Tattoo Studio at the top of the Shankill Road.

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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03221 needle

A Bottle Of Wine & Patsy Cline

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02986 2015-09-03 Patsy Cline+

Gerard ‘Mo Chara’ Kelly painted these three images of Patsy Cline in the back garden of a Springhill neighbour. Cline died in 1963 at age 30; the three panels show different stages of her short career: the first shows her in cowboy gear, before turning to pop music, the second is based on a 1957 publicity shot for her new label, Decca, and the third shows her in 1961. Her cover of Don Gibson’s Sweet Dreams was released as a single in the wake of her death.

Here is video of Patsy singing Willie Nelson’s Crazy and, below that, Marsha Thornton doing the song from which today’s title comes:

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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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It Is Cold And We Are Tired

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03198 2015-12-01 It Is Cold And We Are Tired+

Two murals by Mark Bodé (web) and another in his style (and that of his father, Vaughan Bodé). The first is on the Cupar Way “peace” line and shows a disgruntled caveman and the Yellow Hat character; the second is in the Lecky Road underpass in London-/Derry and shows the character Cobalt 60; and the third is a promotional mural in the style of the Bodés in Gresham Street. All three date to this (2015) summer, when Bodé came to Derry for the ‘Release The Pressure’ street art festival. (Bodé’s official piece for the festival, painted with Dave Bonzai, can be seen in Metalmorphosis.)

02759 2015-08-14 BodéHolster+

02763 2015-08-16 ReleaseThePressure+

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X03198 X02759 X02763 ebrington Karl Donal Adam Glenn Blaze FX

Car Crime Is A Growing Problem

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02981 2015-09-02 Car Crime+

“Car crime is a growing problem — don’t let it impact on our community.” Board at the junction of Falcarragh Drive and Suffolk Road.

See also: Where’s The Joy? | Death Driving

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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02981 gone hurt crash glen parent