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
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
T09233 T09234 T09235 T09236 T09237
“1st south Belfast LSC [Fb] remembers. Lest we forget.” “To the glory of God and in honourable memory of the former players from Linfield Football Club who laid down the glory of their youth upon the altar of freedom during the Great War of 1914 – 1918.
The main part of this new board in the Village shows the Linfield memorial at Bertrancourt, France. The memorial was unveiled in 2022 (BBC). The BBC article explains the reference to “Rifleman Walker” in the poem by Johnny Jamison at the centre of the memorial: Walker had been a Linfield player before joining the Royal Irish Rifles and dying on May 6th, 1916. Jamison recites his poem in this Fb video. In the background is the familiar Ulster Tower.
Broadway, the Village, south Belfast. For the small boards above, see Village Team On Tour and I Would Rather Be An Ulsterman.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
T09251 T09253 T09254 T09252
A memorial service was held at the Times Bar on Friday (June 5th) (News Letter) to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the attack on the Times Bar in 1976, in which Edward McMurray and Robert Groves were killed by a republican bomb. (An image of the bombed bar can be found on Xitter.)
Three plaques were added to the memorial garden where the service took place, to William Haddock, James Smyth, and William Flynn. (Compare to 2019.)
As the images from May 10th, below, show, a painted mural was originally planned for the spot.
May 10th:
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
T09220 [T09221] T09223 T09222
T09081 T09082
T09224 T09225 T09226
The colours of the third (Carrickfergus) battalion of the Central Antrim regiment of the Ulster Volunteers can be seen at Sam’s Flags. They are very similar to the piece shown above, except for the addition of the emblem in the top right corner (close-up immediately below) which shows the Ulster Volunteers drilling with a machine-gun mounted in a car, preparing to resist Home Rule – see this 1988 mural and the photograph in this History Ireland article. (See also UVF Motor Car Corps.) In the Royal Irish Rifles of WWI, however, Central Antrim became the 12th battalion (War Time Memories Project).
Next to the Central Antrim flag is a board marking the “110th anniversary of the Battle Of The Somme 1 July 1916 – 1 July 2026. Honouring their courage, remembering their sacrifice. Lest we forget.”
Hawthorn Avenue/Sandes Court, Sunnylands, Carrickfergus, replacing Remembering Our Fallen.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
T09217 T09218 T09216
T09219
“When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less!” In Through The Looking Glass, Humpty Dumpty explains that un-birthday presents are better than birthday presents because there are 364 days in a year to receive them. “There’s glory for you”, he says, by which he means “a knock-down argument”, as he is a master of words, even prideful verbs (archive.org).
This is a new mural by DMC with children from Sunnylands Nursery School and support from the Communities In Transition project. The characters portrayed are (from left to right) the Red Queen, the White Rabbit, the Hatter, the Caterpillar, Humpty Dumpty, Alice, the Cheshire Cat.
Sunningdale Crescent, Sunnylands, Carrickfergus
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
T09212 T09214 T09211 T09210 T09215 T09209 T09208 T09207 T09213
Riddel’s warehouse in Ann Street is the site of a new installation by Nerve Centre (web) called Outpouring, which features the large piece (shown here) by Joe Caslin (ig) in the atrium of the building, with a cinema space and a gallery of art and poetry by young people (Belfast Media). The four-storey building is a former iron warehouse, originally built in 1867 and currently being restored (Plan Belfast). Belfast Live has a gallery of images | Tom McClean took a tour of the building in 2025 on European Heritage day (youtube).
The installation is open from 11 to 4, Thursday to Sunday, until July 5th.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
T09201 [T09202] T09203 [T09204] T09205
Cliftonville striker Joe Gormley has been honoured with a new mural in his native Ardoyne. He is Cliftonville’s all-time leading goal-scorer, with more than 300 goals. He has recently signed for the forthcoming (2026-2027) season, which he says will be his last (BBC).
Velsheda Court, Ardoyne. There was previously a board to Joe The Goal in Berwick Road.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
T09199 [T09200] [T09198] T09197c
“”Islam is heathen, Islam is satanic”, “Islam is a doctrine spawned in hell”, “A new evil has arisen”. Churchill was right in 1899, Enoch Powell was right in 1968, Pastor McConnell was right in 2014.”
The quotations above the AI-generated image come from a sermon by Pastor James McConnell in May, 2014, at the Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle on the Shore Road. The sermon was alleged to be “grossly offensive” and McConnell was charged. The key portion of the sermon read, “Today we see powerful evidence that more and more Moslems are putting the Koran’s hatred of Christians and Jews alike into practice. Now, people say there are good Moslems in Britain; that may be so but I don’t trust them, Enoch Powell was right and he lost his career because of it; Enoch Powell was a prophet and he told us that blood would flow in the streets and it has happened. … Islam’s ideas about God about humanity, about salvation, are vastly different from the teaching of the Holy Scriptures. Islam is heathen, Islam is satanic, Islam is a doctrine spawned in hell.”
In the penultimate paragraph of the ruling (pdf), Judge McNally concluded, “Having considered all these matters and the particular facts of this case I have come to the conclusion that the words upon which the charges are based, whilst offensive, do not reach the high threshold required of being “grossly offensive”. I find myself in agreement with Lord Justice Laws in the “Chambers” case when he said that the courts need to be very careful not to criminalise speech which, however contemptible, is no more than offensive. It is not the task of the criminal law to censor offensive utterances. Accordingly I find Pastor McConnell not guilty of both charges.” (In the ultimate paragraph, the judge cited the poet Rumi: “Silence is the language of God; all else is poor translation”.) A small board has been added to the fence below which presenting this judgment.
The reference to “Churchill in 1899” is probably to volume 2 of The River War, in which Churchill wrote, “Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen – all know how to die – but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world.
The reference to “Powell in 1968” is to Powell’s infamous “Rivers of blood” speech (pdf) against immigration to the UK from the Commonwealth. As McConnell notes, Powell was dismissed from Ted Heath’s shadow cabinet the following day.
The PSNI is investigating the display as a “hate incident” rather than a “hate crime”, as there is no underlying crime if the home-owner agrees to the board being mounted. The relevant statute deems it a crime “to use, or to display in writing, words that are threatening, abusive or insulting, where the intention or likely effect is to stir up hatred or arouse fear”. (Slugger)
The piece is at the highly-visible junction of O’Neill Road and Knocknenagh Avenue, Rathfern, Newtownabbey, and part of the fence has been cut away in order to afford a better view.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
T09178 T09177 T09179 T09180
All About Us (web) offers services for teens with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) out of its office in Greystone Mall/Antrim Enterprise. The walls and many of the shutters on the building are covered in art, painted with help from Visual Waste (web) – a few are shown here.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
T09187 T09188 T09189 T09190
T09191 [T09192] T09193 [T09194] T09195 T09196
“In eternal memory, UVF Volunteer Jimmy Fee.” This entry updates 2023’s Pass Not This Spot In Sorrow, which showed a painted UVF flag in memory of Jimmy Fee. This has been replaced by a printed board which contains a photographic portrait of Fee. As reported in that earlier entry, there is no information readily available about Fee, who perhaps died around 2016, when the original mural was painted. The two upper boards (in the shape of gravestones) have been retained from the earlier work, while the “north Antrim/Londonderry battalion, south Antrim brigade – remember them with pride” board is new.
Parkhall Road, Steeple, Antrim. The WWII banner is in the nearby Steeple Park.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
T09181 T09182 T09183 T09184
Paddy Duffy Collection 