cultural

The Mass Rock

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This mural commemorates the repression of Catholicism and use of mass rocks as secret locations in the days of Cromwellian conquest and the penal laws, c. 1650-1800. The 1652 Act Of Settlement banished Catholic priests from the island and services had to be held at short notice in remote locations, with sentries posted to keep watch against soldiers from the New Model Army. Laws against the practice of Catholicism in Ireland were not lifted until the 1782 Roman Catholic Relief Act (PCUG).

“Is í an charraıg seo ıonad adhartha ar náıthreacha, áıt ar cothaıodh an creıdeamh do na glúnta a bhí le teacht.” [“This rock is our ancestors’ place of worship, where religion was preserved for the generations that were to come.”]

Ardoyne Avenue, Ard Eoın/Ardoyne

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Copyright © 2004 Cathal Woods
X00067 ıs í an charraıg seo ıonad adhartha ar náıthreacha áıt ar cothaıodh an creıdeamh do na glúnta a bhí le teacht

The Great Hunger

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Board remembering An Gorta Mór, The Great Hunger, The Famine/Genocide (WP) with an (actual) old-fashioned plough in front. There is a Visual History page on The Great Hunger.

“They buried us without shroud or coffin” is a line from an unrelated Seamus Heaney poem Requiem For The Croppies. The imagery comes from the Illustrated London News: (from left to right) The Ejectment, The Day After The Ejectment, The Embarkation, Waterloo Docks Liverpool.

Update: Replaced in 2012 by Staır Na Gaeılge.

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Copyright © 2004 Cathal Woods
X00046 eviction, emmigration, ardoyne art & environment project

Under Ben Madigan

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“Is beo ár cheoıl fós” [our music still lives] The Blind Piper is a painting (original) by Joseph Haverty (WP), here placed in the context of North Belfast’s Cave Hill.

Sponsored by North Belfast Cultural Society (“NBCS” in the apex).

Update: The Blind Piper was also featured in a 2012 board over the West Belfast Taxi terminal.

Brompton Park, Ardoyne.

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Copyright © 2004 Cathal Woods
X00051

The Real Pimps

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A twofer here, as we get graffiti next to the mural decrying Sinn Féin on Shankill Parade. “J[ohnny] Adair, T[homas] Beresford – the real pimps.” For UDA C Coy pimping, see Free Library, but why Adair and Beresford are the real pimps is unknown. See the Visual History page on the Adair-Era Murals for background on Adair; see this BelTel article for information about the feud.)

Here’s a shot of the wider scene, from the Boundary Street side, with more graffiti about Johnny Adair: “Pimp Adair, bring it on. Jan 05.” “Jan 05” is a reference to Adair’s forthcoming release from prison.

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Copyright © 2004 Cathal Woods
X00047 X00071 this is the sinn fein commitment to the peace process, guns from florida ireland, castlereagh break in, training farc rebels, stormont spy ring, the real pimps, pimp adair, bring it on, jan 5, c coy, est 2nd batt. uff, simply the best

Drumcree

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“We demand the right to march.” This mural in the lower Shankill is about the disputed Orange Order parade (WP entry, including a map of the route) to Drumcree Church in Portadown, part of which goes along the Garvaghy Road

“Here we stand, we can do no other” is a variation on Martin Luther’s pronouncement at Worms, the subject of this mural

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Copyright © 2004 Cathal Woods
X00058 portadown district l.o.l. no. 1, shankill rd supports drumcree

Buchanan

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Three murals in the series “From pioneers to presidents” were painted in London-/Derry, to Theodore Roosevelt, George Washington, and James Buchanan. A version of the latter was also painted on Ainsworth Street/Woodvale Road in Belfast in the same year (1999).

See the Visual History page on Ulster-Scots Murals.

00086 2004-07-27 Buchanan+

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Copyright © 2004 Cathal Woods
X00054 X00086 from pioneers to presidents, my ulster blood is my most priceless heritage, james buchanan 15th US president 1857-1861

The Protestant Reformation

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Three figureheads of the Protestant Reformation – Martin Lurther 1483-1546, John Calvin 1509-1564, and John Wesley 1703-1791 – in Major Street, east Belfast.

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Copyright © 2004 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00009 X00008

Our Family Of “Nations”

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The fourteenth and final panel in Thorndyke Street contains a number of small panels, including the two above, along with emblems of local Orange and Black lodges, John McCrae’s In Flanders Fields, a list of acknowledgements, and a copyright claim.

For a list of entries for each panel, see East Belfast Historical And Cultural Society.

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Copyright © 2004 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00012 X00017 X00033

Ceol Gan Teoraınn

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“Ceol gan teoraınn” – “unlimited music” or “music without boundaries”. Belfast’s Sean Maguire (also McGuire) (1927-2005) was an All-Ireland fiddle champion and world-wide ambassador for traditional music (WP). The Short Strand artist’s signature can be seen in the bottom corner.

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Copyright © 2004 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00006 X00007 Iveagh Pde