The Pride Of Ardoyne flute band memorial site was overhauled in November. The silhouetted bandsmen (seen in Pride Of Ardoyne) are gone and the cross and wooden plaque at the top (see Billy Hanna) have been joined by two large boards, naming “J. Bailey, W. Hanna, S. Rockett, B. McClure” and, (on the drum) “Charlie Dunn (1957-2021)”, along with 20 small plaques of these five plus 15 more who are an “absent member”, “absent friend”, and “loyal supporter”.
Here is a gallery of the flowers painted last summer (2023-06) in the New Lodge, with some details and some new additions (as compared with New Lodge Gardens), including a pair of hands by emic (ig).
The name “Ulster-Scots” refers to the emigrants to North America from Ulster that had previously come from Scotland and the English borders, and most of the Ulster-Scots murals in the 2000s focused on emigration to America and on US Presidents with Scotch-Irish heritage (see the Visual History page of Ulster-Scots murals).
In 2017, a series of boards along York Street focused on industrialists in Northern Ireland with Scottish backgrounds: 13 panels in five posts: one | two | three | four | five. And this new collection of “Ulster-Scots” luminaries (which is 100 paces away) likewise presents figures who are associated with Northern Ireland rather than America. Modern folk such as those portrayed in these new boards presumably have Scottish heritage rather than Scotch-Irish. (The title of this entry – The Scots In Ulster – comes from a Discover Ulster Scots poster about the Scots who came to Ulster in the 1600s, regardless of whether or not they or their descendants later moved to America.)
From left to right, the people shown are as follows. (Links are to previous entries in the Extramural collection.)
Mountcollyer: motorcyclist Rex McCandless, author CS Lewis, physicist John Stewart Bell, song-writer Jimmy Kennedy, medical inventor Frank Pantridge
The corner at Limestone Road and North Queen Street has been finding a biblical passage to express the jubilations and tribulations of God’s chosen people since 2016, when Revelations 18:4 was cited on the gable wall in support of Brexit; in 2021 this was changed to Psalms 95:7 – visible in the images in the wide shot, below – in reference to the chosen people’s soccer team, Rangers.
The lower wall used Genesis 38:28 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation (2017), along with Luke 1:31-33 and 2 Samuel 7:16 to proclaim the everlasting Christian order; then in 2018 John 15:13 was used to mark the centenary of armistice that ended WWI in 1918; and in 2020 2 Chronicles 7:14 was deployed as an exhortation to pray to the Lord for relief from Covid-19.
And this brings us to the newest quotation, which places an Israeli flag above Lamentations 5:1-2: “Remember, Lord, what has happened to us; look, and see our disgrace./Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to foreigners” (NIV). The lamentation is for Jerusalem, which in 589-586 BCE was besieged and overrun by the Babylonians and the Jews exiled to Babylon. The present-day analogue would presumably be the Hamas attacks on October 7th, 2023, against communities and bases near the Gaza Strip, in which around 1,200 people were killed (Reuters) and approximately 240 people were taken hostage (NYTimes).
It is not clear whether a further analogy with the Protestants of Northern Ireland is intended. This one might be simply to express support with the Israelis.
“What good are wings without the courage to fly[?]” Inpsirational art aimed at young people at the entrance to Holy Family Youth Centre (Fb) on the Limestone Road, north Belfast. The upper piece includes the flags of India (upside down), Ireland, England, Turkey, Poland (with crest), and the Philippines.
Remembrance Day, formerly known as Armistice Day, commemorates and celebrates the end of hostilities in the first World War on November 11th, 1918. Many ceremonies in the UK take place on the second Sunday of the month, regardless of the date. This practice began in 1945, changing the WWII practice of marking the occasion on the preceding Sunday, to ensure that the holiday did not fall on a work-day (WP).
This large tarp (above) is at the Shore Road memorial garden to the 10th, 36th, and 16th divisions, shown below, along with the nearby Fifes & Drums/Fairhill flute band (Fb)/Pride Of The Shore (Fb) tribute to QEII. The tarp was also seen last year: Remembrance Day.
This squirrel is the third piece of wildlife to grace a Cavehill Road wall in recent weeks, following the swan in Marsden Gardens (Fowl Play) and fox at Charnwood Avenue (Outfoxed). This piece is in Sunningdale Park (also known to Line Of Duty fans as Platemere St) and was painted by Mr Fenz (ig) and Danni Simpson (ig). A fourth piece is planned for the top of the road, at the North Circular.
Danni Simpson (ig) and Mr Fenz (ig) have completed their second mural in as many weeks on the Cavehill Road, adding a fox to the side of what is now Ben Madigan’s (formerly the Cavehill Inn) on Charnwood Avenue.
Previously: the Waterworks swan seen in Fowl Play.
“There is no lie big enough to cover the shame of jailing two innocent men #JFTC2”. Brendan McConville and John Paul Wootton were convicted of the 2009 murder of Constable Stephen Carroll (BBC), and sentenced to life with 25-year and 18-year minimums, respectively. The case is under review (Guardian | An Phoblacht).
There are lots of different fowl in the Waterworks but the swan is synonymous with the place. Belfasters have been saving up the heels of their loaves and taking them to “feed the swans” at the Waterworks since the reservoir was bought by the Corporation and modified to attact wildfowl in 1956 (Belfast Entries) – it provided an encounter with wild animals and was a free and fun family activity. Disease struck the swans in 1995 (Irish Times) and more than 50 died of avian flu during lockdown (November 2021-January 2022 – Belfast Media | Belfast Live has some upsetting photos) but there are still more than enough for the tradition to persist, though feeding them is now generally discouraged as an unnecessary human intervention.
As a tribute to the iconic bird and its long tradition in north Belfast, Danni Simpson (ig) and Mr Fenz (ig) have painted this larger-than-life swan on the side-wall of a coffee shop next to the upper reservoir.
Paddy Duffy Collection 