Here are four pieces of political commentary from Deptford and Rochester in London. “BoJo must go” – hounded by the Metropolitan Police over violating Covid lockdown, “Fuck Boris”, “We are all Daniel Blake – Conservatives kill disabled people” (by jellyjartist), and “Brexit is childish” graffiti on top of a portrait of artist Billy Childish.
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Copyright © 2022 Peter Moloney
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Of some interest in this Mersey Street NI Centenary board is the use of St Patrick’s saltire (in the background). The saltire is an anglo symbol of Ireland and was included in the Union Flag when the union was between Britain and Ireland and thus – like the word “Ulster” – has been reduced to meaning Northern Ireland after partition.
There is also an anti-Irish Sea border board on the next house along – see An Act Of Betrayal. This features the Union Flag together with flags representing the “home countries”: the Welsh dragon, the English St George’s Cross, the Scots St Andrew’s Saltire, and the Northern Irish Ulster Banner.
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Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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The graffiti reads “No EU, No Irish, Buy British” but the cars parked in front of these graffiti are a BMW – a German company with factories also in China, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa and the US (WP) – and a Ford – a US company with factories all over the world, but since 2002 Ford cars have not been made in Britain (WP). The graffiti is a protest at the NI Protocol (as seen in roughly 22 previous posts).
In the Dee St/Newtownards Rd Iceland car-park, adjacent to the ‘pilgrims’ mural seen in Please Pay Here.
Reminiscent of: ‘No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish’ in Oppose Racism | No Irish No POWs | More Blacks, More Gays, More Irish
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Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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The moon rises over Thompson’s feed on York Road while the sun sets over the New Lodge tower blocks, most of which have the portraits of two deceased hunger strikers from the 70s and 80s on them, including Francis Hughes on Teach Mhéabha. (See New Lodge Flats for a full list.)
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Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Derry’s Bogside is at odds with everyone, it seems: above, the English Queen and her platinum jubilee, below, NATO, and … Creggan!
Lasair Dhearg’s take on the jubilee is entitled 70 Years A Parasite.
The anti-NATO placard has a small hammer-and-sickle at the bottom.
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Copyright © 2022 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
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The celebrations for Queen Elizabeth’s platinum (70th) jubilee officially began yesterday with the “trooping of the colour” (Guardian) (a birthday parade – which has been notable here for a BBC commentator’s description of the Irish Guards as “micks” (BelTel)) and the lighting of 1,500 beacons (Sky). Today’s church service at St. Paul’s Cathedral in the Queen’s honor will take place without her after she (again) experienced “mobility issues” on Thursday (Guardian). Today’s images are of jubilee merchandise for sale in Shankill shops.
See previously: On The Occasion Of Her Platinum Jubilee.
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Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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“The people of Rathcoole send their sincere and heartfelt congratulations to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the historic occasion of Her Platinum Jubilee.” The Monday at the end of May is usually a bank holiday in the UK, but this year it is being postponed until the end of the week and combined with an additional one to create a four-day weekend beginning this Thursday in celebration of the 70th (“platinum”) anniversary of the accession of Elizabeth on February 6th, 1952 (the coronation was on June 2nd, 1953).
The mural centrally shows an official portrait from 1992, wearing the orders of George VI and George V; the four medallions show Elizabeth at her birth, her coronation, “trooping the colour” on her birthday, and 70th wedding anniversary in 2017.
With support from RATH (Rathcoole Achieving, Transforming, Helping each other) and Dalaradia (web). For another Dalaradia board in Rathcoole, see Kingdom Of The Pretani ; for a Cú Chulainn version of the Dalaradia board, see Defending Ulster From Gaelic Attacks.
See previously: Rathcoole UDA celebrate the golden jubilee.
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Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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An Orange parade to celebrate the centennial of Northern Ireland – postponed last year on account of the pandemic – will take place today, with roughly 130 bands marching from Stormont to Belfast city centre (Belfast Live). There is not much indication of the parade in posters or murals, perhaps because the anniversary itself has passed. If we read the community’s concerns from the displays in the window of this Shankill Road shop (just above the old Beresford St and the Mussen Cortège mural), they include the NI centenary and the murder of Lee Rigby (WP) (image above), PTSD (second image), the upcoming platinum jubilee of Queen Elizabeth (third) – we will have more jubilee photos over the coming week, and the centenary of the Ulster Tower WWI memorial (see e.g. Our Heritage In Your Hands).
You can get all your centenary gear and Shankill Protestant Boys merch on-line at Northern Culture.
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Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Three images of Home Rule vintage are resurrected on Village lamp-posts to fit the situation of the current moment:
“The red hand and the winning hand” is an anti-Home Rule postcard (NMNI) featuring Craig, Bonar Law, Wallace, and Carson as the four aces, in addition to the red hand itself as joker or wild card. Carson and Craig need no introduction; Andrew Bonar Law was the leader of the (opposition) Conservative Party at the time of the third Home Rule bill (WP), while Colonel Robert Hugh Wallace was grand master of the Belfast Orange Order and as such the main organiser of protests against the bill (DIB).
“It’s our flag – fight for it, work for it” is an Australian recruitment poster from WWI (NMNI).
“Against home rule – hand up!” shows a nine-county Ulster, including Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan (and “Derry”) with the red hand emanating from Tyrone, the Red Hand County, symbol of the O’Neills (WP).
For the Northern Ireland coat of arms, see The Lion And The Elk and (on a much earlier mural in the Shankill) Quis Separabit.
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Here are two signs of protests at the NI Protocol along with the third version of graffiti complaining about parking spaces being taken by people working at the Boucher Road complexes. The original version (in 2020) threatened that “your car will be burnt” (Street View). It’s not clear whether it’s new construction or existing businesses that are the target, though the Boucher Road area has been busy, with a refit of B&Q (BelTel) and new Lidl being built next to the Olympia (BelTel) (not to mention the stage for the Ed Sheeran concerts (Newsletter)).
“Loyalist Village says NO! to an Irish Sea border”, “Loyalist Village will never accept a border in the Irish Sea.”
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Extramural Activity 