Belfast north

With My Body Or Without It

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This is a giant image of Padre Pio painted by Cha Cha (Carla Hodgson) (ig) inside the Harcourt Drive gates of what is now St Columban’s – Sacred Heart Boys primary school merged with Our Lady’s Girls to form St Columban’s primary last year (2024) (Belfast Media).

The prayer on the left – “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.” – continues “Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer.” The Capuchin friar is wearing gloves to cover his stigmata, and he was also thought capable of being in two places at once. (WP) His feast day is September 23rd.

Harcourt Drive, north Belfast

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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Defend The Right To Protest

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“Defend the right to protest”, specifically to protest the treatment of Palestinians in Gazan.

The UK government introduced legislation in 2023 to prevent and tackle protests that might cause “more than minor disruption” to the community (Reuters), in contravention, according to Amnesty International, of Article 11 of the Human Rights Act. The High Court ruled against the government in 2024 and its appeal was rejected by the Appeals Court in May, 2025 (Reuters). The latest (late July 2025) Crime And Policing policy paper can be found at gov.uk.

Specifically related to protests about Gaza, in June the group Palestine Action was declared a terrorist organisation by UK government, because of the group’s “criminal damage in support of a cause” – specifically, its attacks on the facilities of the RAF and various weapons’ manufacturers; the group’s initial appeal was heard in the High Court last week (BBC) and the judge yesterday (July 30th) ruled that the group could challenge the designation (Independent).

Shown above is a hand-painted cloth sign on the railings of the Waterworks in north Belfast.

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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Ballysillan UVF

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Six memorial plaques to members of the UVF’s 1st battalion (West Belfast), D company (Ballysillan) have been re-instated and two new one added alongside the 100 Years Of Conflict boards at Carr’s Glen. The plaques to Bingham, Phillips, McEvoy, the “officers and volunteers”, Stewart, and Taylor were on the old UVF mural on this wall (see the Peter Moloney Collection); the two new ones are to Kenny Howie and to Scottish supporters.

Left:
“Lt Col John Dowey Bingham killed by the enemies of Ulster 14th September 1986. Remembered by officers and members of the 1st Batt D Coy Ballysillan. Lest we forget” [(WP)]
“In memory of Major Patrick McEvoy. Lest we forget”
“In memory of Kenny Howie 21.4.1977 – 8.4.2013. Lest we forget”
“In proud memory of the officers and volunteers of D Company 1st Battalion Ulster Volunteer Force. For God and Ulster”.

Right:
“In memory of Major Thomas Stewart. Lest we forget” [d. 1996 in a dispute over money (Irish Times | BelTel)
“In memory of Martin Chin Taylor. Lest we forget” [d. 2000 killed by the LVF (BBC)]
“In proud memory of Volunteer David (Davey) Phillips, taken by cowards Sunday 12th July 1998. Sadly missed by his friends and comrades of ‘D’ Company Ballysillan. Lest we forget” [possibly d. 1998 (BelTel)]
“In memory of fallen volunteers 1st Battalion D. Company Ulster Volunteer Force Scotland”

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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Recovery

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The UVF mural overlooking the entrance to Mount Vernon has been repainted after Storm Darragh back in December (2024) knocked down part of the wall it was painted on (see Taken By Storm) and the remainder of the wall was subsequently knocked down (see Prepared For Space, Ready For Wall).

There were local voices against the repainting of the mural (Sunday World) but after the wall (which is owned by the Housing Executive) was rebuilt, scaffolding went up at the end of March (BelTel) and painting began in June.

The mural will be officially launched at the Twelfth celebrations. The repainting has been criticised by the father of one UVF victim (BelTel). One (very) small mercy is that neither of the gunmen – from the North Belfast UVF – is directly confronting the viewer (including the drivers coming off the M2 at Fortwilliam.

Images of the completed mural are from June 26th; the in-progress images are as dated below.

June 18th

June 11th

June 9th

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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prepared for peace ready for war

The Magic Within

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“The Shamrock supports Kneecap”. Kneecap member Mo Chara (Lıam Óg Ó hAnnaıdh) appeared in court (in London) last week to face charges of displaying a flag of a proscribed organisation (Hezbollah). He was released on bail and will return on August 20th. (BBC | AP) In the meantime, the group appeared in front of 10,000 fans on the West Holts stage at Glastonbury on Saturday (June 28th) despite criticism from UK prime minister Keir Starmer (BBC).

For the band’s other woes, see Seas Le Kneecap.

The Shamrock Sport & Social Club (Fb) in Ardoyne is running a promotion by which people who post their selfies in front of the new mural in supoprt of Kneecap on social media can claim a bottle of Le Grá lager (web).

The fist is familiar from the pro-Palestine mural in Beechmount and the burning PSNI land-rover is familiar from the first (of three) Kneecap murals in Hawthorn Street – see Incendiary Device.

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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To The People Of Ireland

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The central space in Ardoyne’s Easter Rising centenary wall, combining stencils of the signatories to the Proclamation around a tarp of the document (see In Commemoration Of 1916) has been empty – except for some electoral signs – since 2019’s board marking the centenary of Sınn Féın (see Still The People Spoke). This new tarp returns to the Proclamation and Easter lily and matches the frame of signatories once more.

The last full mural on the wall fell down in 2014 and there does not appear to have been the energy to paint another full mural since then – but perhaps the fading paint around Clarke and Connolly will provoke a complete re-do.

For the stone in the right-hand corner, see the Peter Moloney collection.

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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The World Is Our Playground

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Children play among and with the landmarks of the world – riding the Sydney opera house, building the pyramids out of sand, climbing the Eiffel Tower, building the Taj Mahal from blocks, blowing on a windmill, and swinging from Samson and Goliath.

This is an old (2016) piece by Friz (web), still in excellent shape on the wall of Currie Primary school, off the Limestone Road in north Belfast.

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