Belfast west

Forging Our Heritage

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2014-06-19 ConwayForging+

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (amwu.org.au) sponsored the mural above in Conway Street, west Belfast. 

The painted plaque on the left reads, “Casement Memorial. In proud memory of the 10 Republican prisoners who died on hunger strike in “H” blocks of Long Kesh in 1981. “It is not those who can inflict the most but those who can endure the most who will conquer.” Terence McSwiney. Unveiled by Martin McGuinness, Sınn Féın MP MLA Minister for Education Wednesday 6/12/2000. Donated by AMWU, Craig Johnston State Secretary”. The plaque itself is in Carlton, Australia, named (presumably) for Roger Casement.

Secretary Johnston is on the left in the back. The flag to the right is the flag of the Eureka Stockade.

This mural joins others sponsored by Australian groups: A Bunch Of Live Wires (sponsored by the Electrical Trades Union) | Caırde Sınn Féın | Australian Aid For Ireland & Saoırse Melbourne.

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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Always Avoid Violence

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2014-09-06 LetNoManPalestine+

“Let no man pull you so low as to hate him”. In a sermon on November 4th, 1956 (and repeated on other occasions), Martin Luther King, Jr. imagined a letter from Paul to the Christians of America, expressing concern for spiritual life in a capitalist society and appealing for desegregation of society using non-violent methods: “the weapon of love”, keeping in mind “that you are merely seeking justice for him as well as yourself”.

Click for audio – the remark quoted occurs at the 3 minute mark of section 4 (archive.org) | Text (1958) – see page 7 (= 344)

The image below shows the site in mid-August, without the pro-Palestine boards (for an Irish-language version of which see An Phalaıstín/Palestine; the image above is from the first week of September, 2014.

2014-08-19 LetNoMan+

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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02168 X02095 maıréad farrell republican youth committee “let no man pull you low enough to hate him” free gaza stop the persecution sınn féın beechmount street

Man Against Machine

Extramural Activity2 Comments
2014-09-01 GazaTankFlag2+

Above is a detail from the Gerard “Mo Chara” Kelly mural at the northern end of Springhill Avenue: a lone figure in Palestinian colours is about to hurl a Molotov cocktail at a tank in Israeli blue-and-white with a (reversed-Nazi) swastika on its side.

The full mural is shown below. The portion to the left appeared in Palestine Abú and the portion to the right in Hellfire.

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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Sinn Feins Stradgey

Extramural Activity1 Comment
2014-08-12 ParadesGraf1+

Four images portray a long graffito on the Cupar Way “peace” line. In full, it reads:

Provisional IRA leader Gerry Adams on Sinn Feins stadgey [= strategy] of Orange parades

“Ask any activist, did Drumcree happen by accident and they tell you “No”.

“3 years of hard work helped create those situations for us to exploit.”

Drumcree, Ormo [= Ormeau], Twad[d]ell, Dunloy. “Where next”??

Wood (Crimes Of Loyalty p. 202) gives the following quote, reportedly a transcript of remarks made by Adams at a Sınn Féın meeting in Meath, as, “Ask any activist in the North, did Drumcree happen by accident, and he will tell you “No.”. Three years of work on the Ormeau Road, in Portadown, and parts of Fermanagh and Newry, Armagh, and in Bellaghy, and up in Londonderry [other sources, such as the Irish Times, give the much more likely “Derry”]. Three years of work went into creating that situation and fair play to those who put the work in. They are the type of scene chances we need to focus on and develop and exploit.”

Descriptions of the contentious parades in the places mentioned can be found on CAIN.

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Palestine Abú

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2014-09-01 PalestineAbu+

Here is another piece of the new Gerard “Mo Chara” Kelly murals in Springhill: a figure in a black-and white keffiyeh give the two-finger ‘V for victory’ sign beneath the Terence McSwiney (WP) quote: It is not those who can inflict the most but those that can suffer the most who will conquer.

Previously: Hellfire

Previously at this location: A Dead End

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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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C. Coy Street

Extramural Activity2 Comments
2014-09-10 CCoyFive+

UVF volunteers (l-r) Thomas Chapman, James McGregor, Robert McIntyre, William Hannah, and Robert Wadsworth, who were killed between 1973 and 1978, are commemorated in a new mural in Carnan (or “C. Coy”) Street. The mural is unusual in that it shows bare-faced full figures; loyalist murals sometimes include head-shots (at the top of the mural, in the apex of a gable wall, e.g. Standing Guard) but only masked men appear as full figures. There is a similarity in composition and style (and perhaps even palette) to existing Republican murals such as this one of five B. Coy IRA volunteers in Ballymurphy.

The wide shot (below) is taken from the main road: the fish-and-chip shop on the Shankill is called “A Salt And Battered”. For a straight-on image of the red-and-black mural to the left, see We Were Young. Still shots of the mural in progress are included in this video of the bands parading at the launch.

2014-11-10 ASaltAndBattered+

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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02175 X02353 c.coy 1st Belfast battalion Ulster Volunteers for god and ulster

Yes Scotland/Viva Ireland

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2014-09-08 YesScotlandBarracks+

Black Mountain/Slıabh Dubh’s ‘Viva Palestine‘ became ‘Viva Ireland’ – shown below – which in turn was quickly replaced with ‘Yes Scotland’, shown above as seen over the wall of the Springfield PSNI barracks from the (Protestant) Springmartin Road: a union flag and a St. Andrew’s (Scottish) saltire fly from houses in the foreground. These two flags are being used in the media to represent the opposing sides: the Saltire for ‘Yes’ and the Union flag for ‘No’. Scots go to the polls on Thursday the 18th; the two polls of the past week (You-Gov | TNS) suggest that the sides are running neck-and-neck.

Previously: A message To The People Of Scotland

See also: the Slıabh Dubh Visual History page.

2014-09-01 VivaIreland+

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Hellfire

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2014-09-01 GazaCopterRed+

An Israeli Apache helicopter fires a Hellfire missile at a young Gazan boy carrying a teddy-bear. This is one of the panels of Gerard “Mo Chara” Kelly‘s (video) new work in Springhill, begun over a month ago and comprising seven panels. This one reproduces a Carlos Latuff (ig) image.

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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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To The People Of Scotland

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2014-08-26 RockScotland+

Scots and other residents of Scotland go to the polls on September 18th to vote on independence (WP). The Rock Bar uses the image of Mel Gibson in Braveheart to encourage them to vote “Yes’; recent polls show a slight but persistent preference for a “no” response.  In the background of the wide shot (below), the Viva Palestine lettering can still (2014-08-26) be seen on Slıabh Dubh/Black Mountain.

2014-08-26 RockScotlandWide+

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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Justice

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2014-06-14 JFTC2Chains+

The Craigavon Two – John-Paul Wootton and Brendan McConville – were convicted of the 2009 murder of PSNI Constable Steven Carroll; ‘JTFC2′ or ‘Justice For The Craigavon Two‘ is the group campaigning for their release. The mural above shows two pairs of arms in chains, surrounded by a border of chains.

Replaces the right-hand side of Think Independently. See previously: JFTC2

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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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