Author: Extramural Activity

Only A Few Minutes

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The day before he met his end, Captain James Samuel Davidson, Brigade Captain in the machine gun company of the 108th infantry brigade, 36th (Ulster) Division, wrote to his mother, “Only a few minutes to tell you I am well. The dawn of tomorrow will be the critical time for us but I hope good luck will attend us. Mother dearest, I don’t want you to be too anxious about me but if I should have bad luck, will you give [fiancée] Eileen [Rogers] any of my little personal things she would like to have. I will send a postcard just as soon as I can if all goes well.”

Staff Officer Wilfrid Spender wrote to the family at Seacourt, Bangor, “I am told that your son fell after gallantry which deserved the Victoria Cross and was killed when his men had at last persuaded him to consent to letting them carry him back. Though badly wounded, he had insisted on carrying on. If I may say so, I value the friendship of your son and hope that I may be worthy to renew it later in another and better life.” He had initially been shot in the knee and was shot again while being carried back.

Before the war, Davidson had been a director at Sirocco and a member of the North Down battalion of the Ulster Volunteers.

(Military Images | Men Behind The Glass)

12 panels in Clanmorris Avenue, Bangor.

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Gone Too Soon

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“To live in the hearts of those left behind is not to die.” Above is the main piece in a new (2022-11) memorial garden next to Fáılte Feırste Thıar dedicated to young people from the Divis area who have passed away (Belfast Media). There are two smaller pieces on the opposite wall and one next to the alley (immediately below), and together they form the space for a memorial garden. “There is hope on the horizon: May love and laughter be our guide as navigate the tides of grief and despair. … Gone too soon, but cherished eternal.”

With support from Peace IV, Belfast City Council, and the Housing Executive.

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The Age Of Industry

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This is work by Ed Hicks (ig) on the general theme of Belfast and its industry, though with a skull and bird’s head and an octopus, though this might fit with the ocean liner.

To the right of these panels is tribute to the early air conditioning in the Royal which is now burnt out – see 2022’s Cool.

College Street Mews, Belfast city centre

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The Cause Of Labour

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“”The cause of labour is the cause of Ireland, and the cause of Ireland is the cause of labour” – James Connolly”. From The Irish Flag, 1916.

The renovation and expansion of Áras Uí Chonghaile (web) was officially opened in 2019 and included “a bespoke corten steel extension that has an intricate perforated image of Connolly’s face” (RIBAJ).

Falls Road, west Belfast, a short distance from the house in which Connolly lived for a time – see the Peter Moloney collection.

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Inspirational Women

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Students from Coláıste Feırste, in Beechmount, west Belfast (tw), and Ashfield Girls’ High School, in Sydenham, east Belfast, were involved in the exhibition Idır Dhá Aıgne in Cultúrlann in 2014 and the two schools again combined their artistic talents to produce these five collages of inspirational women: Katie Taylor and Noelle Ryan (by students from Coláıste Feırste), and the Brontë sisters, Ellen Degeneres, and Rosa Parks (by students from Ashfield Girls’).

With sponsorship from the Northern Ireland Executive and Féıle An Phobaıl. The mural is on the shoulder of the “peace” line, just above the security gates.

Cupar Way, west Belfast

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Clonard Amateur Boxing Club

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Michael Conlan is portrayed on perforated metal (by Graepels Perforators – Construction Ireland) on the refurbished electrical station that is now the new home of Clonard Amateur Boxing Club (Fb). Conlan boxed at the club for about a decade before turning pro (Belfast Live).

Gortfin Street/Beechmount Pass, Beechmount, west Belfast

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INLA Roll Of Honour

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“Irish National Liberation Army, Belfast Brigade, roll of honour. For national liberation and socialism in Ireland.” With the named of 22 volunteers who died between 1975 and 2021: Ferguson, Loughran, McNamee, Daly, Bunting, Little, Power, McLarnon, Craven, McCann, Power, O’Reilly, Kearney, Gargan, Gallagher, McColgan, Campbell, McWilliams, O’Hara, McMullan, McElkerney, McWilliams.

This is an extension, to the right, of the yellow-backgrounded panels seen in For A Socialist Republic (2021-05), Defund The Police (2022-09), and Bap McGreevy (2022-11).

Falls Road, Belfast.

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Over The Bridge

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This large mural features H&W shipyard workers at the turn of the century, inspired by paintings of William Conor such as Shipyard Workers Crossing Queen’s Bridge and Over The Bridge.

The mural was restored by Dee Craig (Fb) in 2018 after originally being painted by John Johnston c. 2008. For images of the previous version, see Titanic Workers.

The mural is on the footbridge linking Dee Street and Queen’s Island, in east Belfast.

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Titanic Halt

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The underpass from Ballymacarrett Road to the Titanic Quarter station (formerly Bridge End and renamed in 2012 (BBC)) was remodeled in 2020, with new pavers and the removal of the bollards at the entrance to the underpass, and some new parking bays (ACS). In 2022 the old mural (Transformation, from 2012) was replaced with a gallery of famous faces – actors, musicians, comedians, and singers.

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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