Extramural Activity

They Shall Not Grow Old

2016-10-102024-12-25Extramural Activity1 Comment

“Remember With Pride” (with a poppy). Although the dates of his birth and death are given, Stevie “Top Gun” McKeag’s name appears only on the side-wall of this new mural in the Lower Shankill estate. McKeag was the top assassin in the UDA during the 1990s, claiming at least 12 victims. Both his WP page and this Guardian article describe his career and preeminent standing within the UDA.

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Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03892 X03888 X03890 X03889 X03891 X03893 1st april 1970 24th september 2000 ulster young militants terrae filius 2nd batt c.13 shankill road military commander they shall not grow old those we love don’t go away they walk beside us every day sleeping where no shadows fall at the going down of the sun and in the morning remember with pride

Ár Tae Will Come

2016-10-092025-07-18Extramural Activity1 Comment

Sınn Féın representatives Paul Maskey (above), Gerry Adams, and Martin McGuinness are photoshopped into these beverage-themed, Irish-language puns outside the ‘Falls Rolls’ bakery: Ár tae will come, Tıocfaıgh [sic] ár látte, and Mocha-ra.

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Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03829 X03830 X03831 X03832 falls rd sıopa báıceareachta na bhfál

Gulliver’s Voyage To Brobdingnag

2016-10-072024-12-25Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Minuscule humans work in the land of the giants: a lily in London-/Derry and Larne’s crowning glory.

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Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03775 X03760 Rossville St Circular Rd Roundabout

For Bravery In The Field

2016-10-062024-12-25Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Robert King, of the 12th Royal Irish Rifles, who joined the army from the Ulster Volunteers, was “awarded the Military Medal for gallantry in action on 1st July 1916” at the Somme. The two sides of the medal are shown in the top right, with George V on one side and “for bravery in the field”. The 12th Rifles were drawn from the Central Antrim regiment of the Ulster Volunteers including the Newington area of Larne; King, however, was from Ship Street.

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Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03763 X03764 Wellington Grn Central Antrim Regiment newington

The Phoenix Dies And Then Is Born again

2016-10-052024-12-25Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

A stencilled phoenix in the Bogside, Derry’s, Meenan Square. The phoenix dies in flames and from its ashes rises another; a symbol of Irish republicanism.

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Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03603

Crusading

2016-10-042024-12-25Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

This past Saturday saw the north Belfast derby between Crusaders and Cliftonville, with the League-Champion and league-leading Crues coming out on top 4-3. Today’s images are from their Seaview home ground: above are the railings and below a mural on a side wall. The newspaper The Express employs the same emblem of a Christian knight.

Previously: Hatchet Men

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Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03842 X03844 X03843 Shore Rd

A Mother And Father Of Ulster

2016-10-032026-02-03Extramural Activity4 Comments

Billy Moir, who died this past May (2016) was a central figure in the Glasgow flute-band scene. The board above, dedicated to Billy and his wife Anne, is in the lower Shankill estate. “Dedicated to a mother & father of Ulster: William (Big Billy) & Anne Moir, in appreciation for their Dedication, Loyalty, Support and Friendship to all the people of the Shankill Road and their beloved ULSTER. In Glorious Memory, Lest We Forget, Quis Separabit.”

Hopewell Crescent, lower Shankill, west Belfast