Cumann Spóırt An Phobaıl (Fb | ig) is an all-abilities (and all-ages – starting at age 5) soccer club based on the Ballymurphy Road in west Belfast. The club was profiled in the Irish News in late 2020. “CSP Abú”
Valerie Armstrong died in July 2016 after being knocked down by a teen on a scrambler motorbike while walking in Colin Glen (BBC). The memorial plaque is on a disused dinghy at Mila’s Lake, near where she was struck.
Henrik Larsson left Glasgow Celtic for Barcelona in 2004, after scoring 174 goals in 221 appearances (WP), but he replaced Katie Taylor as an inspiration to the kids at Victoria Nursery in the New Lodge. (Her faded right shoulder is still visible in the bottom left corner of the image below; for the whole thing, see School Of Champions.)
“The young and the old rallied around/To help fight the forces of the British crown/Unsung heroes too many to name/Defended Unity flats and never sought fame”. Unity flats were built in 1968 to replace the old Carrick Hill but immediately came under repeated attack by loyalists from the nearby Peter’s Hill and Shankill; by 1987 their demolition had been approved but because of difficulty in rehousing residents (Hansard), the new Carrick Hill was not completed until 2009 (BelTel). The flats have a Facebook page, Growing Up In Unity Flats. The plaques shown today are on the side of the newsagents in the new Carrick Hill.
Mary Ann McCracken lived to the age of 96 (1770-1866) and over the course of that long life used her family prosperity and the success of her own muslin business to support various causes: these included the United Irishmen and her brother Henry Joy McCracken – whose illegitimate daughter Maria was taken in by Mary Ann after he was executed – and a long list of ‘social justice’ causes, including the abolition of slavery, the protection of working children, education for young children both male and female, women’s rights, and care for the destitute in Belfast – her uncles Henry and Robert had founded the Belfast Charitable Society and built a poorhouse on Clifton Street and Mary Ann served on the Ladies Committee (WP | NICVA). This new bust of Mary Ann McCracken looks towards Clifton House from Stanhope Street in Carrick Hill. (The bust was designed by Anto Brennan (Irish News), who also did the No Pasarán bust in Writer’s Square.) In the other direction, as shown below, can be seen the Divis tower block.
“Like the eternal flame your memory will never die.” “Unbowed, unbroken – this garden is dedicated to all our fallen dead from Ardoyne, Bone, and Ligoniel who lost their lives as a direct result of the conflict. We also honour all those people who played an active part in our struggle for Irish freedom. ‘It is not those who inflict the most, but those that endure the most, that shall prevail’ [Terence McSwiney]”. The central plaque shows the pediment and statues on “ard-oıfıg an phoıst” (the GPO in Dublin, 1916) and the Maid Of Erin harp (of 1798). The celtic cross was previously in the memorial garden at the corner of Berwick Road – see Freedom Hath Arisen.
At a pre-inquest review yesterday (2021-12-08) lawyers for the PSNI defended the request for a Public Interest Immunity certificate regarding evidence in the case of Noah Donohoe (PA). This stencil on Divis Street says “not in our name” and asserts that “the public want full disclosure”. Below is graffiti on the Glen Road alleging that the PSNI is “hiding Noah’s killer”.
These images are from two campaigns on the railings of Groves-Reilly Corner (a.k.a. the site of the former Andersonstown RUC barracks, now named after a pair of campaigners against the use of plastic bullets, particularly against children). The focus in the first three is the arrest of children and their prosecution of children in Israeli military courts: Every year 700 Palestinian children are prosecuted in Israeli military courts. The US pages Israel $7 million a day.” (Board borrowed from SeaMAC.) And “9 years old – the age of Palestinian children in Israeli prisons. Is this democracy?” The final image is of a tarp sponsored by the ‘Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign’ (Fb | web) calling for “boycott, divestment sanctions” against “Israeli apartheid”.
Three images of fringe opinions on the restrictions put in place during the coronavirus pandemic. Above, “Swann [is a] criminal” in (PUL) Cregagh – a reference to Health minister Robin Swann; a Newtownards man was arrested for making threats against Swann (Belfast Live); middle, “The media is the virus – Agenda 2030” in William Street, Londonderry – Agenda 2030 is a set of UN “sustainable development” goals which, to those in the know, is really a plan to enslave humanity, using the pandemic as a cover; last, “Covid gover[n]ment lies – banks own gov” on the Monagh Bypass in (CNR) west Belfast.
Extramural Activity 