The association of lions with the English monarchy goes back to Henry II and his sons Richard (“the lionheart”) and John (WP). Why they were represented by lions is unclear; it perhaps stems from the prominence of lions in the Bible and the Lion Of Judah from Genesis 49:9.
These lions, somehow carrying Union Flags, are in Lord Street at Lord Street Mews, east Belfast
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Here are four flags from “Ulster Carrickfergus Loyalists [Fb]” attached to the fencing at the top of Woodburn Avenue in Carrickfergus. For (limited) background on the UCL, see No Illegal Migrants.
First, “Ulster loyalist – unite and fight.” with a fiery-eyed skull (reminiscent of Eddie The Trooper).
Second, “We are united as one & united we shall remain. Never surrender.” with the flags of the “four nations” that make up the current United Kingdom.
Third, “Christ is king. Stand up to radical Islam. Islam is not a race – it’s an ideology of hate.”
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Here are three banners/posters spotted along the Falls Road during the Easter Rising parade on April 5th:
Above: “Sainsbury’s supports Israel! Don’t shop there. Easter Sat 4th [April, 2026].” For background see the post and reel on the BDS Belfast Fb page.
Below: “U.S. military not welcome in Ireland! Not in Shannon, not in Aldergrove.” For background, see Al-Jazeera | ShannonWatch. April 13th: a person was arrested for taking a hatchet to a C-120 Hercules (Democracy Now).
Last below: “PSNI target Catholics at much higher rate for stop-and-search. Source: PSNI stop-and-search data. Do not join the RUC/PSNI. Same aim, different name. IRSP [web] – the party of Connolly & Costello.” The data in question might be from the 2020-2021 period (PSNI | TheDetail) as the current (2025) data do not appear to report on sectional identification.
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“100 years. Lıle na Cásca. Wear your Easter lily with pride. Tabhaır ómós do laochra na hÉıreann. [Pay respect to Ireland’s warriors]”
Shown here are Sınn Féın (web) and Lasaır Dhearg (web) invocations to commemorate the 1916 Easter Rising. The lily as a symbol of the 1916 Easter Rising was introduced by Cumann Na mBan in 1926 as a fund-raising device. For a history and vintage posters from across the century, see An Phoblacht.
Falls Road, west Belfast
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“Palestine bleeds. Over 20,000 children killed. That’s more than one child killed every hour. And 42,000 injured by the Israeli murder machine. Their revenge will be the laughter of their children. Andersonstown stands with Palestine. We are all Palestinians.” The figures perhaps come from a Save The Children report from September, 2025.
South Link, Andersonstown, west Belfast, next to the large Oppression Breeds Resistance mural.
See also: The Occupied Territories.
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Ceannasaíacht [sic Ceannasaíocht] Iarthar Thír Eoghaın – Cuımhníonn an Srath Bán ortha [sic orthu]. [West Tyrone leadership – Strabane remembers them]”. This large tarp replaces another one that used similar language – Cuımhníonn An Srath Bán Orthu Go Deo – but where that tarp remembered the dead of 1916, this one commemorates Sands and Guevara (who are also painted together just to the viewer’s right on a yard wall – see Revolutionaries) and the hooded gunmen of the Troubles-era armed struggle.
Fountain Street, Strabane
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“Cuımhníonn an Srath Bán orthu go deo [Strabane remembers them forever]”. The names of the ten deceased 1981 hunger strikers appear on ten white crosses that are set in a “H” formation in front of a tarp bearing their portraits.
The image on the tarp was originally on Divis Street in west Belfast – see the Peter Moloney Collection and the wall’s Visual History page. And in that mural, the protesters on the left date back to a 1981 poster which was reproduced for the very first mural – see I’ll Wear No Convict’s Uniform.
Townsend Street, Strabane
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The date of the next Anti-Racism World Cup, a soccer tournament at Donegal Celtic contested by international youth teams, has been announced as July 25th, 2026 (ARWC Fb). The banner above includes the flags of antifa, Catalonia, Lebanon, Cuba, Ireland, Sudan, the Basque Country, Palestine.
Andersonstown Road, west Belfast
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“Gaels against genocide in Gaza”, “Seasann CLG Naomh Pól [web] leıs an Phalaıstín [St Paul’s GAC stands with Palestine]”.
This pair of banners is on the fencing at Naomh Pól, on the Shaws Road, west Belfast. Teams at last year’s Murray Festival Of Hurling (named after St Paul’s player Liam Murray – Belfast Media) posed with the banner above (Fb).
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“Free Maduro! Free Flores! Prisoners of war.” Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores have been held in a Brooklyn (New York) detention centre since they entered “not guilty” pleas on January 5th. The next hearing has been moved from March 17th to March 26th (Roya).
This is a Lasaır Dhearg (web) banner in the railings of the Falls Park, next to the Ógra Shınn Féın (web) banner shown in Hands Off Venezuela.
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Paddy Duffy Collection 