Bluebells flower in April and May, which is also the time of year when foxes are frequently seen, foraging to support their new offspring (Discover Wildlife).
This Peaball (web) creation (with support from @daisychaininc) is on a wall at Ellie May’s restaurant (web) in Dunadry, outside Antrim.
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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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In addition to taking out the top of the UVF mural in Mount Vernon (see Taken By Storm), Storm Darragh (on the night of Friday 6th/Saturday 7th) also knocked down part of the long wall on Northumberland Street (Visual History) between the two sets of security gates, taking with it most of the extended “Imagine” board (see Hope And History; the original portion was mounted for International Peace Day (“[2]1st September” visible in the final image) in 2011 – see Imagine).
The piece on the right, with the Seamus Heaney quote, is partly gone, revealing (in the image above) the old mural supporting (Manchester) United’s Big Lily.
For the art on the gates, see Ambassadors For Peace.
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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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The UVF hooded gunmen mural in Mount Vernon, which “greets” drivers coming off the M2 at the Shore Road, has been damaged by Storm Darragh, which had winds of 90 m.p.h. and more, with the apex and a further 6 feet of masonry coming down. (Belfast Live gallery of NI damage | BBC gallery of UK storm damage.)
This wall is NIHE property (pdf) and the need for repair or reconstruction might delay any repainting of the mural.
The mural in this location dates back to 2001 (here are images from 2006 and 2012) and was touched up in 2022 (T01300 | X10660). The original mural – which dates back to the ceasefire era (1995) – was on a gable at the front of the estate but the entire block of houses was razed – see T00138 | D00382.
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This new Glengormley street art pays tribute to an elephant from Bellevue Zoo during WWII.
In response to the blitz of April 1941, thoughts turned to what might happen if the zoo was bombed. Thirty-three animals that would be dangerous to the public (if they escaped) were executed. A zoo-keeper, Denise Weston Austin, brought Sheila, an Asian elephant, to her home on the Whitewell Road, where she lived for several weeks, before being returned to the zoo in time for the bombing of May. (See WP for dates of the Belfast blitz.) For photographs of Sheila and Denise, and the tale of how Sheila’s absence was discovered, see Wartime NI.
By DanLeo (web), with DaisyChain (web).
Ballyclare Road (just below Moss Road) in Glengormley, Newtownabbey.
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The South Belfast UDA/UFF commander John McMichael was killed by an IRA car bomb in 1987. In addition to organising a team of assassins in the 70s and 80s, he founded a Political Research Group and wrote two documents proposing an independent Northern Ireland. The memorial garden, shown in full in the image below, is just off Sandy Row, near the John McMichael Centre.
“There is no section of this divided Ulster community which is totally innocent or indeed totally guilty, totally right or totally wrong. We all share the responsibility for creating the situation, either by deed or by acquiescence. Therefore, we must share the responsibility for finding a settlement and then share the responsibility of maintaining good government.” (John McMichael 1948-1987) (See also: We Must Share The Responsibility)
The same thirteen names that appear on the South Belfast UDA A battalion “roll of honour” plaque in the McMichael memorial garden in City Way, off Sandy Row also appear in the small (4′ x 3′) reproduction of a mural (2005 M02408) from nearby Rowland Way, which was itself a repaint of an earlier (see 1995 M01183 and 2001 M01518) mural, though updated to note the “distinguished service” of Samuel Curry.
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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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The war memorial garden in City Way (Sandy Row) commemorates those from the Great War, World War II, and “Continuing Conflicts” which includes the “Troubles”. There is also a fourth, smaller, stone, with John Maxwell Edmonds’s memorial epitaph.
“The Great War 1914-1918: In memory of the fallen”, with John McCrae’s poem ‘In Flanders Fields‘.
“Second World War 1939-1945: Freedom is the sure possession of those have the courage to defend it. Their ideal is our legacy. Their sacrifice is our inspiration.”
“Continuing Conflicts: We remember those who have given their lives. The wounded and those who serve in continued conflicts around the world.”
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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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“Save Sandy Row – open the bridge”. “Sensitive dismantling” of the Boyne Bridge began at the end of November (BBC), as part of the restructuring around the new Grand Central Station despite another protest from locals who allege that the bridge is an essential part of Sandy Row culture (see the entry Battle Of The Boyne Bridge in the Paddy Duffy Collection). (There was an earlier protest on November 5th (BBC); the images below confirm the Irish News‘s estimate of “several dozen”.)
However, the bridge’s demolition has become entangled with the traffic congestion currently dogging the city. Specifically related to the bridge, demolition work paused on the 5th of December because strategies to deal with the disruption to traffic had not been effected (News Letter). And more generally, it is claimed that the closure is contributing to the congestion (News Letter) which is affecting businesses in the city centre (News Letter) and in Sandy Row (BBC). So far, the only concrete step that has been taken to tackle the traffic problem is to allow taxis to use bus lanes (BBC).
For streetart at the new station, see Action At A Distance.
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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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The Miriam Daly board (mounted in 2016) was temporarily taken down while the frame was painted to mark the fiftieth anniversary (“1974-2024”) of the creation of the INLA on December 8th, 1974 (WP). “Let the fight go on” are the final words of (INLA) hunger-striker Patsy O’Hara; the group officially ended its armed campaign in 2009 (BBC).
See also the fiftieth anniversary graffiti in Waterford St | mural and graffiti in the Bogside, Derry.
Oakman Street, west Belfast.
November 28th:
November 23rd:
Here is flyer in Waterford Street from April:
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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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Thirty-seven Israeli bombs fall on the women and children of Gaza, targeted at “babies”, “doctors”, “families”, “mosques”, “school”, “everyone”.
On the left (below), cartoon character of resistance Handala (WP) carries the Palestinian flag.
Bóthar Chaıtríona, St James’s, west Belfast
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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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“From the river to the sea Palestine will be free”
These wreaths are mounted next to the Battle Of Britain board on Beverley Street (Band Of Brothers) which celebrates and commemorates the Polish pilots in the RAF’s 303 Squadron during WWII.
The first and third of these three wreaths – which were new at the end of 2024 – combine WWI and WWII. In the first, we see poppies and the familiar image of a WWI soldier standing by a graveside, along with an image of a WWII fighter-plane (probably a Spitfire or Hurricane) flying over a crowd of soldiers. The third combines the red-and-white of Poland with a poppy. (See also the wreath from 2018, which placed Polish writing and imagery within a wreath of poppies.)
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Paddy Duffy Collection 