printed board/placard

Past The Gaol

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2013-02-08 FountainBoard+

This is the board in The Fountain, Londonderry visible in the distance in True Blue. The panels feature local spots from days-gone-by.

A piece of the old Gaol still stands, between Bishop Street and The Fountain.

Wapping Lane still exists. One can view census records for Clarence Place and Wapping Lane from 1901 at the National Archives.

It would seem that the mural being painted in the top panel was in Clarence Place? (Inferred from this first-person account of life in The Fountain from the Londonderry Sentinel. (Add a comment if you can confirm/refute this.)

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00940 past the gaol and down behind the fountain wapping lane clarence place

Yes, We Are Closed

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2013-02-05 DungivenStorefront+

One of four consecutive buildings with fake storefronts in Dún Geimhin/Dungiven. Painted boards have been placed over the windows and door (and the handle put back on the door?). The helpful “closed” sign prevents confusion!

Previously featured fake storefronts on the Newtownards Rd: Down The Shops | Semiotics. And relatedly: Recession In Fivemiletown.

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Vita, Veritas, Victoria

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2013-02-07 VVV+

“Life, Truth, Victory.” A new (within the last 12 months) board just outside the walls of Londonderry, in the Fountain area. (The Fountain area is a small Unionist area on the west  bank of the Foyle river; the larger unionist population is in the Waterside on the east side of the river.)

The city’s coat of arms is featured in the centre – there are various interpretations of its elements, including the skeleton (WP). St. Columb’s cathedral (WP) is top left and a map of the wall bottom right. In the top right is the coat of arms of the city of London (whose flag is the top part of the coat of arms) – “Lord, Direct Us.”

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00939 [X05219] domine dirige nos, ano do 1633 cap regis 9, if stones could speake then londons prayse should sounde, who built this church and cittie from the grounde vaughan – see If Stones Could Speak.

Out Of The Rubble

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The Covenant and Somme boards originally on the corner of Barrington Gardens before demolition (see July 1st) have been mounted together on a metal frame inside the security gates.

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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The Village Songbird

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“Born in Moltke Street, Belfast, on 29 March 1935. A child singer who became one of the most popular stars in the 1950s. Her first single reached the Top 3 in 1954 followed by her No 1 hit ‘Softly, Softly’. In 1955 she had five singles in the Top 20 at the same time, an extraordinary record that lasted until the emergence of Madonna in the 1980s. She had her own television show, starred many times at the London Palladium including a Royal Command Performance. She toured worldwide and was performing up to her death on 17th December, 1996” ‘Softly, softly, come to me/Touch my lips so tenderly/Softly, softly, turn the key/And open up my heart.’ (youtube).

Maldon Street, south Belfast

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Markets Social

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In 2008 and 2009 artist Raymond Henshaw completed a series of cultural murals about the Markets area of Belfast. This one showcases the people of the Markets. The others are: Portraits | Social History | Sport & Culture | Bars | Industry

Two of the images – bottom right and two spots above it – show a street party to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the death of Robert Emmet in 1953. For a mural from that occasion (in Ardoyne) see Visual History 02.

Lower Stanfield St, Markets, south Belfast

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Help Build The Socialist Republic

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“Dungiven remembers INLA Vol Kevin Lynch. Help build the socialist republic for which he died.” Lynch died on August 1st, after 71 days on hunger strike.

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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McCurrie & Neill

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2013-01-13 McCurrieNeill+

A banner and board reminding people of the deaths of Jimmy McCurrie and Bobby Neill, next to their memorial garden (in the right of the shot) on the Newtownards Road, with the cranes Samson and Goliath in the background. The two civilians died in the course of rioting and a gun battle around St. Matthew’s that was “the first major confrontation to occur in east Belfast during the troubles” (McKittrick et al., p. 50). It is not clear at what time each died. McKittrick (Lost Lives, ISBN 978-1840185041, amazon.co.uk, .com) gives the death of both as the 27th, and puts Neill’s death at 2 a.m. (and so strictly on the 28th??). Matt Baggott is the current Northern Ireland chief of police.

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00900 Investigate these murders. Where is their justice? murdered 27/28th june 1970; still no truth, still no justice

Piece Process

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2013-01-24 JigsawPieces+

Walk over the Albert Bridge onto the Short Strand and just before you turn into Mountpottinger Road on your left there is a little park known as ‘An Glas – The Green’; these jigsaw pieces can be seen there, hanging on the wire fencing facing out onto the main road. See the wide shot and text below for more about the project. Launched 2008-11 (BBC-NI).

2013-01-24 JigsawWide+

Frankie Quinn of the Red Barn Gallery has a a photograph of the two little boys in the bottom left of the board as adults. Also in the background (proceeding anti-clockwise) one can see MickeyMarley’sRoundabout and the old Scirocco Works factory, as well as the Harland & Wolff cranes Samson and Goliath, Belfast CityHall, and the wire sculpture next to the Waterfront.

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00907 X00908 final piece to the jig-saw; this artwork came about by the working in partnership with a number of community groups schools and agencies namely the lower castlereagh community group short strand community forum beechfield primary school st. matthews primary conflect resolution consortium the core project northern ireland housing executive and the relations council; had the idea of an interface art project involving that are situation along the interface; also approached the artists for the project who are two east belfast artists; worked with the young people involved to come up with the idea as to what the artwork should look like with the end result being a picture taken of all the smiling and laughing together and then their eyes and moths taken out of the picuture and portrayed on the big pieces on the interface wall

Mount Vernon Welcomes You

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2012-12-26 MtVernonWide+

Loyalist boards showing a (UVF) hooded gunman and a tiger from the “Mount Vernon Volunteers” wearing a purple beret, on Ross House, the Mount Vernon tower block. On the upper floors are an Ulster Banner and Union Flags.

See also: Families Against Supergrass Trials.

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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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