Victoria Crosses

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“Only by remembering these men, and others like them, can we ever repay their memory.” Nine Victoria Cross recipients from the 36th (Ulster) Division in World War I are honoured in this board on the Shankill at the Co-Op (which was previously across the road in Crimea Street).

The nine are (from 1917 and 1918) E[dmund] De Wind, E[rnest] Seaman, C[ecil] L[eonard] Knox, N[orman] Harvey, (from 1916) G[eoffrey] St. G[eorge] S[hillington] Cather, W[illiam] F[rederick] McFadzean, E[ric] N[orman] F[rankland] Bell, R[obert] Quigg, and J[ames] S[amuel] Emerson. 

The illustrations come from Cyril Falls’s book The History Of The 36th (Ulster) Division (from Project Gutenberg).

The poem In Flanders’ Fields is by Canadian John McCrea.

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Copyright © 2011 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Donegall Pass Supports Our Troops

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The troops in question are British forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, though the withdrawal of troops from Iraq had just taken place (on May 22) prior to the photographing of the image above (June 26).

Charlotte Street, Belfast.

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Copyright © 2011 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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South Belfast Young Conquerors

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Young Conquerors flute band (Fb) mural in Pine Street, Donegall Pass. The flags are regimental flags of the 36th (Ulster) Division.

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Copyright © 2011 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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The Young, The Brave & The Fearless

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Here are the main parts of the YCV mural in Walnut Street, off Donegall Pass, from left to right. The earliest image of this mural is 2001’s M01522.

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Copyright © 2011 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Coıllte Bhéal Feırste

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In 1992, the Forest Of Belfast project was started, a public-private to preserve old trees and encourage tree-planting. Above is one of the murals painted to publicise the effort, on Hillman Street at the Antrim Road. (Another was painted on the Falls Road.)

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Copyright © 2011 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Lay Them Away On The Hill Side

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“Lay them away on the hill side/along with the brave and the bold/Inscribe their names on the role [sic] of fame/in letters of purest gold.” The Ulster Tower at Thiepval commemorates the WWI dead of the 36th (Ulster) Division. The words, however, come from a song about James Daly, who was executed by firing squad for taking part in a 1920 mutiny of the Connacht Rangers in India in protest of the activities of the Black and Tans. Above (and below – not shown) are the insignia and names of UVF volunteers from UVF South Belfast 2nd battalion – see Lay Them Away On The Hill Side.

On the side of The Hideout, Pine Street.

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Copyright © 2011 Extramural Activity
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Rev Robert Bradford

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South Belfast MP Robert Bradford was assassinated by the Provisional IRA in Finaghy at a meeting with constituents; the caretaker of the community centre, Ken Campbell, was also killed by the fleeing attackers. In late 1981, with the hunger strikes having ended only a month before, the killing was noted around the world and raised fears of broad civil unrest (BBC | NYTimes).

“Vita, veritas, victoria” [life, truth, victory] is the motto of Londonderry. Here we have “vita, veritas, victa” [life, truth, conquered; perhaps the intended meaning was “conquering” rather than the passive]. The crest is also not quite the crest of the Apprentice Boys, with a ship in the bottom right rather than a skeleton. Get in touch if you can resolve either discrepancy.

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Copyright © 2011 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Self Same Sky

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“Over us all is the self same sky”. “A hands across the divide production, 2011”. A heart filled with swallows and a ribbon with the names of the various participants.

Crumlin Road at the Ardoyne shops, north Belfast.

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Copyright © 2011 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Rangers Ready

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Rangers Football Club, founded in 1872 (rather than the 1873 shown here – Brittanica), has its home in Glasgow, Scotland, but has a large following among Northern Irish Protestants.

Union Street, Edgarstown, Portadown.

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Copyright © 2011 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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South Belfast UVF

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South Belfast Ulster Volunteer Force 2nd Battalion “A” Company Donegall Pass, with the flag of England (St. George’s Cross) in one corner and in the other an orange star with “1912” written below, the year the Ulster Volunteers were founded. The colour-scheme is the reverse of the Orange Order’s: its flag has the purple star of the Williamites on an orange field.

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Copyright © 2011 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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