Noah Donohoe would have been 17 last Friday (November 25th). The inquest had been due to start on the 28th, but after the Coroner Joe McCrisker ruled at the end of October that it should take place in front of a jury, a preliminary hearing will be held on December 9th at which a new date might be set (Belfast Media | Sunday World).
“Britain out of Ireland, Ireland out of the E.U.” Strict Irish independence is the policy of the IRSP (web). Back in 1972, Sinn Féin campaigned against Irish membership in the EEC (DFA), but (in the north) supported the ‘remain’ position on Brexit (UNU).
Joe Coggle and Paul McClelland were arrested as they sat with weapons in a car on the Falls Road in 1991; they were jailed for 18 years (Independent) but released under the Agreement. The Sunday World also report that the pair were involved in the killing of David Braniff in 1989. Both UVF men are said to be deceased; Coggle died in September.
Coggle had previously served 18 months for running over and killing Elizabeth Masterson in Beechmount in 1986 and her descendants objected to the mural (Irish News | BBC).
S Company was a predecessor to C Company; it existed from 1969 to 1974, when C Company was formed (see M08105 for an older S Coy – C Coy mural in Ballygomartin). A previous UVF uzi can be seen in M01186.
Here is a gallery of images from the junction of Upper Movilla Street and Georges Street in Newtownards. In the image above, a handdrawn UDA emblem can be faintly seen, behind the modern board that has fallen down (possibly off a house in Wallaces Street). In a separate post, see IRA Council Demands.
On the left is the story of William King,and on the right, the story of the William King Memorial Flute band (Fb), including the death of Bobby Stott on, forty-seven years ago yesterday. These images were taken during the summer; the board was vandalised two weeks ago (BelTel).
William King “was born in Co Donegal in 1920. He was one of a family of 14 … He served in the army during the Second World War and at the time of his death on 24th September 1969, he worked as a security guard at Du Pont in Maydown. A widower, he was a father of four … and lived in the Fountain area of Londonderry … In the hostile atmosphere of Londonderry in the weeks following the ‘Battle of the Bogside’ in August 1969, William was badly beaten by a group of nationalist rioters in London Street, close to the Fountain … and later died from a heart attack precipitated by these injuries. … unlike the victims of Bloddy Sunday, William King and the other approx. 250 people who died as a result of the terrorist campaign throughout the “Troubles” would not receive any enquiries or attention as time passed.”
“On 6th April 1974 having mastered 8 tunes, the band is dedicated on the “Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall” by Dean George Good … On the 25th November 1975, band member Bobby Stott, a part-time member of the Ulster Defence regiment, was murdered by the IRA in The Fountain … [in 1982] they competed at the “Band Championships of Ireland” and were placed 2nd but after this setback the Wm King would go on to dominate the melody band contest scene for the next 30 years.
Yesterday was Thanksgiving in the United States, also commonly known as “turkey day”, and the orgy of eating is today followed by the orgy of spending – Black Friday. The terms are gradually creeping into local parlance, to mark an artificial beginning to the Christmas shopping season. One local petrol chain made headlines yesterday with its “Thanksgiving Thursday” promotion (BelTel | Belfast Live gallery), while one Woodvale butcher is encouraging people to “order your Christmas meat now”, using a saving club if necessary.
The mural underneath is Dan Kitchener’s Night Taxi.
This is the wall at the south end of the Creggan shops that was first muraled in response to the ceasefire (see Time For Peace). This IRPWA (web) board “supporting republican political prisoners” is now in disrepair but it is unclear whether or not it will be replaced, as new construction on Central Drive has greatly reduced its visibility while the new sports centre across the street provides a much more prominent notice-board (see Central Drive).
“I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service.” said Princess Elizabeth on her 21st birthday on April 21st, 1947, five years before she became queen. As the info board to the right describes, “In 2015, she became the longest reigning monarch in British history, surpassing her great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria. In 2016, she became the oldest reigning monarch in the world! … In 2017 Her Majesty and her loyal consort Prince Philip marked their 70th wedding anniversary – the longest royal marriage in British history.”
“This artwork was commissioned by Queens Park Women’s Group to celebrate the platinum anniversary of the reign of our beloved monarch Queen Elizabeth II and was officially opened by Mr David McCorkell KStJ, Her Majesty’s lord-lieutenant for County Antrim on 25th August 2022.”
IRA volunteer Frank “Bap” McGreevy spent 15 (Irish Times) or 17 (An Phoblacht) years in Long Kesh (for a crime of which he was innocent, says Anthony McIntyre; possibly the car bombing of the Klondyke Bar in Sandy Row). He was attacked by two assailants at his home in (the old) Ross Street, near this memorial board, in March 2008 and died of his wounds after three days in hospital.
As the wide shots below show, there are now a dozen pieces along this stretch of the Falls Road. The other pieces have all been seen in previous posts. For close-ups, see Kieran Abram with Charlie Hughes plaque and map of The Falls Road Massacre Unrepentant Republicans Billy McKee, Alec Murphy, and Brendan Hughes; the Falls Curfew Web Of Corruption: Drop The Rents; PSNI Not Supported; Divis 81 in Defund The Police For A Socialist Republic
“Britain in Palestine & Ireland” The Balfour Declaration of November 1917 is seen as a pivotal moment in the history leading to the what is formally known as the State Of Israel, as it made the UK the first major government to endorse the idea of a homeland for Jews (WP).
The poster (for a talk in Cultúrlann) is in Allworthy Avenue; the board is on Northumberland Street. The latter draws parallels between Ireland and Palestine: homelands partitioned for British imperialist interests, struggles for freedom met with British barbarism … forbidden from speaking their native tongue, faiths outlawed … . About 650 former RIC members were recruited to the “British Gendarmarie” that would police what was called “Mandatory Palestine” (Palestine Studies | Irish History) after WWI.
The League Of Nations mandate putting the UK in change of the Palestinian territory was replaced (in 1947) by a UN plan for partition, which triggered an internal war between Jews and Arabs, and when the UK ended the mandate and evacuated from Palestine in May 1948, Israel declared independence and neighbouring Arab states entered the conflict. About 700,000 Arabs were displaced during the fighting. Key48 (tw) advocates for the right of return and uses as a symbol the keys that householders took with them when they fled.
Extramural Activity 