Easter Rising

Now As The Dawn Is Breaking

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“Joseph Plunkett & Grace Gifford – their final embrace & farewell.” May 4th is the anniversary of the execution of Joseph Plunkett, one of the planners of the Easter Rising in 1916. Seven hours before he faced the firing squad, he married Grace Gifford. The photograph is from a re-enactment for a 1966 RTÉ programme Insurrection (RTÉ). The ballad Grace, written by Seán and Frank O’Meara in 1985, is now internationally known (here is Jim McCann’s 1985 performance).

This is one of various recent additions to the many memorials in Ard An Lao, Béal Feirste/Ardilea, Belfast. This replaces the board seen in Continuing Their Legacy.

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“Just before Joseph’s execution by British forces in Kilmainham gaol on Thursday May 4th, 1916”

Glengormley Republican Youth

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“Brits out” and “Wear an Easter lily”. The CNR population in Glengormley has been increasing, especially to the west (home of Naomh Éanna CLG in Hightown) and south (see Fáilte Go Dtí Glengormley and, on the same Elmfield wall as shown below, INLA/Stop Internment) – Belfast North, which includes Glengormley, returned a nationalist (Sinn Féin’s John Finucane) for the first time in the 2019 general election. The broader Newtownabbey area is still predominantly Protestant, however, and there is an Orange arch right in the middle of Glengormley each year.

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Honour Ireland’s Patriot Dead

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There are dozens of Easter Rising commemorations happening this weekend – see Belfast Media for a full calendar. Above is a board for Saoradh’s (web) Easter parade on Saturday 8th. Below is the Falls/D Company gathering.

“National Republican Commemoration Committee Easter commemoration. Unfinished revolution. 2.30 pm Saturday 8th April. International wall, Divis Street, Belfast. Bands in attendance. Honour Ireland’s patriot dead, wear your Easter lily with pride.”

Havana Way, Belfast

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Unsung Heroes

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“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.

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Like The Eternal Flame

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“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-oifig an phoist” (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.

In the distance of the final image is the Sean Mac Diarmada mural.

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Cuimhníonn An Srath Bán Orthu Go Deo

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“Strabane remembers them forever” – the seven signatories of the 1916 Proclamation are shown here in colour portraits over the GPO – Connolly, Pearse, Clarke, McDonagh, Ceantt, Plunkett, Mac Diarmada.

Bridge Street, Strabane

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Continuing Their Legacy

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“This plaque commemorates the centenary of the Easter Rising and the sacrifice of all those men and women who took part. We will remember their unwavering stance against British imperialism and its rule. We will acknowledge their influence on following generations to continue their legacy. In particular we remember all those old republicans from within this area, the Bone, who campaigned through the decades to fulfill the aspirations of the 1916 combatants. (Con Colbert) An Irish martyr who came to be defined by his favourite phrase “For my God and my country” fought on Marrowbone Lane [Dublin], 1916″.

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Staff Captain Joe McCann

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Joe McCann was IRA/OIRA OC in the Markets area of Belfast. He was famously photographed among burning buildings in Inglis’s bakery, during protests against the introduction on internment, crouched beneath a Starry Plough and holding an M1. (For more, see Battle Of The Markets, which features the same photograph.) For McCann’s death the following year (on April 15th, 1972) see Joe McCann. This new board replaces a tarp in the same location: see On The Brink Of Sectarian Disaster.

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Easter Week 1916

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16 leaders and 70 others who were “killed whilst fighting” in the Rising during Easter Week 1916.

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Belfast – The Pogroms

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2019 was the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Troubles and commemoration events were held in Ardoyne, Clonard, and Divis – the sites that saw the most fierce fighting during the summer. The programme board above is at the entrance to Brompton Park entrance of Ardoyne, next to the remains of Stad An Slad.
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