Union Flag

The Loyal Shankill

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Here are a few images from the Shankill in the days following the coronation of King Charles III. For the mural in the second image, see C Coy Street.

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Dieu Et Mon Droit

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That is, king or queen “by the grace of God” or divine right. The first UK monarch to use the phrase was Henry V in the early 1400s and it has been used as a royal motto since then, up to and including the present-day monarchs shown on this board in the Caw, Londonderry.

On the left, the past – Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II; in the centre, the present – His Majesty King Charles III; on the right, the future – William Prince Of Wales, Baron Of [sic] Carrickfergus.

The Welsh dragon is included alongside the three flags/crests that make up the Union Flag – St George’s Cross for England, St Andrew’s Saltire for Scotland, and St Patrick’s Saltire for Ireland.

For the same trio in Newtownabbey, see Past, Present, Future.

Replaces the William MacFadzean board.

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Silence Speaks When Words Can Not

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The previous mural on this wall – see Passchendaele Court but this latest mural is a large printed board, with photographs blended together and framed by graveside mourners, poppoes, and the emblems of the Pride Of Govan flute band and the Govan Somme Association (Fb), which also supported the previous mural.

To the left, as seen in the final images, is a smaller UVF (1st Battalion) A Company 5th Platoon board – like the other new board in the street We Will Always Be Ready (and on the other side of Conway Street – see When Needed We Shall Rise Again).

Conway Walk, Belfast

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy

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Lead The Way

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“Welcome to Muckamore, loyalist heartland – lead the way.” “In defence of our heritage and culture.”

In the Muckamore/Ballycraigy areas of Antrim the insignia of the LVF are still in place. “Lead the way” was the slogan of the LVF (see e.g. D01246 for a prominent instance in Ballycraigy). The organisation called a ceasefire and decommissioned some weapons in the years after the Agreement but persists in some form in Antrim (WP).

The Sons Of Ulster also used to use the slogan “Lead the way” (asa described in J1947) but it is not present in the board shown in the recent (2022) Old Ulster’s Battle Cry.

The two boards below are on gables above Woodgreen, which is the site of the bonfire (ig) featured in the second image. They used to claim that it was the biggest bonfire (see C06695) but Craigyhill (in Larne) is more recently the tallest – see Commonwealth Handling Equipment.

There is also a memorial garden to Billy Wright in Ballycraigy – see M05203.

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy

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To The Very Death

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“‘Let no man ever think for a moment that I will not stand to the very death if it is necessary in the interests of Ulster and of the Ulster people.’ Captain James Craig, first prime minister of Northern Ireland.”

To go with the fighting words, Craig is shown here in military uniform – though he was a young man when joined the Royal Irish Rifles and served in South Africe for two years (1899-1901), with the Imperial Yeomanry and the Imperial Military Railways. As the politician who was instrumental in the Ulster Volunteers and the creation of Northern Ireland (and prime minister until his death in 1940), he is usually shown in civilian clothes – see e.g. Floreat Ultona | Ulster Welcomes Her King & Queen | Because He Loves What Is Behind Him

The source of the quote is unknown – please comment or get in touch if you can say what it is from. It’s also not clear what uniform Craig is wearing – the cap badge is the ‘lion on crown’ used e.g. by officers of the Devonshire yeomanry; it is perhaps a officer’s dress uniform for the Imperial Military Railways (though see the IMR pouch badge). Craig was also assistant adjutant to the 36th Division (DIB).

Erskine Park, Ballyclare

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At Home And Abroad

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Side by side in Erskine Park, Ballyclare: a memorial to the 36th (Ulster) Division of the World War of 1914-1918 and “Thank you NHS and all key workers” of the global pandemic, 2020-2023.

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Operation Banner

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On February 21st, 1988, 23 year-old Aidan McAnespie was shot in the back by 18 year-old Grenadier Guardsman David Holden at a British Army checkpoint in Aughnacloy, Co. Tyrone as he (McAnespie) walked to the nearby GAA club. In November (2022), Holden was convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence (BBC | Belfast Live) and he was sentenced yesterday to three years, suspended for three years, thus avoiding jail unless he is sentenced for some additional crime (BBC | BelTel | UTv | Irish Times). He is the first British soldier convicted since the Agreement of a Northern Ireland killing; he might be the only one, as legislation is pending in Westminster that would end prosecutions (RTÉ video | Sky New video). The legacy legislation was discussed previously in Was This Lawful? | Soldier A-Z | Come For One, Come For All | Paras Fight Back | Stop The Witch Hunt.

The banner shown above was hanging on the railings at Laganside Courts, Oxford Street: “Operation Banner supporters group, Belafst and Scottish branch. Our veterans are heroes, not criminals. Leave our Operation Banner veterans alone and stop appeasing Sinn Fein/IRA terrorists.” “Operation Banner” is the name given by British forces to their operations in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 2007; since then, the depoloyment of British forces in Northern Ireland has been known as “Operation Helvetica” (Irish News).

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Ballybeen Remembers

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“Ballybeen remembers Queen Elizabeth II 1926-2022” on the back of the “Ballybeen estate” sign at the Davarr Avenue entrance to the estate. Elizabeth died in September 2022, shortly after her platinum/70th jubilee.

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100 Years

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On the left of this memorial board in Carrickfergus are five portraits from the later life of the child who began life in Greece as Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. The family was exiled during the Greco-Turkish War. He ended up in Britain where he later joined the navy and stopped using his titles when he became the British subject, Philip Mountbatten. When he married Elizabeth he became Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His life-time matches that of the Northern Irish state (see in the second image): he was born a month after its creation and died in 2021 at the age of 99, a month shy of its centenary.

Albert Road and Thomas Street, Carrickfergus, near the Orange lodge, for which see On Foreign Fields.

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Still Ready & Willing

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The UVF 1st East Antrim Battalion is “Still ready & willing to defend the people of Ulster against all foes” including the British government that – even as Northern Ireland marks its centenary – has “deserted” it over the NI Protocol that involves checks on goods moving between Britain and Ireland (whether north or south) but no (new) checks on goods moving between north and south (gov.uk). The “still” goes all the way back to 1912, when the British government of the day proposed (for a third time) “Home Rule” for Ireland and the Ulster Volunteers were formed – though the original “deserted” postcard and previous murals show the date as 1914.

The PSNI board was seen previously: In The Pocket Of Sinn Féin.

Davys Street, Carrickfergus. For the same comparison in Belfast see, Deserted! Well, We Can Stand Alone, and in Moygashel, see Belfast Agreement, Null And Void.

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