What Would Socrates Do?

Holy Cross [Boys] Primary School [“HCPS”] distributes student into four “houses” within the school for motivational purposes but unlike the four houses of Hogwarts (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin) these are named for famous philosophers. Students in all seven years take one hour of philosophy a week – staff are trained by The Philosophy Foundation (HCPS Prospectus) – and they now have a mural just outside the school gates to encourage them in the four “R”s – “reflective, reasoned, responsive, re-evaluative”. The mural shows a student (Conor) sitting in the pose of Auguste Rodin’s Le Penseur/The Thinker, bringing to mind sayings of the four philosophers: (from left to right) “Quality is not an act, it is a habit” – Aristotle; “I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think” – Socrates; “He who knows only his own side knows little” – JS Mill; “Philosophy begins in wonder” – Plato.

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Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X08177 X08178 X08176 X08174 [X08173] X08178 X08175 Brookfield St Mickey Doc Marty Lyons “To find yourself, think for yourself.”

Happy Birthday, Northern Ireland

Both Clifton Street Orange Hall and the statue of King William pre-date the creation of Northern Ireland in 1921. The building opened in 1885 (ArchSeek | Belfast Media gives 1886) and the statue was unveiled before a crowd of 50,000 on November 11th, 1889 ((Melbourne) Advocate | (Sydney) Protestant Standard).

For the “Thank you NHS” banner, see Pro Tanto Quid Retribuamos.

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Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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For A Socialist Republic

“Saoırse go deo.” INLA volunteer Kevin Lynch went on hunger strike 40 years ago yesterday, May 23rd, 1981. He would die 71 days later, on August 1st. His funeral is depicted above, part of a new IRSP/IRSM board commemorating the 40th anniversary of the 1981 hunger strikes. The Tricolour (for the IRA) and Starry Plough (for the INLA) are used as blankets on the prison beds. The board is flanked by two other IRSP boards, one against the PSNI (“96% of Divis residents do not support the PSNI – defund, disarm, disband”) and one dedicated to founder Seamus Costello (“He was the only one who truly understood what James Connolly meant when he spoke of his vision of the freedom of the Irish people.” – Nora Connolly at Costello’s funeral) that was previously in Hugo Street.

Update: the HS 40th board was replaced by a “Divis 81” board.

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Copyright © 2021/2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Onward

Demolition of the Movie House on Dublin Road has begun (John Campbell/BBC) in order to make way for the Kainos Software headquarters (BelTel). The image above was taken on April 26th, 2020, the day of the cinema’s last showings (BelTel).

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Copyright © 2020 Sabine Troendle (web | Fb)
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Free State Post

Letter boxes in the UK (including Ireland) were green until 1874, when they were changed to red. After independence, the Irish (Free State) boxes were painted green and new boxes were cast without mention of the British monarch (Roaring Water). Royal Mail letter boxes in CNR areas of Northern Ireland have occasionally been painted in green-white-and-orange (Republican Mail | Tricoloured Post Box) as a political statement. The letter box shown above stands on the Ballymoney Road in Armoy.

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Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Only Love Can Save Us

Above, a memorial to Biggie Smalls is added over Glen Molloy’s “Only love can save us ….” ; below, KRS-One sports a ‘Malcolm X College’ hoodie. The two pieces – both painted by Track One (ig) face each other in Kent Street, Belfast.

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Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X08137 X07976 close-up T02602 courtesy of Paddy Duffy 2023

Modern Family Living

The first four units of these 3 bedroom semi-detached houses on the Cavehill Road, collectively called “Kyle Mews“, will be available in mid October, by which time the construction wall with its “No surrender” graffiti from the neighbouring Westlands should be gone.

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Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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All Taigs Are Targets

Graffiti in Gardiner Place in the wake of Brexit and the NI Protocol: above, “all taigs [Catholics] are targets” with crosshairs; below, “Brexit needs us to exit the EU”.

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Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Staff Captain Joe McCann

Joe McCann was IRA/OIRA OC in the Markets area of Belfast. He was famously photographed among burning buildings in Inglis’s bakery, during protests against the introduction on internment, crouched beneath a Starry Plough and holding an M1. (For more, see Battle Of The Markets, which features the same photograph.) For McCann’s death the following year (on April 15th, 1972) see Joe McCann. This new board replaces a tarp in the same location: see On The Brink Of Sectarian Disaster.

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Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X08135 X08134 X08136 Clondara St civil rights for everyone Liam mcmillen republican movement soldier of the people James Nora Connolly

Sweet Way To Go Gay!

“Handily packed, delicious to eat, Spangles are the fruitiest sweet! Only 3d a packet. Made by Mars.” A 1952 magazine advertisement for Spangles in the window of a vintage shop in Carrickfergus, showing a street party, perhaps in anticipation of the coronation of Elizabeth II, 16 months after she became queen in February 1952. The boiled sweets were a staple of life until 1984 (WP).

Other early ads for Spangles, which were introduced in 1950, note the price is 3d “and only one point”, meaning that customers would have to use one of the 16 points for non-essential goods from their ration books; control of sweets did not end until February, 1953 (WP).

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Copyright © 2018 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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