Larne

The Flax And The Lily

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The orange lily and the (pale blue) flax flower take their place around the Ulster Banner alongside the English rose and Scottish thistle, and the Irish shamrock is retained even in the presence of the lily. The flax is perhaps included because we are in the Factory area of Larne, near the site of a (former) linen mill. The Welsh daffodil is excluded. The detail above is part of a wider board “Boyne Square celebrates 100 years of Northern Ireland”; the flanking emblems of the Boyne Defenders (LOL 1297), Rangers Supporters club (Larne Branch) – which also uses the shamrock – Boyne Square Bonfire Forum, and Larne & District Great War Society and included below; the emblems of three flute bands can be seen in Norman Anderson and The Gunrunners.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Extramural Activity
X09325 [X09318] X09319 X09320 [X09321] [X09322] X09323 X09324 X09317

Women Are A Whole Community

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Women are a whole community – within her is the ability to create and strengthen and transform”. The mural is part of the ‘Communities in transition’ programme from Factory Women’s Group/Factory Community Forum (web | Fb), along with the ‘Be Aware’ mephedone campaign.

Lower Waterloo Street, Larne, formerly Factory Row, site of Brown’s weaving mill.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X09327

The Gunrunners

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Operation Lion” was the code named for what is commonly known as the Larne Gunrunning using the ship Clyde Valley which had been renamed Mountjoy II for the occasion (WP) and which now lends its name to a flute band in the area. The hooded gunman on the right is carrying a more modern rifle, rather than surplus German and Italian WWI rifles that came ashore in April, 1914 (Full 30).

For a wide shot containing both pieces, see Norman Anderson.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X09332 X09331 Herbert Ave

Larne Invites You

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“The popular Ulster seaside resort – Larne invites YOU this summer! – Attractions for the old and young. – The place to spend a happy, healthy holiday. Free guides from the town clerk (Dept 5), Larne, Northern Ireland. – McNeill’s 7-day conducted tours, May till September. Motor excursions to Gobbins caves and cliffs, Whitehead, Glenariff glen, Giant’s Causeway, Portrush, Belfast, Garron Tower, Antrim and Lough Neagh, Sallagh Braes, and the famous Antrim coast road.” – This last is shown in the image above, with the Black Arch in the foreground.

Previously: Larne – The Original Tourist Resort | Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X10597 X09373 X09376 State Line ship company 1873-1889 emigration

Norman Anderson

Extramural Activity1 Comment

RUC Constable Norman Anderson was set upon and executed in 1961 by the IRA on the Fermanagh border as he returned from visiting his Co Monaghan girlfriend (SEFF) but he and his family hailed from Larne and he is remembered by the Constable Anderson Memorial flute band (emblem below), which was formed in the same year (Fb), and the Auld Boys (emblem above). These are two of three flute bands in the Factory area of Larne, along with the Clyde Valley flute band – see The Gunrunners.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X09330 X09328 X09329 Herbert Ave border campaign auld boys

Stop Mephedrone Before It Stops You

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Be aware: Mephedrone is destroying our community. Prescription drug misuse is the biggest killer. Stop mephedrone before it stops you. How to spot the signs and save a life.” Mephedrone has been classified as a Class B drug since 2010 but it and other (still-legal prescription) drugs continue to take a heavy toll. According to the 2020 NIAO report, a majority of drug-related deaths involved prescription drugs such as diazepam, tramadol, and pregabalin. The two boards shown in today’s post are in Larne (Lower Waterloo Road, above, and Drumahoe Gardens, below).

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X09315 X09312 [X09311]

The Sleeping Giant Has Awoken

Extramural Activity1 Comment

Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor (near Honolulu, Hawaii) on December 7th, 1941. In the movie adaptations of the events, Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) and Pearl Harbour (2001), the Japanese Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto wondered if the effect of the attack would be “to awaken the sleeping giant and to fill him with terrible resolve” (WP). In the case of today’s images, the sleeping giant is a lion, and the lion is the UVF 1st East Antrim, with units not just in Larne, Ballyduff, Ballyclare, Greenisland, Glengormley, Monkstown, Rathcoole, Carrickfergus, and Whitehead, but in Drumchapel (Glasgow, Scotland), Springburn (Glasgow, Scotland), Possilpark (Glasgow, Scotland), Paisley (Scotland), Falkirk (Scotland), Liverpool (England), Blackpool (England), Corby (England), and Blairgowrie (Scotland). Balaclava’d men with ArmaLites stand ready: “Our forefathers fought for our freedom & rights/No border in the sea or we continue the fight.”

The combination of a free-floating Northern Ireland with Britain (in the first image, above) is rare in muraling, but necessitated by Brexit and the Protocol.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X09303 X09304 X09305 X09306 X09308 X09302 X09307 stop PSNI harassment of the loyalist community no surrender YCV D Coy for god and ulster Drumahoe Gdns Millbrook

Dire Wolf

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Dawn Aston’s (ig) wolf in High Street, Larne, is inspired by the dire wolves in Game Of Thrones (BelTel) and ties that to the disappearance of wolves from Ireland: “Local legend claims that the last wolf in Ireland was found dead in 1712 near a village near Camlough and that the locals rejoiced to be finally rid of the beast, which had taken their livestock and given their children nightmares.”

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X08656 [X08657] larne renovation

The Maidens

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The Maidens was originally a pair of lighthouses built on a pair of rocky islets (also called the Maidens) about 9 km from Ballygally, first made operational in 1729. One tower was abandoned in 1903 and the remaining tower was automated in 1977 (WP).

“Audrey Kyle is a watercolour artist from Islandmagee and draws inspiration from the area’s rich maritime history and beautiful scenery. Her painting shows one of the Maidens Lighthouses off the coast of Islandmagee, along with a Schooner and the Princess Victoria. This is to demonstrate maritime history both old and new. One of the local stories related to the Maidens is from 1830s when the Assistant Keeper of one lighthouse fell in love with daughter of the keeper of the other. He would visit his love by boat, until the girl’s father found out and he forbade them to meet. The story ends with the couple eloping to Carrickfergus on the mainland.”

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X08658 X08659 Broadway, Larne renovation

Taigs Of All Stripes

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Taigs” of course are Catholics but targets apparently also include Muslim women and LGBTQ supporters (the skeleton on the right is wearing a “rainbow” gansey).

The images are from Larne (attempting to reach its potential) but the stickers appear to originate in Scotland (e.g. Daily Record).

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X08704 X08706

Update: a shot of the sticker in better condition

Copyright © 2022 Grahame Morrison
X08705