PUL

Portadown Defenders Flute Band

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“Portadown Defenders flute band formed in Levaghery Orange Hall, Killycomain, 23rd Sept 1971. From strength to strength, the band remains an institution ingrained in history, that has stood for over 50 years. Simply the best.”

Portadown Defenders flute band (Fb) unveiled this new installation on April 6th (Fb). The band also has a board in Union Street. The the lion and the unicorn (above) are from the UK coat of arms

Princess Way/Gloucester Street, Portadown

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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Monkstown YCV

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This entry updates Four Lads Had A Dream, which showed seven boards on the low wall opposite the Monkstown social club. Three more boards have been added to the right-hand end of the wall. One (above) has a gallery of photographs from the history of the Monkstown YCV flute band (Fb) “established 1974”, the second gives the lyrics to a song by Jim English, which was written for the band’s “50th anniversary battlefield tour” (Fb), photos from which are shown in the third panel.

“So now we’ll toast to those four young men from back in ’74/Did they think their dreams would still live on for 50 years and more/So raise a glass to those four young men and the dream they had made/To name the band in memory of the YCV brigade.”

Cloyne Crescent, Monkstown, Newtownabbey

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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Old Comrades

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Here is a gallery of images of the boards and flags on the fencing around “Buck’s Shed” in Rathfern, Newtownabbey. The usual themes are represented: the 36th Division and WWI (Mountainview Battlefields Association Fb), the British military, Rangers FC, and George Best.

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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The Present Conflict

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This is a new UDA board in Monkstown, Newtownabbey. At the top we see the emblems of “Loyalist Prisoners’ Aid” and “Ulster Defence Union” alongside the familiar UYM and UFF emblems. For the UDU, see the entry on one its earliest appearances, in a 2009 mural in the lower Shankill. Loyalist Prisoners’ Aid is a fundraising album of UDA songs (now freely available at SoNIC). (Also seen: an LPA flag flying in Newtownards in 2018.)

The photograph at the bottom (close-up below) shows the UDA marching in 1972 in North Street, Belfast city centre. (Of the buildings on the left, only the brick building housing “Castle jewellers” remains standing – Street View.) The original photograph can be seen at Alamy.

“This memorial is dedicated to the memory of the officers and members of our organisation who were murdered by the enemies of Ulster and to those who paid the supreme sacrifice whilst on active service during the present conflict. Quis separabit.” Four of the 1st battalion dead are named in the mural across Devenish Drive – see Monkstown UDA.

Ards Park, Monkstown, Newtownabbey. For the previous mural in this spot, see Murals Irlande Du Nord.

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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Hurricane Higgins

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“Alex “Hurricane” Higgins – World champion 1972/1982 – 18th March 1949 – 24th July 2010″. Higgins grew up in 16 Abingdon Street (Lennon-Wylie) and played snooker at the Jam Pot club further west on Donegall Road (Belfast Forum).

This new mural at the end of what is now Abingdon Drive is by Visual Waste (web) – replacing the older black-and-grey mural.

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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North Belfast Friends Of The Somme

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The rosette at the centre of the poppy wreath shows the UK armed services badge (with the crown overlaid by the Ulster Banner) surrounded by a verse from Binyon’s ‘For The Fallen’ and “Tiger’s Bay – York Street – Sailortown loyal”. That group’s Facebook page is private and no home-page seems to be available for ‘North Belfast Friends Of The Somme’.

North Queen Street, Tiger’s Bay, Belfast, at the old Lewis Street.

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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1st Ranger Battalion

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After its entry into World War II on the day after the bombing of Pearl Harbour, (December 7, 1941), troops heading to Europe were stationed in Northern Ireland. The army’s 1st Ranger Battalion — an elite, special-operations, infantry unit — was formed on May 27th, 1942, and 600 soldiers, mostly from the 34th Division, were chosen from 1,500 volunteers by Captain (and then Major) William Darby (WP); Darby is shown in the third board. The unit was activated on June 19th, 1942, at the Sunnylands Camp in Carrickfergus (Wartime NI). The Rangers trained with British commandos at Achnacarry, Scotland, before seeing action (WWII Rangers) – the commando monument there was featured in a Red Hand Commando mural in Rathcoole.

These informational boards are on the side of the Sunnylands shops. There is also a memorial stone (Atlas Obscura) at the junction of Sunnylands Avenue and North Road, where the gates to the camp were located.

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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Welcome To My Castle

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This entry updates the images seen in Kragfargus Cultural Corner, which now includes a portrait of Catherine (“Kate”) Middleton, Princess Of Wales and Baroness Carrickfergus (no “of”), alongside the tribute to King Charles III. The other person with a castle is Mr Tayto, who appears in the montage of famous faces on one of the NI 100 boards (fourth image).

Taylor’s Avenue, Carrickfergus

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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The Glorious Revolution

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The story of William in Ireland has been a recent favourite in PUL displays (e.g. Newtownabbey | Carrickfergus | Shankill); this version is novel in adding a letter from June 30th, 1688, both in transcription and facsimile, under the heading of the “Glorious Revolution”. In it, the “Immortal Seven” tell William, the Prince Of Orange, that 95% of English people want a change in monarch. William arrived in England in November, 1688, and in Ireland in June, 1690.

The Williamite Trail (from October) joins an earlier tribute (June) to Elizabeth II on the years of her silver, ruby, gold, diamond, sapphire, and platinum jubilees (1977, 1992, 2002, 2012, 2017, and 2022).

For another combination of William and Elizabeth, see Elizabeth, Queen Of Orange.

This sub-station is the site of the infamous “Join The UDA” mural of 2015 (one | two).

Oakfield Crescent, Oakfield/Glenfield, Carrickfergus

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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