cultural

Coming Back To Drumahoe

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Jim Donaghy was born in the Bonds area of the Waterside but when he joined the 10th (Derry) Battalion his family was living in Drumahoe. It was to there that he returned after seeing action at The Battle Of Albert in 1916, as well as the Battle of Messines, the Battle of Langemarck, the Cambrai Operations, and the Capture Of Bourlon Wood (Reserves & Cadets | Three Cheers For The Derrys). 

“”I arrived in Larne on the ferry from Scotland and before I caught the train to Londonderry, I sent a telegram to my mother telling her I was on my way. When I arrived in Waterside Station, there was no one there to meet me so I started my long walk to Drumahoe. As I walked down Daly’s Brae in my uniform, someone must have spotted me in the distance. The bell of Clarke’s Mill at Drumahoe started to ring frantically to my mother that I was home. When I got home the house was filled with my friends, relations and neighbours. They were overjoyed.” – Jim was home – it was over at least. Cpl Jim Donaghy returning home from the First World War.”

“Cpl Jim Donaghy MBE, 10th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and his former family home 2 Fincairn Road, Drumahoe.” The mural is on the yard wall of the house, which still stands.

“In remembrance of all those who served at home and abroad.”

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Rumbeke

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Five Belgian brigades trained in Northern Ireland towards the end of WWII, as the Belgian Army rebuilt itself after the liberation of Belgium in 1944 (WarTimeNI). The 3rd or ‘Rumbeke’ brigade was raised in March 1945 and trained in six south-east Antrim towns, including Carrickfergus, where they were stationed at Henly House. After training, it took part in the occupation of Germany for about six months (BE Brigades). The boots and plaque are beneath the arch of what was once Prospect House.

The text on the plaque reads in full: “Henly Gate. This portico is the only portion of the Henly Gate remaining. The gate was erected in the 1920s as a 21st birthday present to Gwen Henly who was the last owner of Prospect House Estate. Belgian 3rd Infantry Brigade “Rumbeke”. During WWII the Estate was commandeered for military purposes. Following the liberation in late 1944 it was agreed that Belgium would raise 5 Infantry Brigades which were to be trained in Northern Ireland. The 3rd Infantry Brigade “Rumbeke” was posted to Northern Ireland from March 1945. It was billeted around the Northern shore of Belfast Lough. The 2nd Battalion was located here at Prospect House. The Brigade trained for almost 6 months in this area before going on to take part in the occupation of Germany. Dedicated 5th November 2006 by the Borough of Carrickfergus.”

At the junction of Woodburn Road and Prospect Road, Carrickfergus.

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Somme Memorial Cross

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The ‘bend in the road’ (Crumlin Road, just before Ligoniel) is the site of the Somme Memorial Cross. It’s not clear who erected or maintains it and indeed the Union flag flying behind it has been reduced to a stump.

A little further up the road, a new ‘cultural hub’ has been proposed for the site of the old Ligoniel Orange hall (Belfast Live) which was destroyed in a fire in 2000 (BBC).

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Maradona Good, Pelé Better, George Best

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From the age of two-and-a-half George Best lived in Cregagh and played football on the pitch at the centre of the estate, where Cregagh Boys played their home games. After playing for Lisnasharragh Secondary he went to Manchester United at age fifteen – in 1961 – and from there to international stardom. When he died in 2005, he was remembered in the estate by a mural (that replaced a UFF mural). It stood for about ten years and now been updated with the mural shown in today’s images, along with the family home that has been returned to a 1960’s appearance – complete with George Best memorabilia – and is available to rent on AirBnb. The home and playing fields are also the starting part of the George Best Trail.

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The Bould Bhoys

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Carling last sponsored Celtic FC in the 2009-2010 season, which means that the heroes shown in this 2009 mural are another decade in the past. In the apex are Charlie Tully (of Belfast and Glasgow Celtic), Willie Maley (the first manager), Br. Walfrid (founder of the club in 1888), Billy McNeil lifting the European Cup in 1967, Jock Stein (player 1951-1957 and manager 1965-1978), while on the field are former players Henrik Larsson (1997-2004) and Jimmy Johnstone (1962-1965).

In the centre of the image, the team is “doing the huddle”, which is also practiced by Cliftonville.

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The Loyalty Of Northern Ireland

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Two final pieces from Lower Waterloo Road, Larne: above, Winston Churchill, and below, Rangers. The Churchill quote comes from a letter to NI Prime Minister John Andrews when he stepped down in 1943. In full it reads “But for the loyalty of Northern Ireland [and its devotion to what has now become the cause of thirty Governments or nations,] we should have been confronted with slavery and death, and the light which now shines so strongly throughout the world would have been quenched.” Had the board been been erected more recently, it might have quoted another line from the letter: “During your Premiership the bonds of affection between Great Britain and the people of Northern Ireland have been tempered by fire, and are now, I firmly believe, unbreakable.”

Below is Walter Smith, two-time manager of Rangers, who died in 2021. See The Gaffer.

This post completes the set from Lower Waterloo Road in Larne – the wide shot shows Mephedrone to the far left; then Rangers, Duke Of Edinburgh, NI Centenary, and Churchill; Women Are A Whole Community is out of shot to the right.


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Norman Anderson

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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.

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We Are Albion Star

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Albion Star (Fb | tw) is a soccer club founded in 2003. It fields youth teams for players ages 5 to 17.

The plaque in the top right corner is to Phil McDonnell of the OIRA and INLA, who died in 2017; Anthony MacIntyre has a profile.

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Let Us Shout Joyfully

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“O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For He is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the sheep under his care.” In Psalms 95, the current generation of Hebrews is exhorted to declare Yahweh as their god, or suffer the fate of the previous generation who did not believe and were left to die in the wilderness during the exodus: a wrathful Yahweh declares, “They shall not enter My rest” (Enduring Word). After ten years in the wilderness of the Scottish league minor divisions, Glasgow Rangers are again champions and the Rangers faithful are shouting joyfully – here is Sandy Row on the hoarding around the site of the old Gilpin’s shoe shop and the UFF funeral volley mural.

See previously Order Restored (which will link to even more posts).

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‘The Glory Continues’ Continues

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Martin O’Neill took Celtic – and about 80,000 fans (ESPN) – to the UEFA Cup in 2003, losing in extra time to FC Porto of Portugal. This mural off Friendly Street in the Markets – which shows the Champions Cup rather than the UEFA Cup – is still rolling in 2022. Peter Moloney took a picture of it in 2006.

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