cultural

Bangor Protestant Boys

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Here are two wide shots of a long wall from the Bangor Protestant Boys Flute Band (Fb). Many of the panels are related to WWI. For the Somme panel on the left, see Ulster Volunteers; for three of the flags on the right, see North Down Battalion. Right of centre is an emblem for the band itself: the lion and the unicorn on either side of cross rifles and the red hand of Ulster on an oval.

For the previous (mural) version, see Bangor Protestant Boys.

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Ulster Volunteers

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This is another part of a long ‘Bangor Protestant Boys Flute Band’ wall in Kilcooley: the shield of the 36th (Ulster) Division – the Union flag and Irish harp above a red hand on a field of shamrocks – on a garland of orange poppies and WWI battlefields on a purple ribbon – orange and purple being the colours of the Ulster Volunteers.

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X04088 somme theipval messines fricourt passchendaele st. quentin ypres flanders

Pro

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Amateur World and European champion Michael Conlan fought – and won – his first professional fight on St. Patrick’s Day, 2017 in New York. Glen Molloy (Fb | Inst) brings his distinctive style to the pugilist’s portrait.

For the mural celebrating Conlan’s 2012 Olympic medal, see Green, White And Bronze.

Previously by Molloy: Jack Nicholson | Billy Casper | Shaun of the Dead/Leo DiCaprio/Bowie | Walken/Adam Ant/Harrison Ford | Prince/George Michael | Homeless … No Less | Blackjack Tattoo

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X04098 oakman st

North Down Battalion

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Recruiting for the Ulster Volunteers in Down was so successful that it was divided into four areas (North, South, East, and West), each with a battalion, and the North down battalion comprised 15 companies (History Ireland). The Down battalions became the 13th battalion of the (108th Brigade) Royal Irish Rifles in WWI. The YCV (Young Citizen Volunteers) was formed separately (in 1912) but joined the Volunteers in May 1914, before becoming the (109th Brigade) 14th battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles when the war broke out (WP). Both began their campaigns at Boulogne-Sur-Mer in October, 1915 (WP).

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X04089 owenroe dr somme thiepval beaumont hamel st quentin ypres messines arras passchendaele cambrai

Ballybeen Remembers Its Fallen

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“Ballybeen remembers it’s [sic] fallen – to the memory and sacrifice of the brave young men from East Belfast who gave their lives with countless others at the Somme and other battles during the Great War 1914-18.” The Union flag and the Thiepval memorials serve as a backdrop for images of individual soldier and photographs of soldiers and nurses at work.

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X04079 morven pk 1st july 1916 36th ulster division their name liveth for evermore 8th battalion royal irish rifles volunteers albert messines cambrai thiepval passchendaele ooteghem bailleul picardy st quentin ypres somme courtrai kemel ridge arras rossieres langemarck

Ballybeen Dream

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Teenagers at Dundonald High “dream, believe, achieve” success on a par with their “Ballybeen sporting hero[e]s”, such as IBO super bantamweight boxer John Lowey and footballers Noel Brotherson (Blackburn Rovers), Glenn “Spike” Ferguson (Glenavon and Linfield), and Chris Walker (Glentoran).

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In All Theatres Of Conflict

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The boards on the right read: “‘Tis thy flag and my flag;/The best of flags on Earth,/So cherish it my children,/It’s yours by right of birth.//Your fathers fought,/Your fathers died,/To raise it to the skies,/And we like them must never yield,/But keep it flying high.” from The Union Jack, by Edward Shirley, in Little Poems For Little People, and “In memory of the men and women from the Orangefield area, who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the defence of our freedom in all theatres of conflict, both foreign and at home.” These memorial boards are to local men who “stood to the fore to defend the Empire as the 8th Battalion (East Belfast) Royal Irish Rifles” in the 36th division, formed from formed from the “8th Battalion (Avoniel) and the 6th Battalion (Strandtown)” of the Ulster Volunteers.

For the Clyde Valley boards on the left, see Bloomfield House.

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The Sacrifice Remains The Same

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Poppy Trail boards have been added below the 2013 Time Changes board commemorating the sacrifice of the 36th (Ulster) Division – in black-and-white on the left – and the Royal Irish Rifles – in colour on the right.

Previously from the Poppy Trail: Among The Fallen | Poppy Trail 1914 | Poppy Trail 1915 | Poppy Trail 1916 | HMS Hawke | XXXVI

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X04045 ogilvie st

XXXVI

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The main battles of the 36th (Ulster) Division (“XXXVI”) are listed – Somme, Thiepval, Messines, Ypres, Cambrai, Somme (1918), St. Quintin [St. Quentin], Lys, Courtrai – and those who died are commemorated on this new board. The main board is surrounded by smaller boards, part of the Poppy Trail, bearing the names, ages, addresses, ranks, and units of deceased soldiers. For example: William Lyttle, aged 18, 16 Tenth Street, 9th batt. Royal Irish Rifles, Rifleman 13044.

The same (main) board has also been mounted on the Shankill: see Improving Your Environment.

Replaces: They Haven’t Gone Away and Welcome To The Shankill.

Update: info board added “Thousands of brave Shankill men marched down our road and off to war, over 1500 of them never returned, with over 150 losing their lives on the 1st day of July 1916.”

X11327 2022-08-06 Divisions info+

X11328 2022-08-06 XXXVI ACT info+

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X04049 X11327 X11328 northumberland st

In Flanders’ Fields

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04046-2017-02-21-peppercorn

A Somme/WWI soldier contemplates a grave next to a hill of poppies. Mural on the shutters of the Peppercorn café in east Belfast.

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