Signs in upper west Belfast (Glen Road at the Monagh roundabout, and Shaws Road at the top of Lenadoon): “Not our king”, in protest at the coronation of Charles III (see – for – May The King Live Forever | The Settlement Of The True Protestant Religion and – agin – England’s Bloody Empire).
“Ag obair do chách” [working for all] is a Sinn Féin electoral slogan for the upcoming local elections.
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“God save the King.” When Charles acceded to the monarchy last September upon the death of Elizabeth II, he also became head of the Church Of England. Among the first oaths he took as king was one to preserve the Church Of Scotland, which is Presbyerian rather than Anglican. There does not appear to be any oath relating specifically to any denomination in Ireland, and so the Shankill mural above borrows from the Church Of Scotland oath. It stops short of the references to Scotland:
“I, Charles the Third, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of my other Realms and Territories, King, Defender of the Faith, do faithfully promise and swear that I should inviolably maintain and preserve the Settlement of the true Protestant religion …” [… as established by the Laws made in Scotland in prosecution of the Claim of Right and particularly by an Act intituled “An Act for securing the Protestant Religion and Presbyterian Church Government” and by the Acts passed in the Parliament of both Kingdoms for Union of the two Kingdoms, together with the Government, Worship, Discipline, Rights and Privileges of the Church of Scotland.] (Royal UK)
For more on the UK monarch’s roles as head of the various churches, see Gentle Reformation and Constitution Unit.
At yesterday’s coronation, Charles swore an oath similar to the above, but referring to the Church Of England, and swore that he was a faithful Protestant (Country Life).
See previously: May The King Live Forever.
“King’s corner” because across the Shankill from the QEII mural in Crimea Street. Also in imitation of Conor’s Corner.
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Amid all the GAA and other sports tops in the O’Neill’s shop in the Kennedy Centre can be found a number of jerseys produced for the 2022 ploughing championships (RTÉ).
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Annatomix (web) painted a giant fox for HTN23 over DanLeo’s 2016 Palm Cockatoo and (as the wide shot below shows) next to BUST’s Dry Gin.
Union Street, Belfast.
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A new piece by Alice Pasquini (ig) and UNO (web) is in progress in College Street, Belfast. A throw-back to the days before mobile devices, surely.
The completed work (with paper aeroplanes added) can be seen in the Paddy Duffy collection.
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“Joseph Plunkett & Grace Gifford – their final embrace & farewell.” May 4th is the anniversary of the execution of Joseph Plunkett, one of the planners of the Easter Rising in 1916. Seven hours before he faced the firing squad, he married Grace Gifford. The photograph is from a re-enactment for a 1966 RTÉ programme Insurrection (RTÉ). The ballad Grace, written by Seán and Frank O’Meara in 1985, is now internationally known (here is Jim McCann’s 1985 performance).
This is one of various recent additions to the many memorials in Ard An Lao, Béal Feırste/Ardilea, Belfast. This replaces the board seen in Continuing Their Legacy.
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“Just before Joseph’s execution by British forces in Kilmainham gaol on Thursday May 4th, 1916”
This is Wee Nuls’s (web | ig) street art celebrating the success of the ‘menstruation matters’ (ig) campaign for free period products and the passage of the Period Products Bill.
The piece is perhaps a “gremlin” self-portrait in the style of Mr Blonde/Vic Vega. It was painted for HTN22 in the spot below Transport House where her original version of Free Period Items was painted and blacked out. (It was then repainted at Artcetra.) To the left is Claire Prouvost’s tribute to women workers of the world and to left is a Unity (union) hoarding: Workers Of The World Unite.
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“Some believe it is only high walls that can hold fear in check but that is not what I have found. I have found that it is the small, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay, small acts of kindness and love – Gandalf and me [called_to_create_ (ig)].” The quote is from the movie of ‘The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey’ (youtube) and not any Tolkein book. Whatever the truth of the quotation, residents generally want the so-called “peace” walls to remain: 2023 BelTel (about Derry) | 2019 Irish Times | 2015 BBC.
Cupar Way “peace” line, with “patronising slogans” in felt tip by tourists.
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There has been graffiti art of the side wall of what was Vogue Hair & Beauty and is currently the Kurdish barbers since 2008 (see Visual History 11) but in 2018 the wall was claimed by Saoradh (web) with a mural depicting the Palestinian flag (see From The River To The Sea – it has recently been repainted) and a changing message to the right-hand side – currently a pair of IRPWA “No extradition’ boards.
See also the old Linden Street, where Resistance Is Not Terrorism took over from a TMN homage to Bodé (but was itself later replaced by a tribute to Norah McCabe).
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On the heels of the RNU’s use of the Proclamation’s “cherish all the children of the nation equally” (Who Is The Terrorist?) here is a use by anti-abortion party Aontú (web), which separates them from the other nationalist parties: “London–SF–SDLP impose abortion. They said to cherish all the children equally. Get active … join us. Aontú – life, unity, economic justice.”
Falls Road, west Belfast.
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Extramural Activity 