The “Do not use” sign – from last year – is Saoaradh (web) reserving a wall in Braemar St (on the Falls Road) that has never (to our knowledge) been used by anyone else. As the image above shows, the space is now being used – in part – by a hunger strike 40th anniversary board.
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Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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500 days after the ‘New Decade, New Approach’ plan for restoring Stormont was released, members of An Dream Dearg (tw) took to Slıabh Dubh (promo video) to urge for the plan’s “official recognition of the status of the Irish language in Northern Ireland”. The DUP – now under the leadership of Edwin Poots – say the party is committed to NDNA but that it does not contain an ‘Irish Language Act’ (News Letter One | Two).
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Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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“Where was all the street art over lockdown????” TMN [The Most Nasty] krew take to North Street with a long piece celebrating comic-book characters The Bash Street Kids, who have appeared in The Beano since 1954; the comic itself has been published weekly since 1938 (WP). They are (above) Danny and Plug, (below) Toots, Wilfrid, Sidney, Spotty, Teacher, Fatty/Freddy, Smiffy, Cuthbert.
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Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Update: [X08514] [X08515]
The sign reads “Dump wood – PSNI out”; the Ulster Banner flies to mark the boundary; guardians keep warm around a fire; old fridges and furniture lie among the pallets. The signs are unmistakable: collection for Eleventh Night 2021 is under way in the lower Shankill.
For the “Resilient” mural see I Am Not Resilient.
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Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Monkeys (perhaps Mizaru and Iwazaru – most recently referenced in the George Floyd mural) wearing masks to avoid evil thought and spreading coronavirus. Street art by Glen Molloy (ig | Fb) in North Street. The remains of Andy Council’s Belfast Phoenix is to the left.
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Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Linfield FC are Irish Cup champions after a 2-1 victory over Larne last Friday (May 21st) (Belfast Live). They are also, as of Tuesday, premier league champions for the 55th time, matching Glasgow Rangers in Scotland for the most league championships in the world. (See previously: We Are The People | Respect Heritage Culture | Welcome To The Ulster Rangers | F*ck Your Ten In A Row | Terminus Rangers)
For the “Finucane Family” tarp (on the wall since 2019), see Steeped In Blood. For the lower tarp, see Choose One Or The Other!
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Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Holy Cross [Boys] Primary School [“HCPS”] distributes student into four “houses” within the school for motivational purposes but unlike the four houses of Hogwarts (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin) these are named for famous philosophers. Students in all seven years take one hour of philosophy a week – staff are trained by The Philosophy Foundation (HCPS Prospectus) – and they now have a mural just outside the school gates to encourage them in the four “R”s – “reflective, reasoned, responsive, re-evaluative”. The mural shows a student (Conor) sitting in the pose of Auguste Rodin’s Le Penseur/The Thinker, bringing to mind sayings of the four philosophers: (from left to right) “Quality is not an act, it is a habit” – Aristotle; “I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think” – Socrates; “He who knows only his own side knows little” – JS Mill; “Philosophy begins in wonder” – Plato.
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Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Both Clifton Street Orange Hall and the statue of King William pre-date the creation of Northern Ireland in 1921. The building opened in 1885 (ArchSeek | Belfast Media gives 1886) and the statue was unveiled before a crowd of 50,000 on November 11th, 1889 ((Melbourne) Advocate | (Sydney) Protestant Standard).
For the “Thank you NHS” banner, see Pro Tanto Quid Retribuamos.
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Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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“Saoırse go deo.” INLA volunteer Kevin Lynch went on hunger strike 40 years ago yesterday, May 23rd, 1981. He would die 71 days later, on August 1st. His funeral is depicted above, part of a new IRSP/IRSM board commemorating the 40th anniversary of the 1981 hunger strikes. The Tricolour (for the IRA) and Starry Plough (for the INLA) are used as blankets on the prison beds. The board is flanked by two other IRSP boards, one against the PSNI (“96% of Divis residents do not support the PSNI – defund, disarm, disband”) and one dedicated to founder Seamus Costello (“He was the only one who truly understood what James Connolly meant when he spoke of his vision of the freedom of the Irish people.” – Nora Connolly at Costello’s funeral) that was previously in Hugo Street.
Update: the HS 40th board was replaced by a “Divis 81” board.
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Copyright © 2021/2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Demolition of the Movie House on Dublin Road has begun (John Campbell/BBC) in order to make way for the Kainos Software headquarters (BelTel). The image above was taken on April 26th, 2020, the day of the cinema’s last showings (BelTel).
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Copyright © 2020 Sabine Troendle (web | Fb)
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Extramural Activity 