It’s been a long time since workers walked en masse from east Belfast to the shipyard, but fish and chips remain popular, though the number of chippies has fallen from about 35,000 in 1920 to 10,500 today (BBC | Dockside). This mural is on the side of the ‘Chipyard’ in Strandtown.
See also in the Woodvale: The Chipyard.
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Today is the last day to register to vote in the May 5th Assembly election. You can register on-line at gov.uk. Currently, 1.4 million people are registered in Northern Ireland (BBC). As today’s images make clear, the poles of Belfast are already cluttered with placards for the various candidates, as well as the salient issues, such as the “sea border” and the death of Noah Donohoe.
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Scientists are the unusual inclusion in this list of “heroes”, alongside the more typical health-care workers, first responders, delivery people, front-line workers, and community workers. Among the many NHS appreciation posts, the following specify various types of pandemic heroes: Not All Heroes Wear Capes | The Glorious Dead | Key Workers | God Is Not Unrighteous | Thank You NHS | West Belfast Supports The Essential Frontline Workers | Thank You NHS | Prepared For Work, Ready For Coronavirus.
“You are appreciated – we are grateful – thank you – we love [and] respect you – bless you, stay safe.”
Ballymurphy Road, Belfast.
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“In loving memory of Seamus, murdered by death drivers 3rd August 2019. Deeply regretted by his wife, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, brothers and sister.” This memorial plaque is on some railings on the Whiterock Road, close to the spot where Seamus Conlon was hit by a car as he attended a funeral. One Michael Loughran was sentenced to 10 years: after a night of alcohol and cocaine, he had stolen his uncle’s car and had been “joy”-riding for 90 minutes before losing control and crashing (BelTel).
See previously: Death Driving | Death Drivers | Where’s The Joy? | Car Crime Is A Growing Problem
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County Londonderry was formed just over 400 years ago, in 1613, comprising the previous County Coleraine (itself formerly O’Cahan’s Country) with parts of Tyrone and the west bank of the Foyle in Donegal (WP). Unlike the city, there has never been a “County Derry” but that has not stopped the graffitist of this Northern Ireland centenary mural in south Belfast from blacking out the “London” in “Londonderry” on the map – in the list of the six counties it remains unscathed. The graffitist presumably came from the Lisburn Road direction rather than the Village.
The “100 years” mural replaces the ‘UDA Lisburn Road’ mural which dated back to at least 2003.
For the dispute over Derry/Londonderry as the name of the city and the council, see Stoop Down Low Party | Do You Live In Londonderry? | Derry Not Londonderry | Vote SDLP For A Better Londonderry | It’s Derry Not Londonderry.
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Southcity Resource & Development Centre (Fb) provides (among many other services) a ‘homework club’ on Tuesday afternoons. They have put up the times tables in four locations around the Village that will encourage kids walking to and from school to practice their maths. The set shown here is in Roden Street; the others are in Lemberg Street, Nubia Street, and Tavanagh Street – below this UVF hooded gunman.
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Henri Cartier-Bresson said of Che Guevara’s eyes that they “glow; they coax, entice and mesmerize.” (WaPo), and (in a special feature ‘This Is Castro’s Cuba Seen Face To Face‘ that he shot for Life magazine) described Che as “an impetuous man with burning eyes and profound intelligence who seems born to make revolution”. The descriptions seem to fit the iconic “Guerrillero Heroico” photo by Alberto Korda, which Jim Fitzpatrick took as the basis for his two-tone poster version, but raised the eyes even more (WP).
This small Che board is in the alley between Ross Road and the Falls Road, near You’re Never Alone, over the back door to someone’s yard. It dates back to at least 2016.
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The ‘Peace Wall Stories’ installation along the Cupar Street “peace” line, was launched last Saturday (April 2nd). Photographer Stephen Wilson (web) has produced half-tone portraits in newspaper style, each 2.5 metres tall, of a dozen people from both communities who live near barriers in Belfast.
There is an iPhone/iPad app that goes along with the project, which allows you to point your mobile at a portrait and have the person pictured come alive and speak to you about their experiences; for those without iPhones or the app, the recordings can be heard at the project’s web site.
Part of the Imagine! Belfast Festival, 2022.
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Here are three images from CNR west Belfast commenting on the Russian invasion of Ukraine (plus a bonus one calling for the abolition of capitalism). Above, “End the war” and “Stop war in Ukraine”. The Leeds United flag has presumably been deployed for its blue and yellow colours, rather than for its “Marching on together” slogan. At bottom, “Stop the war! Russian troops out – Disband NATO – Support all refugess – Worker’s [sic] unity across Europe – www.socialistdemocracy.org“. In between, two Lasaır Dhearg (web) stickers on pedestrian crossing boxes: “US military out of Shannon – stop imperialist war planes” and “‘The day has passed for patching up the capitalist system; it must go’ – James Connolly [from Labour, Nationality And Religion]”
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The Newington tribute to Bobby Sands and the other deceased hunger strikers of the 1970s and 80s (see previously: Mol An Óıge Agus Tıocfaıdh Sí) has been augmented with four plaques to republicans from the area who died in the Troubles: (l-r) Martin McDonagh, Rosemary Bleakley, Colm Mulgrew, and Sean ‘Maxi’ McIvenna.
Unbeknowst to her parents (Lost Lives), Bleakley had joined Cumann Na mBan at 18 and was four days short of her nineteenth birthday when she and McDonagh were killed in a premature bomb explosion in the North Street arcade (Victor Patterson image of the blast), along with civilians Ian Gallagher and Mary Dornan (Sutton); 20 others were injured (Fortnight). Bleakley was not buried in the republican plot (in Milltown) but coincidentally in the plot adjacent to Dornan (BBC).
Bleakley was portrayed in the old New Lodge Volunteers mural.
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Extramural Activity 