The Battle Of The Somme – named after a French river – began on July 1st, 1916 and went on until the 18th of November. In those four and half months more than one million soldiers were killed or wounded, including, on July 1st alone, about 60,000 British troops. The 36th (Ulster) Division, on the left flank, pushed ahead of other units and found itself unsupported; 5,240 of its soldiers died.
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Among the sweepings at the site of the former RUC barracks are placards from Sinn Féin Youth (Fb), one bearing a (never-before-seen) Red Power flag (WP). “End social injustice”.
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The “Little Blooms” receive a lecture in history and politics each day as they mount the painted kerb-stones and take in a mural of Orange Order flag-bearers and a scene from the Siege of Derry, perhaps of James II demanding the city and being rebuffed with cries of “No surrender”.
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X02825 X02824 X02826 painted 2015-06 walls gate Londonderry siege william union jack ulster banner bishop’s gate 18 april 1869 west bank loyalists still under siege
The Kashmir Bar on the Springfield Road gets a face-lift with a mural of the old Kashmir Bar, including the boast that it was home to the best singers in the west. A look at the Kashmir Bar Facebook page reveals that pool seems to be the foremost activity. For a photo of the old (green-fronted) bar, see D00283. (There is also a small image on the Belfast Forum.) If you can identify any of the locals pictured, please comment or e-mail.
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X02749 X02760 X02751 established 1895 brendan smyth wine spirits céad míle fáılte in memory of IRA volunteer sean gaynor who was murdered in his home at 236 springfield road by members of the ric on the the 26th september 1920 Image of Sean Gaynor’s grave in Milltown. Account of killing and funeral from Rıstead O Murchú
Here are three images of small boards in the Bloomfield and Whitehill estates in Bangor, Co. Down: above, one from the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF); below, from the Red Hand Commandos (RHC); and finally, the Ulster Volunteer Force and Young Citizen Volunteers.
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X02775 X02788 X02789 for god and ulster shamrock red hand
Banner for the “Legenderry” school of Irish dance. (Fb)
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Fun dance classes for lil legends aged 4 and upwards londonderry derry doire.
Bangor native David Gordon Dalzell was killed at age 20 in Helmland Province, Afghanistan, in 2011, shot accidentally by one of his comrades as he was cleaning his weapon. For an account of his death, see BBC-NI. Dalzell’s ‘fatality’ notice can be read at the MOD. In the image above (and detailed below), the front of this Whitehill house carries the emblem of Dalzell’s Royal Irish regiment and a funeral piper.
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X02783 X02960 royal irish regiment sean barry lest we forget
William Connor (later William Conor) was born in the Old Lodge area of Belfast (in 1881) close to the location of the new bronze statue shown in today’s images, which is at the corner of Northumberland Street and Shankill Road, replacing the UVF/Shankill Protestant Boys (see M02457). The info board (shown below) describes his methods in capturing the Belfast street scenes for which he is most famous: “Conor was developing a spontaneous drawing technique by recording quick impressions, and it soon became a habit for him to go out into the streets with a newspaper, which contained loose leaves from his sketchbook. When he saw anything of interest he leant against a lap post or wall, took out his newspaper as though he were simply reading the sports results and sketched away.”
For more info, see the project’s web site. For images of many of Conor’s paintings, see ArtNet. For images of the sculpture in progress, see Lönze’s site and the project’s Facebook page.
Officially launched 2015-09-26
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X03026 X02954 X02955 X02956 X02957 X02958 Painter William Conor PRUA RHA ROI OBE (1881-1968) was born in Fortingale Street and developed many of his renowned paintings in this area known as Conor’s Corner. J. Wilson Conor’s work on display: Going to the Mills (1914, Crumlin Road, Belfast), Riveting, Lamp-post Swinging (1957, Belfast), The Twelfth (1918, Wellington Place, Belfast), Two Men Watching Lambeg Drummers, Digging. Sculpture & Concept: Holger C. Lönze, Cork. Architectural Design: Robert Morrow, Belfast. All images by William Conor collection ulster folk and transport museum
The eagle (of the Red Hand Commando?) pulls back one UVF flag to reveal … an earlier UVF mural. Close-up below.
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X02767 X02768 ulster for all a. company 1st battalion 1912 YCV for god and ulster ballyree ballyminetragh
A robin sits atop the skull of a cat. Work by Glaswegian street artists Spore, Ejek, Rogue-One, and Vues Oner for the Release The Pressure festival in London/-Derry/Doire back on July 25-26th. See below for a shot of the whole thing and a video of the piece in production.
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Extramural Activity 