The Workers United Will Never Be Defeated

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Workers’ Party (web | Fb) posters along the Falls, drawing inspiration from Black Lives Matter and James Connolly: “Governments in capitalist society are but committees of the rich to manage the affairs of the capitalist class” (from ‘The War Upon The German Nation’ 1914) and “The cause of labour is the cause of Ireland. The cause of Ireland is the cause of labour.” (‘The Irish Flag’ 1916)

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Copyright © 2020 Sabine Troendle (web | Fb)
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Black Wives Matter

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Probably a joke, but perhaps indicative of the competition between race and gender to be the dominant category of social analysis in the last few years. Class comes a distant third at the moment (but we’ll have a gallery of Workers’ Party posters tomorrow).

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Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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#RememberMyNoah

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14 year-old Noah Donohoe went missing on June 21st while cycling in the York Road area en route from his south Belfast home to the Cave Hill. His body was found in a north Belfast storm drain six days later and the postmortem showed death by drowning (Irish News). Many details of his last hours remain unknown, however, including how he came to drown in the drain. His mother, Fiona, started a campaign on August 11th on Facebook and Twitter to press for answers and signatures are being collected for a petition into the PSNI handling of the case. CCTV images of Noah were released on Friday by the BBC. An inquest will be held in January, 2021 (BelTel) with a preliminary hearing on September 30th.

Previously: Gloria Ab Intus

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The Plague Grave

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Care homes accounted for about 50% of the early coronavirus deaths in both Northern Ireland (WP) and the Republic (Irish Times). This Carrickfergus facility is named “Tamlaght” which comes from the Irish támh = plague and leacht = grave. Ireland suffered various plagues throughout history, including the Yellow Plague Of 644 and the Black Death in 1348 with “unheard of mortality” from recurring waves lasting until 1370. PlaceNamesNI states there 25 townlands bearing the name (and many other places too).

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A Pension For All Victims

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The pension plan for the injured of the Troubles was scheduled to open at the end of August, rather than the end of June, because of a dispute over the eligibility of those who suffered at their own hand. The Tar Anall boards shown here (in N Queen St and the Antrim Rd) recommend “a pension for all victims” but in the end, they were considered not to be eligible. Another source of the delay was the dispute over how the scheme would be funded (Irish Times | BelTel).

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Copyright © 2020 Sabine Troendle (web | Fb)
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This Year’s Twelfth

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Here are seven posters from the wall of the Shankill Leisure Centre and the Shankill Road Mission building urging people not to congregate when watching the parades. “This year the bands are coming to you!” “This year’s 12th is about the battle with the bug”. See previously: #SafeShankill | Battle Of The Bug

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Britain’s Occupation Of Ireland

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“20,000 security personnel maintain Britain’s occupation of Ireland.” Lasaır Dhearg (web | tw) stencil on the Falls Road.

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Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Politics & Prayer

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The New Lodge grotto in honour of Mary, adjacent to various murals in support of republican POWs, has been repainted (see previously) with images of the Immaculate Heart Of Mary, Our Lady Of Fatima, and the trio above, showing St. Joseph the carpenter, Mary, and St Patrick(?).

St Thérèse is the figure next to “New” in “New Lodge Grotto” and Our Lady Of Medjugorje is on the right.

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Playing To Beat The Band

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“A Wee City For Everyone”. The old BHS store in Corn Market, Belfast, is (still) being redeveloped. In the meantime, an accordion player joins David McMillan’s (web | ig) marching band on the hoarding around the site. Originally for Culture Night Belfast in 2019-09.

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Against The Terrorist Threat In Ulster

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The original cairn commemorating three part-time members of the UDR (which can be seen in Carrickfergus RIR/UDR) – Henry Russell, Steven Carlton, and Walter Kerr – was replaced by a new obelisk in 2017. The medal in the middle is the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, which was awarded to the entire RIR and UDR in 2006. (The UDR was merged with the RIR to form the Royal Irish Regiment in 1992.) (Video of the launch.)

Cyril Smith was a Catholic from Carrickfergus and a Royal Irish Ranger. The original cairn in his memory tells the story of his death at age 21 in 1990. For commentary, see this Irish Times piece.

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