Author: Extramural Activity

To All Who Fought In The Great War

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“Dedicated to all who fought in the Great War”.

This board presents imagery and information about WWI, centrally including the statement (shown above) that “The 16th Irish Division, the Connaught Rangers [7th battalion] and the Irish Rifles [7th battalion], all fought side-by-side throughout World War I.”

The Ulster Tower on the left is familiar from many other murals and boards. In the top left, we see “The Memorial Plaque (Death Penny” which was also known as the “Dead Man’s Penny”. It was issued after the First World War to the next of kin of all British and Empire Service personnel who were killed as a result of the war. The “penny” was in fact five inches in diameter and cast in bronze. It showed Britannia with a trident and two dolphins swimming around her, and a lion on oak, along with the name of the deceased (here, Ronald Mitchison) without indication of rank. (Here is a close-up of a plaque from WP.)

The second piece (mis-)attributes the quote “Play is the highest form of research” to Albert Einstein and shows children playing ring-a-ring-o’-roses. Painted by Ed Reynolds (steadyhanded.com).

Both boards are on the community centre in the lower Shankill estate.

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Belfast Antifa

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The purpose of the “do not use” graffiti in Braemar Street (seen in Remember The Hunger Strike) has at long last been made evident with this new Belfast antifa (Fb) stencil.

Above them is a Saoradh Easter Rising commemoration board (which was previously Don’t Play England’s Game).

From 2017: a much simpler stencil in Winetavern St.

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Moving In Marches Upon The Heavenly Plain

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The stencil is in Mount Vernon, which is also home to a series of metalworks – see They Sleep Beyond Ulster’s Foam. That title, as well as the title of this entry, comes from Binyon’s poem For The Fallen, the fourth stanza of which is often cited in memorial for the dead of the Great War: “They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; / Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. / At the going down of the sun and in the morning / We will remember them.”

The stencil is perhaps not only a memorial to the dead of WWI – the planes appear to be WWII models such as the Hurricane or Spitfire (as on the box below, and in A Miracle of Deliverance); most WWI planes were biplanes.

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Copyright © 2022 Paddy Duffy
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From Dawn ‘Til Dusk

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Street art by Rob Hilken (web | ig) in High Street and Church Lane, Belfast.

“My mural on the corner of Church Lane and High Street is inspired by the businesses in the immediate area. The circle forms represent sun and moon, the sun rising and setting at the beginning and end of the day and the moon illuminating the night sky. The colour palette evokes sunrise and sunset, and the glamour of the local nightlife. The local businesses include cafes serving food from morning until night, bars where people socialise until the early hours, as well as barbers, hairdressers, nail bars, piercing studios and tattooists for the image-conscious crowds that inhabit the area. The mural aims to add to the identity of the area as somewhere where people go to socialise as well as enhance their own image.”

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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The Passing Of Queen Elizabeth II

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A traffic cone provides a makeshift flower holder in front of this board Clara Street board: “Grove Community Group [Baptist Church (web | Fb)] mourns the passing of Queen Elizabeth II 1926-2022″. Charter NI has images from last September of more bouquets and a piper at the board (tw).

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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