Cast-iron post-boxes were made by W. T. Allen of London from 1886 onwards (Victoria died in 1901). This one, which is still in use by An Post, is at Collins Barracks in Dublin. The Royal Barracks (as they were then called) were built in 1702 and handed over to the Free State in 1922 and renamed; they are now a museum (WP).
For (modern) green post-boxes in Belfast, see Letters Only and Accomplishments Have No Colour.
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Copyright © 2017 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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A plaque has been added to the Cupar Way “peace” line memorial to UVF man William “Plum” Smith. “Moved on 8th June 2016 – sadly missed by his family.” For more information on his life, see the previous version.
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Young people from the Shankill, Divis, and Newington came together as “Ambassadors For Peace” (Fb) with students from Susquehanna University in the US to paint the two outer sides of the gates in the Northumberland Street “peace” line. Shown today is the Shankill side. (Images of the work in progress can be found on Belfast Live.)
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A reductive front page describing the contents of the British tabloid The Daily Mail: “Fiction, xenophobia, straight bananas, and women’s health.” Artist unknown. (Please get in touch!)
See also: No British Tabloids from 1996.
(Above is TLO’s Good Year For A Bonfire.)
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Orange emblems added to the Welcome To Loyalist Tigers Bay mural: the crown and bible, a heart and sword, a red fist and the union flag. Two Bible verses are referenced: “And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.” (2 Sam 7:16) and “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God.” (Luke 1:31-33)
For “Genesis 38:28” see Pro-Testant Reformation.
For “Vote Leave” on the gable, see Brits Out!
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Sir Edward Carson, 1854-1935, was born and raised in Dublin, and practiced law there for many years, but he is most famously associated with the Unionist campaign against Home Rule and the creation of “a Protestant province of Ulster” and eventually the six-county state of Northern Ireland. The new mural in today’s post is by Dee Craig in Ballyclare’s Grange Drive.
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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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Two pieces of local commentary from the Cupar Way “peace” wall in west Belfast. “Fuck the peace process”, “Save the NHS”, and “[Secretary for Health] Jeremy Hunt is a total dick”.
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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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Four cameras for “just” 349 pounds in order to “protect your home, your car & your kids”, next to a “Brits out” stencil in Beechmount Avenue.
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Extramural Activity 