The Irish “Fáılte” is included among the many languages at the entrance to the ACT (Action For Community Transformation) visitor centre on the Shankill. See previously the signage at Boyd’s in the lower Shankill (which does not have a “Fáılte”) and the Coıste claim that All Flags Are Welcome (which does not have a Union Flag).
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A memorial stone has been added to the fading mural of soldiers of the 15th battalion heading to France in 1915, beginning a list of former members of the Rathcoole Friends Of The Somme (Fb). For the names of the five portraits, and the mural in better condition, see Many Did Not Return.
The title of today’s post is the title of Jonathan Evershed’s book (youtube).
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The Seymour Hill WWII mural will be 14 years old this coming July (2023) but it is hanging on fairly well. It is quite faded – especially the parachutes at the top – but there is no graffiti on the wall itself, only on the wall below it. For the mural when new and information about the US camp and portrait of Colditz prisoner William Harbinson, see M04776.
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There are Orange Order lodges in Ghana and Togo and there were previously lodges in South Africa and Nigeria (History Ireland | WP). A photo of the Ghanaian representative in the mural – Dennis Tette Tay – is included in this BBC article. The Canadian representative is perhaps from “Mohawk Loyal Orange Lodge No. 99” on the Mohawk Reservation at Desoronto, Ontario, Canada (Fb).
Vandalised with “KAH” and “UDA scum!” graffiti.
The Fountain, Londonderry
Update: The cleaned-up board in February of 2023 can be seen in the Paddy Duffy collection.
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The stencil is in Mount Vernon, which is also home to a series of metalworks – see They Sleep Beyond Ulster’s Foam. That title, as well as the title of today’s post, comes from Binyon’s poem For The Fallen, the fourth stanza of which is often cited in memorial for the dead of the Great War: “They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; / Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. / At the going down of the sun and in the morning / We will remember them.”
The stencil is perhaps not only a memorial to the dead of WWI – the planes appear to be WWII models such as the Hurricane or Spitfire on the electrical box (and in A Miracle of Deliverance); most WWI planes were biplanes.
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Shane O’Malley’s (web) piece for the “Famine Street Art Trail” (youtube) in Derry was inspired by the tune The Coffin Ships (score | youtube) by Tommy Peoples (web). The other piece in the “trail” is Omin’s Stars, Look Down/A Réaltaí, Féachaíg’ Anuas.
Great James Street, Derry
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“Geraldine Connon [web] – Geraldine is a well renowned fashion designer based in Larne. She has created this piece inspired by the Games of Thrones and Larne’s Ulster Scots Heritage. Geraldine used Irish linen in the tasel [sic], mesh within the helmet, and created the neck cuff from black feathers representing a crow. Crows are iconic in the TV series. The yellow and black tartan skirt brings in the Ulster Scots element to the piece. The image was photographed by fashion photographer Mitchell Cahoon [ig].”
The official name of the outfit is “Valentine”. This is another of the Game Of Thrones-inspired pieces in Larne town centre – Lower Quay St in this case – sponsored by the Mid & East Antrim Council, with Larne Renovation Generation (Fb) and the Traders Forum (BelTel | News Desk | Fb video). See previously: Larne – The Original Tourist Resort | The Battle Of Ulfreksfjord | Dire Wolf.
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Hugh O’Flaherty – the Scarlet Pimpernel Of The Vatican – is thought to have helped save 6,425 soldiers and Jews who were at large after the fall of Mussolini but prior to the German occupation of Italy and who made it to Rome to see O’Flaherty or the still-functioning Irish embassy at the Holy See. O”Flaherty was raised in Killarney and died in Cahersiveen; he is remembered in Killarney by this mural – painted by Ursula Meehan (ig) in High Street with support from Killarney Art Gallery (web) – and a statue by Alan Ryan Hall (killarney.ie) in Mission Road.
(HughOFlaherty.com | WP | Irish Central)
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“The dead we honour here made the noble sacrifice for a cause that should never be forgotten.” A new board has been added to the memorial to the Ulster Volunteers on the Newtownards Road at St Leonard’s Crescent (the old Newcastle Street) over the bricked-up windows of the Belvoir Bar (see previously Not For Sale). The annual parade of the Belvoir Somme Association took place at the end of September (youtube)
There is also a portrait of Carson (see the Paddy Duffy collection), moved up from its previous location on the corner of Welland Street. The UVF Band mural is to the right of the memorial: see The Great War and They Said We’d Never Last.
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Ulster’s VC Heroes david nelson ernest wright alexander william mcfadzean edmund de win richard annesley west hugh colvin james somers jams duffy robert morrow edward barry stewart bingham thomas hughes robert hill hanna robert quigg john spencer dunville eric norman frankland bell james crichton geoffrey st. george shillington cather james anson otho brooke john alexander sinton dedicated to the women of east belfast that served in wwi and wwii
“The Woodvale Blitz occurred when German air raids took place during the spring of 1941. The first raid took place on April 7th/8th, the next raid came at Easter on April 15th/16th, the 3rd air raid would come on the May 4th/5th and the final air raid would take place May 5th/6th. These attacks on the city would result in over 1,000 civilians being killed and 1,5000 injured. This was the highest casualty rate of any air raids outside London during the Second World War. It was in these streets that the Woodvale area was indiscriminately attacked resulting in the total devastation of Heather Street, Ohio Street, Palmer Street and Disraeli Street resulting in the loss of many lives injuring 100’s more, most of those lives lost were families who had lived in the area for generations. The effects of the air raids and the devastation caused would last for many years to come.” The names of 79 victims are given on the right (see close-up below).
“The Woodvale Blitz April-May 1941. ‘But for the loyalty of Northern Ireland we should have been confronted with slavery and death and the light which now shines so strongly throughout the world would have been quenched’ – Prime Minister Winston Churchill 1945. We remember those who were killed, those who survived and those lives changed forever.”
The Women Through The Ages mural has disappeared from the adjacent wall.
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Extramural Activity 