political

Imagine

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This long board for “International Peace Day – 21st September” sits between the security gates on Northumberland Street (Visual History) and bridges images of the Shankill (on the left) and images of the Falls (on the right) with sunflowers and a quote from Martin Luther King (and a mosaic of additional photos): “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality [tied in a single garment of destiny]. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly” (Letter From A Birmingham Jail. As always with murals of this type, all of the photographs are of the two areas in yesteryear – no mention of the Troubles. Organised by Springboard Opportunities (web), with support from the Shankill history group, the Gaeltacht Quarter, and the Ireland Funds.

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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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End Sectarianism

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“End sectarianism – it hasn’t gone away. Bring down the walls.” Workers Party (web) stencil on Northumberland Street, Belfast. “It hasn’t gone away” echoes Gerry Adams’s remark (Sunday 13 August, 1995) that the IRA “haven’t gone away”.

Below, a Workers Party banner rests against a wall in Custom House Square prior to the march Up The Shankill And Down The Falls on Saturday (October 6th, 2012), the day before the mural was photographed.

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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Flags Flying

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A view of the outside of the Orange Hall on Albertbridge Road (from three weeks ago), with flags and banners of the Queen and today’s Covenant celebrations. Here’s a piece from the Tele on Covenant celebrations in 1962, at the 50 year mark.

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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00617 ulster unionist party, east belfast advice centre, junior l.o.l. queen elizabeth diamond jubilee, 1952-2012 sponsored by royal arch purple district chapter no. 6, east belfast celebrates ulster covenant 100th anniversary, 28th september 1912-2012, sonia copeland, w.d.m., w.l.o.l. district no. 2

Ulster Girl

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This is another piece from the Crimea Street celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s diamond jubilee. This panel with its old-style artwork (a reproduction of a postcard from during the Home Rule debate) is next to the much larger composite board to Queen Elizabeth (featured previously in For Those About To March).

“Ulster to England – Thou mayest find another daughter/With a fairer face than mine/With a gayer voice and sweeter/And a softer  eye than mine;/But thou canst not find another/That will love thee half so well!” The CAIN database indicates that this same girl and poem are also on Thorndyke St (photo at CAIN).

Not shown is a collection of flags on the low wall to the left – see M08637.

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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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For Those About To March

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Here are two details of a large board on the Shankill celebrating the Queen’s diamond jubilee. Still no firm rules for the main Covenant march this coming Saturday … (BBC | Slugger)

For the whole thing, see the Peter Moloney Collection.

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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00619 X00624 Belfast, Shankill Road the heart of the empire salutes her majesty on 60 glorious years, dirige deus gressus meos, may god guide my steps, je maintiendrai, to commemorate her majesty the queen’s diamond jubilee, elizabeth r, ERII, 1952 2012

We Perish If We Yield

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Northern Ireland is anticipating the centenary of the 1912 Ulster Covenant (WP | Slugger) next weekend (September 29th). The board above marks the occasion, featuring, in the middle third, a reproduction of a famous photograph of Edward Carson making the first signature. The full text of the Covenant is included in a mural on Thorndyke St.

This board is on N Howard St, facing the ‘Lest We Forget’ mural (and in summer 2012, the Families Against Supergrass Trials banner) on Spier’s Place. There was a similar board, celebrating the covenant, across the street in the previous decade. This new board takes the place of Rita Duffy’s photography-based piece for International Women’s Day, which has moved to the Cupar Way “peace” line.

The plaque (below) was added after the main picture was taken (perhaps at the same time as a sequence of plaques – see Say It With Guinness): “This mural was dedicated by Alderman Hugh Smyth OBE on Friday the 21st September 2012 to commemorate the centenary of the signing of Ulster’s Solemn League and Covenant”.

X05200 2012 Covenant Hugh Smyth info+

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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00622 X05200 100 years of solemn league and covenant, edward carson, saturday 28th september 1912, we will not have home rule, the lions of ulster, 2012

Looking Back

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Back in January, Bill Rolston said that there weren’t many murals featuring British royalty. The number has surely seen a large increase in the year of the diamond jubilee and the covenant centenary. This ‘blue queen’ is from the Village area.

Detail below …

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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00613 X00612 ER II, this we will maintain

David Ervine

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Here are three images of the 2008 David Ervine (WP) board by Ross Wilson in Montrose Street South, the area Ervine came from, with one of the Harland & Wolff cranes reflecting his connection to working class politics.

Working class Protestantism (and nationalism) was a large part of the discussion of Pete Shirlow’s The End Of Ulster Loyalism? on Sunday Sequence (starting at the 33 minute mark).

Two details below, the left and right sides, with flowers at the base of a broken-off tree in the foreground … for the sculpture, see Memory Chair.

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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00606 X00603 X00605 those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it, H & W

Pacifying The Six Counties

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Photo of a Carlos Latuff cartoon drawn on the wall of a downtown cafe (Caıfe Na Croısbhealaí) in King Street. Dated June 19th, 2012. There was a post on Slugger recently relating to this issue. While he was in Belfast, Latuff was a collaborator on this mural.

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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00598 pacifying the six counties, síothú sna sé contae, media, latuff 2012, belfast 19th june

Our Queens

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Mixed reaction to the Diamond Jubilee visit of Queen Elizabeth II. Above, the remains of an RNU (Fb) poster which (in full) read “Send the Brit queen packing back to the depths of Hades – royal jubilee not welcome here, signed by: the army of unemployed.” and showing Elizabeth with half-human, half-skeleton face (reminiscent of a mural idea from 1989/1990 in Springhill and in Beechmount). (Full poster at Alamy.)

Below, “God save our queen” and “Fuck the queen” graffiti.

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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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