community

East Belfast Blitz Memorial

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The German Luftwaffe blitzed Belfast on four occasions in April and May of 1941, targeting especially the industrial yards of east Belfast, including H&W shipbuilding and Short Brothers. Nearby streets were hit in the attacks (see Belfast Blitz), and some suffered very heavy damage, including Thistle, Tower, and Westbourne streets. This new memorial (City Council planning application) is in the grounds of Westbourne Presbyterian church, which was built in 1877 (Stone Database), was hit during the war, but survived.

See also: Desano’s.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2026 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X15981 X15980

When All That Was Solid Melted Into Air

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

At its peak, the Harland & Wolff shipyard employed 35,000 people (IndustriAll) and the flat-capped worker became a symbol of east Belfast, along – much later – with Samson and Goliath, the two gantry cranes at the shipyard that were raised in 1974 and 1969 (WP) and which have become the symbol of Belfast.

The title of this entry is the first line of Martin Mooney’s poem ‘Launching The Whaler Juan Peron‘.

The silhouetted workers and cranes are on a mobile office in Fraser Pass, Newtownards Road, Belfast, at the end of the Pitt Stop next to the Belfast Bikes racks.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2026 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X15986

Andersonstown Apache

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Anto “The Apache” Cacace was pictured with two belts – IBF and IBO – in the 2024 mural celebrating his accomplishments. Since then, he has given up the IBF title, defended the IBO title – see The Ringmaster – and added the WBA title by defeating Jazza Dickens in March, 2026.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2026 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X15971 X15970 X15972
X15973

Gormley

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Cliftonville striker Joe Gormley has been honoured with a new mural in his native Ardoyne. He is Cliftonville’s all-time leading goal-scorer, with more than 300 goals. He has recently signed for the forthcoming (2026-2027) season, which he says will be his last (BBC).

Velsheda Court, Ardoyne/Glenard, north Belfast. There was previously a board to Joe The Goal in Berwick Road.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2026 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X15995 X15996 X15997

Forever 11

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

These are images of a tribute wall to eleven year-old Mason Keilhauer, who died after being struck by a car on the evening of March 7th (BBC | News Letter). In addition to the large piece of graffiti, photographs and several Rangers shirts have also been pinned to the constuction hoarding, which also bears the signatures of many friends and neighbours.

Shankill Road, west Belfast, near the spot where the collision occurred, between Dover and North Boundary streets.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2026 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X15897 X15898 X15899 X15900 X15901

Sailortown Sea Monster

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

A kraken awakes in Belfast harbour, under the watchful eyes of working-class men on the waterfront in Belfast’s Sailortown, in front of local landmarks.

Street art by KVLR in Corporation Street.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X15329 X15328

The Memory Of Our Dead

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Beır bua – It is the responsibility of the living to keep alive the memory of the dead.” This is the second ‘Working Class Heroes’ piece in Ballymurphy. The other, from 2014, features Tommy “Toddler” Tolan, who appears here to the left of the phoenix.

The plaque on the right reads “This mural was unveiled by Johnny Doc and Maureen Tolan, 5th November, 2023.” There is video of the launch on Facebook, which contains a reading of the names of all the people pictured from the 1m 57s mark onwards.

Glenalina Crescent, Ballymurphy, west Belfast

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X15311 X15312 X15310

Volunteers, Defenders, Civilians

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Part of the most recent development of the upper streets in the Village was not to rebuild the two rows of houses on Ebor and Nubia/Moltke streets and in their place construct a park – the Village Green, and now officially the “Ruby Murray Village Green” – and playground. The board on the outside railings make the park a “community park of remembrance” for WWI, showing an Ulster Banner with a Union Flag in the canton. (Seen previously in The Village Green Preservation Society.)

There is also a memorial to “loved ones and friends”, “volunteers, defenders & civilians” of the South Belfast UVF (though there is 36th (Ulster) Division emblem in the corner!) who were “cruely taken away from us by republican scum”: Dinah Campbell, Francis Campbell, Alexander Scott, Frankie Smith, Stevie McCrea, John Hanna, Sammy Mehaffy, William Kingsberry, Jackie Campbell, David Poots.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X15256 X15255 X15257

Gaining Altitude

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

A new painting of Amelia Earhart has been created by JEKS (ig), on the side of the Foyle building, North West Regional College, on Queen’s Quay. A number of sources claim without citation or measurement that it is the tallest piece of street art in the north – both the BBC and the Chamber Of Commerce use the passive “thought to be”. Its closest competitor would be the recent piece by Zabou on the Telegraph Building in Belfast – see Broken Promises.

The Foyle Building has six “levels” (NWRC) while the original Telegraph Building had four storeys (Archiseek). In addition to comparing images of the two paintings, you can also judge by comparing Street View images of the buildings: Derry vs Belfast.

Information about Earhart’s connection to the Maiden City can be found in the entries on the printed board (But What Do Dreams Know Of Boundaries?) and the mosaic (Flying Solo) to Earhart in Derry.

JEKS did eventually fill in the hair (and so cover over his instagram handle) on the lower portrait.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
X15131 X15132 X15133 X15134 get up derry

Frank McKelvey

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Francis “Frank” McKelvey grew up at 56 Woodvale Road (based on Lennon Wylie and the blue plaque on the wall at this address – Street View). That would put him a stone’s throw from Woodvale Park, which provides the backdrop for this new mural at the end of Woodvale Street. The photograph reproduced, of “Woodvale park pond”, can be seen on the Old Shankill Fb page. The pond was filled in after the second World War (City Council). McKelvey’s ‘A Summer’s Day‘ is perhaps of Woodvale Park pond. He died in 1974 (Ulster History Circle).

By Holly Hooks (ig) in Woodvale Street, west Belfast.

February 14th

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X15055 X15052 [X15053] [X15054] [X15056] [X15057] X15082
[X14887] [X14953] [X14954]
X14731 X14733 X14732 [X14734] [X14735] [X14736]