On The Other Side

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The stained glass from Townsend Street Presbyterian shown above depicts a scene from Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress, where Valiant-for-truth crosses over to his Father’s house. The glass was unveiled in 1922 in memory of “John Sinclair Martin of the 5th Royal Irish Rifles and his son Robert T Martin” (Beechgarave | History Hub Ulster).

Below is ‘Charity’ from the trio of ‘Faith, Hope, and Charity’ by Wilhelmina Geddes, unveiled 1914-02-08. 2016 saw the publication of a biography of Geddes (BelTel | Irish Times).

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Hit The Northern Lights

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Bristol street artist Cheba (web | inst | tw) was in Belfast for Culture Night/Hit The North and produced this mural outside the Bear And Doll.

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Shankill Fathers

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Eight silhouetted men ride on an elephant while the faces of a dozen more Like Sure Start, the Great Shankill Fathers’ Forum is perhaps part of the Greater Shankill Partnership. It does not appear to have any independent on-line presence.

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Hair Dressing

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Dublin-based artist Kathrina Rupit (KinMx web) visited Belfast in September for Culture Night/Hit The North.

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No Justice

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Mervyn and Rosaleen McDonald were Catholics living in the mixed Longlands area of Newtownabbey when they were visited by “UFF loyalist assassins” and shot dead in front of their two young children. The killings are described in most detail in Jack Holland’s Too Long A Sacrifice, which contains an interview with the gunman and the claim that the unit had access to RUC files (p. 94). They are buried in Milltown Cemetery (see final image).

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X04628 X04629 Seamus Costello | Pat Finucane 25 | Askatasuna

Unfinished Business

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The “Unfinished revolution – unfinished business” board at the top of Westland Street (featured in a 2016 post) has been updated in various ways: the year has been changed to “2017” and “Join the IRA” added in stencil. Around the board “IRA” and “Smash Stormont” graffiti has been added.

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Banana Republic

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Rob Hilken (web | tw | inst) – artist and NI manager for Visual Arts Ireland – painted a load of bananas for Culture Night/Hit The North 2017.

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The Freedom Of Others

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“To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” (Nelson Mandela) Nobel peace prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi’s portrait has been x-ed out on the Frederick Douglass mural on Northumberland Street, in protest at her failure to speak out, from her position as Myanmar’s State Counsellor, against the persecution of the Muslim Rohingya population by the Myanmar military. For images of the full mural, see Liberating Minds (and for John Lewis’s addition at the expense of Rosie The Riveter, see As I Would Not Be A Slave, So I Would Not Be A Master).

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Drowning In Paint

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Here is Kev Largey’s (KVLR web) piece for CNB/HTN17, next to the John Peel mural in Commercial Court.

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For God And Ulster

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The members of the anti-Home Rule ‘Ulster Volunteers’, formed in 1912, joined the 16th and 36th divisions at the onset of WWI. The emblem of the Ulster Volunteers is on the right (the emblem of the 36th is on the left). The same emblem was used in 1966 when the modern UVF was founded. See also South Belfast Volunteers | A Hive Of Glass | Village UVF | Welcome To The Village.

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