Carrickfergus

Out Of The Trenches

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2015-02-05 CastlemaraYCV+

The Young Citizen Volunteers of 1912 eventually joined the Ulster Volunteers (in 1914) as the 14th battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles and part of the 36th (Ulster) Division (WP). In 1972 the name was resurrected for use as the youth wing of the UVF (WP). In the wide shot, below, this history is presented as a continuous movement from left to right; a modern-day hooded gunman climbs out of a WWI trench with one hand on a YCV flag.

2015-02-05 CastlemaraYCVFull+

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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02497 X02498 ulster volunteer force ulster’s young elite c. company carrickfergus paramilitary somme fricourt arras thiepval ypres grandcourt messines st. quentin

Wortley

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2015-01-23 LarchesWortley+

“Sgt. Thomas George Wortley , “D Coy” 14th Btn. Royal Irish Rifles, Service No. 14/17063, Died Messines 07-06-1917, Spanbroekmolen British Cemetary Grave C10″. Wortley was born in Carrickfergus, lived in Belfast, died on the first day of the battle at Messines (findagrave), buried in a small cemetery of British soldiers, many from the 36th (Ulster) Division, in Spanbroekmolen on the Ypres Salient in Flanders (WP) – shown in the mural – and is remembered in Carrickfergus with a parade each year on the date of his death (carrickfergusrollofhonour).

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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02488 cemetery belgium

Time In Hell

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2015-01-23 LarchesTimeInHell+

A dead WWI soldier in the scorched Belgian countryside is comforted by an ethereal figure who will convey him to heaven: A soldier standing at heaven’s gate/To St. Peter he did tell/I’m here to enter heaven now/I’ve served my time in hell – a variation on James Donahue’s WWII Soldier’s Poem (WP). The poem was previously used of Republicans in a 1981 mural in Derry (see I Refuse To Change/M00151).

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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02487 36th ulster division somme wwi barbed wire angel ghost woman carrickfergus the larches guadalcanal 1942

Show No Mercy

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2015-02-05 CastlemaraEddie+

“Show no mercy and expect none”. Iron Maiden’s Eddie the trooper, armed with an assault rifle and carrying a UDA flag, leads the grim reaper over the graves of “G. Adams”, “McGuinness” and “A. Maskey”. UDA/UFF mural in Carrickfergus.

For more on Eddie, see his Visual History page.

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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02496 south east antrum UDA b coy quis separabit

Glenfield Community Association

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2015-02-11 JoinTheUDAFull+

The 2010 work of Jade, Andi, Katie, Leigh, Ellen, Lyndsay, Shannon, and Hannah on the substation at the top of the Glenfield estate’s Oakfield Road has been replaced this week by a new UDA mural sporting a hooded gunman facing the viewer with a slogan borrowed from Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata: “Better to die on your feet than live on your knees in an Irish republic. Join the UDA.”. The two wide shots below allow you to compare the scene this week with last week.

The mural has been criticized by both DUP and Alliance councillors (Newsletter). The final words – Join the UDA – have drawn particular ire, as in other respects it is similar to other murals in featuring hooded gunmen, such as these two other Carrickfergus murals: Inclusion | Eternal Vigilance. 

Nolan Show discussion of the mural on 2015-02-11: Part 1 | Part 2

2015-02-11 JoinTheUDA+

2015-02-11 JoinTheUDAWide+

2015-02-06 GlenfieldBurglars+

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X02515 X02514 X02516 X02503 quis separabit uff burglars beware UDA

Eternal Vigilance

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2015-01-23 EternalVigilenceFull+

“Audemus jura nostra defendere – We dare to defend our rights”. The UDA/UFF/UYM/LPA mural above shows hooded gunmen standing either side of a view of Carrickfergus castle. The phrase “The price of peace is eternal vigilance” is associated with British politician Leonard Courtney (who also said “Lies – damned lies – and statistics) though it probably goes further back. As can be seen from the second image, the mural watches over Woodlawn primary school. The third image shows the memorial garden off to the right-hand side; the plaque is shown fourth: “This memorial is dedicated to the memory of the officers and members of our organisation who were murdered by the enemies of Ulster and to those who paid the supreme sacrifice whilst on active service during the present conflict. Quis separabit.”

For the previous mural (Ulster’s Call 1893 – Boer War), see Murals Irlande du Nord.

2015-01-23 EternalVigilenceSchool+

2015-01-23 EternalVigilenceWide+

2015-01-23 EternalVigilencePlaque+

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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02481 X02483 X02484 X02482 the price of freedom south east antrim none shall divide us ulster defence association ulster freedom fighters feriens tego ulster young militants filius terrae

Daffodil Days

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2013-07-29 SEA UDU+

Shamrock, thistle, and rose are shown in this South East Antrim Ulster Defence Union mural but the daffodil is not, even though the Welsh “Red Dragon” is included alongside the Scottish Saltire, the flag of Northern Ireland, and Queen Elizabeth II’s royal standard.

The Ulster Defence Union was a loyalist organization founded to fight against Home Rule, launched on 17 March 1893. The name is now used by the post-ceasefire UDA (beginning in 2007: Newsletter | Remembrance Day Statement at CAIN).

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01208 banner of arms quis separabit st andrew’s cross carrickfergus ireland irish scotland england enlgish

It’s Dangerous To Be Right

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2013-06-28 CarrickfPanels1+

Two more of the panels next to the new UVF ‘Inclusion’ mural in Carrickfergus, one decrying the use of force against loyalists, the other explaining the composition of the union flag, involving the St. Patrick’s saltire.

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01174 davys street

End Political Censorship

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2013-06-28 CarrickfPanels2+

Three panels adjacent to the new UVF ‘Inclusion’ mural in Carrickfergus, two of which protest perceived discrimination against Protestants. The panels at left (“End political cencorship [sic] of Ulsters [sic] Protestants”) and right (“Stop PSNI violence & brutality against Ulsters [sic] Protestants”) mention the PSNI, while in the left one the BBC and UTV and the judiciary and courts are mentioned in addition. The sponsoring group – Carrickfergus United Loyalists – have a Facebook page.

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01175 davys street  loyal carrickfergus then, now and always united loyalists

Inclusion

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2013-06-28 CarrickfMural+

“Progression Requires Inclusion” – a new UVF mural (painted last Saturday, 2013-06-22) in Carrickfergus shows a balaclava’d head and assault rifle. Wide shot below. For the three boards, see End Political Censorship. For the two boards, see It’s Dangerous To Be Right.

2013-06-28 CarrickfWide+

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01173 X01176 1st east antrim for god and ulster