Belfast – Page 10 – Extramural Activity

Volunteers, Defenders, Civilians

2024-11-082025-01-08Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Part of the most recent development of the upper streets in the Village was not to rebuild the two rows of houses on Ebor and Nubia/Moltke streets and in their place construct a park – the Village Green, and now officially the “Ruby Murray Village Green” – and playground. The board on the outside railings make the park a “community park of remembrance” for WWI, showing an Ulster Banner with a Union Flag in the canton. (Seen previously in The Village Green Preservation Society.)

There is also a memorial to “loved ones and friends”, “volunteers, defenders & civilians” of the South Belfast UVF (though there is 36th (Ulster) Division emblem in the corner!) who were “cruely taken away from us by republican scum”: Dinah Campbell, Francis Campbell, Alexander Scott, Frankie Smith, Stevie McCrea, John Hanna, Sammy Mehaffy, William Kingsberry, Jackie Campbell, David Poots.

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When We Held On To The Guns

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“Funny how everything was [roses] when we held on to the guns …” The line accompanying this half-Union-Flag in the alley between Ebor and Kilburn streets (in the Village, south Belfast) comes from the Guns N’ Roses song ‘Breakdown’ (youtube).

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Gaza Unbowed

2024-11-082025-10-15Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The 1916 centenary mural in Andersonstown has been repurposed and repainted to express solidarity with the people of Palestine.

From the frame of the previous mural – see The Undauntable Thought – the title, phoenix, and chains have been preserved but two instances of the inverted red triangle have been added at the top and bottom – see Resist! (and My Kite You Made).

The main panel puts the struggles in Palestine and Northern Ireland in parallel, showing (from top to bottom on each side) political prisoners, violence against protesters, and relatives carrying portraits.

On the left, Palestinian prisoners languish in Israeli jails (based on a photo of Hamza Abu Halima and on this Reuters photograph of prisoners sitting in the street, both from December 2023) and IDF soldiers make violent arrests – the one on the left is from 2016 (CCUN) and the one on the right is perhaps based on this Reuters photograph.

On the right: British soldiers restore order after the Burning Of Long Kesh (see Operation Pagoda), next to blanket-man Hugh Rooney, above three arrests made by British Army soldiers – their caps indicates that they are from the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (left) and the Paratroop regiment (centre). (For two of the original photos, see BBC | Getty.)

Along the bottom of both sides, marchers hold portraits of the dead, including the recently-killed leader of Hamas Yahya Sinwar (BBC).

Also visible in the wide shot is Ag Fíorú Na Poblachta.

Launched on November 10th, 2024 (PD Fb). An Neasc Theas, Baıle Mhıc Aındréıs, Béal Feırste thıar (South Link, Andersonstown, west Belfast)

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Gaza Square

2024-11-082025-03-04Extramural Activity2 Comments

“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” “Stop the genocide – save Palestine.”

The South Link green-space as been renamed “Gaza Square” (see the small plaque in the wide shot, below) and the murals seen recently (at end of March) in Though An Army Besiege Me, My Heart Will Not Fear have been repainted, switching images of Israeli weapons for the images of death, suffering, and destruction seen here.

According to the Al Jazeera tracker, the Palestinian death toll is approaching 45,000, with more than 100,000 injured.

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War And Peace

2024-10-192025-04-14Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

A new tribute to UDA assassin Stevie “Top Gun” McKeag has been put in place in the lower Shankill, replacing the flat-capped version of 2016.

The main-streaming of McKeag continues with this new display: in the previous version he was presented in soldierly garb but as a soldier of the UDA; now, one would be forgiven for thinking that McKeag was a soldier in the British Army, given that the “military commander”‘s beret is now green (rather than grey) and now adorned by a poppy (rather than the UFF star), both complementing the commando-style sweater he is wearing. He is also being mourned by band leaders in ceremonial dress, such as is worn by the Royal Regiment Of Scotland (dress regulations pdf) when serving as equerries to the royal family.

In the right-hand side-wall, the UDU, the poppies, and the graveside mourners are used to put McKeag’s actions in the context of resistance to Home Rule and the British Army’s role in the Great War. McKeag killed at least a dozen Catholics between 1990 and 1998 (WP). He is shown here smiling.

The Leo Tolstoy quotation on the side-wall is unpacked in the entry at the Paddy Duffy Collection.

Not only does this display replace the previous display, but the paint from previous murals (and perhaps a layer of plaster) was removed, until the original mural on the wall, of “King Rat” (D01005), was reached. It then appears that the new display was mounted on top of this. The following image is from May 15th:

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Ape

2024-09-112025-01-08Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Art by Kate Whiteman (web) on Broadway, west Belfast.

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La Gazza Ladra

2024-08-292025-01-08Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

This is a poster by English artist JoLA (ig), who specialises in magpies. This one has pilfered a string of pearls. “I fucking love this place.”

Union Street, Belfast city centre

Dump Inside

2024-08-122025-01-08Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

This is a 2024 revisiting of the waste-ground (an old weaving factory) at the Westlink corner of the Village, south Belfast. Compared to 2023 (see This Area Needs Social Housing), there is some UVF graffiti (some of which has been covered over with heart stickers – see also Smothered In Kisses) and many new flags, including the row overlooking the Westlink (in the tenth image) among which are the flags of Israel and Ukraine.