IRA

Here is another reproduction of a vintage Troubles image on a small board in Derry/Doire, the well-known image of OIRA volunteer Joe McCann at Inglis bakery in the Markets in 1971.

Previously: Join The People’s Army | Sniper At Work

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Copyright © 2017 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Maid Of Erin

The harp as a symbol of Ireland dates back to the 1500’s, with the ‘winged maiden’ version current by the late 1700s. The United Irishmen replaced the crown typically added above it (used, for example, by the Royal Irish Rifles) with a cap of freedom (for another image see the 2000 Bobby Sands mural). The Irish Republican National Congress (web) is a 2014 group with the goal of a united Ireland.

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Ulsters Brave

Here is another set of four portraits of Robert Bennett, Joe Long, James Cordner, and Robert “Squeak” Seymour, all members of the UVF killed in the 1970s (Bennet, Long, Cordner) and 1980s (Seymour).

Inverary Street, east Belfast.

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McCalmont Memorial

King Billy’s sword is tipped in blood, and he rides below a shamrock, rose, and thistle, uniting the kingdoms. Ballyclare Orange Hall is named after Hugh McCalmont, a major-general in the British Army Ulster Unionist MP for North Antrim in 1895 (and East Antrim in 1918?). His Whiteabbey house was burned down by suffragettes in 1914 because it was used as a training ground by the UVF of the anti-franchise Carson.

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Whispering Winds Why Do You Weep?

IRA volunteer Francis Liggett was shot dead by the British Army during an attempted armed robbery at Royal Victoria Hospital, Falls Road in 1973 (Sutton) while local Sinn Féin member Paddy Brady was shot by the UFF while at work in 1984 (Sutton | An Phoblacht). They are commemorated in the St James memorial garden with the board shown above, featuring two verses from Bobby Sands’s poem Weeping Winds: Oh, Whispering [Whistling, in the original] winds why do you weep/When roaming free you are,
Oh! Is it that your poor heart’s broke/And scattered off afar?
Or is it that you bear the cries/Of people born unfree,
Who like your way have no control/Or sovereign destiny?
Oh! Lonely winds that stalk [walk] the night/To haunt the sinner’s soul/
Pray pity me a wretched lad/Who never will grow old.
Pray pity those who lie in pain/The bondsman and the slave
And whisper sweet the breath of God/Upon my humble grave.

The board is similar in design to the painted one it replaces, except that Éire was at the centre rather than the “SF” logo.

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Beır Bua

“Seize victory”. This is the third in a small series of nail-ups in Derry/Doıre using “classic” imagery, in this case, the phoenix. (Here is a representative mural from 1989: Out of the ashes arose the Provisionals). Previously: Sniper At Work  | Join The People’s Army.

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Those Who Gave Their Lives

“We salute those who gave their lives for Irish freedom”, including James Connolly and Padraig Pearse in the 1916 Easter Rising, planned by Pearse (and others in the military committee of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). The IRA would be formed in 1919. The mural in the wide shot was featured in Mothers & Sisters.

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He Died That We Might Live

UVF volunteer John Hanna was 19 years old when he was killed by “the enemies of Ulster” (the IRA) at his home on Donegall Road in the Village. This new board is in Prince Andrew Park, just off Donegall Road. “Always remembered by the officers and volunteers South Belfast [2nd Batt Sandy Row] UVF”.

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Bernadette

The new Bernadette mural on Lecky Road, Derry, is considerably lighter than its predecessor (which can be seen at Peter Moloney Collection). The setting is still the Battle Of The Bogside, after which Devlin was served six months for inciting a riot, but Bernadette, with megaphone, is in red while the woman with the bin lid is wearing blue jeans. The bulldog and the child in yellow carrying the bin lid like the shield of a Celtic warrior are new additions. The wall in the background was previously Free Derry Corner.

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Éıstıgí

Éıstıgí, or “listen, yous-uns” in Derry/Doıre, is the youth organisation associated with Soaradh (web); it promotes a socialist (and republican) ideology.

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