East Antrim 1st battalion (specifically D Company?) and (North?) Belfast 3rd battalion mural in Erskine Park, Ballyclare.
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Lest We Forget
PUL
Henly Gate
Five Belgian brigades trained in Northern Ireland towards the end of WWII, as the Belgian Army rebuilt itself after the liberation of Belgium in 1944 (WarTimeNI). The 3rd or ‘Rumbeke’ brigade was raised in March 1945 and trained in six south-east Antrim towns, including Carrickfergus, where they were stationed at Henly House. After training, it took part in the occupation of Germany for about six months (BE Brigades). The boots and plaque are beneath the arch of what was once Prospect House.
The text on the plaque reads in full: “Henly Gate. This portico is the only portion of the Henly Gate remaining. The gate was erected in the 1920s as a 21st birthday present to Gwen Henly who was the last owner of Prospect House Estate. Belgian 3rd Infantry Brigade “Rumbeke”. During WWII the Estate was commandeered for military purposes. Following the liberation in late 1944 it was agreed that Belgium would raise 5 Infantry Brigades which were to be trained in Northern Ireland. The 3rd Infantry Brigade “Rumbeke” was posted to Northern Ireland from March 1945. It was billeted around the Northern shore of Belfast Lough. The 2nd Battalion was located here at Prospect House. The Brigade trained for almost 6 months in this area before going on to take part in the occupation of Germany. Dedicated 5th November 2006 by the Borough of Carrickfergus.”
At the junction of Woodburn Rd and Prospect Rd, Carrickfergus.
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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The Men From Ballyclare
The Men From Ballyclare & District was launched without the board along the fence/wall in front of the mural. The original post shows “UDA reserved” graffiti on the wall to the right. In 2021, there was some South East Antrim lettering to the right – see A0835. (For the SEA UDA in Ballyclare, see previously the companion WWI mural and 100 Loyal Men. Also, Belfast Live | Bel Tel.)
There is now a long board along the front. The two info plaques profile Edward Girvan and John Erskine, whose portraits are also featured in the larger mural, and between them are the emblems of the branches of the British Army: Merchant Navy, Navy, Army, and Air Force.
To the right of and out of frame in the image above, there is a Union Flag painted for the 75th anniversary of VE Day – see Street View.
Erskine Park, Ballyclare
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Copyright © 2023/2025 Paddy Duffy
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Resistance Becomes Duty
The phrase “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty” is commonly but spuriously attributed to Thomas Jefferson (Monticello). It is used here by “1st East Antrim Battalion – Ballyclare – Ulster Volunteer Force” in the Grange and Erskine Park estates (Ballyclare) to protest Brexit and the NI Protocol. The graveside mourners, however, belong to WWI.
Previously on the gable in Erskine Park: The Heaneys.
The one shown above is next to the 3rd batt/1st batt memorial – see Lest We Forget.
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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To The Very Death
“‘Let no man ever think for a moment that I will not stand to the very death if it is necessary in the interests of Ulster and of the Ulster people.’ Captain James Craig, first prime minister of Northern Ireland.”
To go with the fighting words, Craig is shown here in military uniform – though he was a young man when joined the Royal Irish Rifles and served in South Africa for two years (1899-1901), with the Imperial Yeomanry and the Imperial Military Railways. As the politician who was instrumental in the Ulster Volunteers and the creation of Northern Ireland (and prime minister until his death in 1940), he is usually shown in civilian clothes – see e.g. Floreat Ultona | Ulster Welcomes Her King & Queen | Because He Loves What Is Behind Him.
The source of the quote is unknown – please comment or get in touch if you can say what it is from. It’s also not clear what uniform Craig is wearing – the cap badge is the ‘lion on crown’ used e.g. by officers of the Devonshire yeomanry; it is perhaps a officer’s dress uniform for the Imperial Military Railways (though see the IMR pouch badge). Craig was also assistant adjutant to the 36th Division (DIB).
Erskine Park, Ballyclare
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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South East Antrim Brigade
UDA volunteers in balaclavas stand ready to defend Erskine Park (Ballyclare) against forces (from the south? from Britain?) that would implement ‘home rule’ in (north-east) Ireland.
“South East Antrim Brigade – “Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees in an Irish republic.” (A slogan from Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata.)
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
T01814
Ballyclare Remembers
… The Great War, “1916-2016”. WWI centenary mural in Grange Drive, Ballyclare.
Replaces Over The Top.
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Your Country Needs You
“The UDA formed in 1971 as an umbrella for Loyalist Vigilante groups being formed. There [sic] role to defend the Protestant community from IRA violence. They remain today. Ask yourself this question: When the battle has been finally won, will I be able to stand and be counted amongst the men won it? Make sure the answer is yes – join your local unit of the UDA. Your country needs you.” This is an addition to the panels shown in Show No Mercy, Expect None Back.
And (on the other side of the street) the tarp is an addition to ‘We Will Never Accept A United Ireland’. “We remember our culture, from the siege of Derry to the battle of the Boyne. ‘No Surrender’.”
For the Varadkar poster, Political Leaders Are Not Listening.
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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The Comrades
Ballyclare Comrades football club – whose motto is ‘Nihil nisi optimi’ [nothing but the best] – was founded in 1919 by members of the local Great War ‘comrades’ association. That heritage is used here for the Ballyclare Protestant Boys flute band. In the centre, between images from WWI, the flowers of the four ‘home nations’ are joined by orange lilies, and in the shield are the lion and the unicorn from the coat of arms of the UK.
“To Flanders fields some men in our town were sent and along their way many would repent their priority goal to keep Ulster free that we may have freedom both you and me as part of Great Britain they fought and died and their names we will remember and remember with pride. Lest we forget. Comrades from Ballyclare. Nihil nisi optimi. The Comrades.” “Ballyclare Protestant Boys Est. 2004”
Next to 1921-2021.
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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1912-1921
“When Ulster men are proudly glad of the land where they were born/And when England’s cry for help was heard we told them have no fear/For across the flanders fields we send our Ulster Volunteers.”
These are just a few lines from the song First Of July Morn and are used here to recall how the Ulster Volunteers – formed to fight against the imposition of Home Rule – became the 36th Division in WWI, and suggest that the British government should continue to support the Northern Ireland state beyond its one-hundedth anniversary and the current impasse over the NI Protocol of Brexit as a reward for loyalty.
The song’s alternate titles “England’s Treachery” or “Englishman’s Betrayal” give a better feel for the attitude of the whole thing: that England betrayed Ulster by having “sold away” the three counties of Donegal, Cavan, and Monaghan, and that “Ulster men” should “never more be led away, to fight in foreign lands/Not to die, for someone else’s cause, at an Englishman’s command” (youtube). The application to the current situation would then be that loyalism cannot rely on the good nature of the English and should ready itself for “perfidious Albion” to (try to) give away the six counties as well.
“Ballyclare says no to a Irish Sea border.” “Loyalist Ballyclare will never accept an border in the Irish Sea.” “The Belfast Agreement has been broken – the deal’s off.”
Ballynure Rd/Main Street, Ballyclare, next to The Comrades.
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
T01807 charlie freese the broken covenant
Paddy Duffy Collection 