WDA 2nd Batt B Coy UFF

The Woodvale Defence Association (WDA) was the largest of the local associations which merged together in 1971 to form the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the WDA became B company of 2nd battalion (WP).

Both pieces are in Heather Street, Woodvale, west Belfast. Between the two are the words “Ulster Freedom Fighters” in large letters – see D00967.

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Copyright © 2000 Paddy Duffy
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Patrick, Apostle Of Ulster

This mural is (probably) a companion to the Nelson McCausland book Patrick, Apostle Of Ulster: A Protestant View Of Patrick (Amazon), published in 1997. Here is a 2013 blog post by McCausland that perhaps gives a précis of the book and is in keep with the text in the panel out of shot to the left, which reads, “”All the exciting and glamourous features that tradition has added to Patrick must be removed if we wish to know what he was really like. And yet the historical Saint Patrick is more interesting and more worth studying than all these later gaudy traditions …” Bishop R[ichard]. P[atrick]. C[rosland]. Hanson”

With graffiti reading “had no feet” – a comment on the figure to the left.

Canada St, east Belfast

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Copyright © 2000 Paddy Duffy (no date given)
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Shankill Eddie

A Visual History page details the various appearances of Eddie The Head in his guise as a Red Coat soldier-cum-UDA volunteers. In this Shankill Eddie, he carries an assault rifle and an Ulster Banner as he marches over the graves of “E[ddie] Copeland”, “S[ean] Kelly”, and “S[tephen] Larkin”. The three are IRA volunteers: Kelly, along with Thomas Begley, bombed Frizzell’s fish shop on the Shankill Road in 1993 – Kelly survived; Copeland was injured during an attack on Begley’s wake; Larkin made an attempt on the life of Johnny Adair in 1993.

There is also a Visual History page for the murals painted in the era of Johnny Adair’s C company, of which this is one.

Hopewell Crescent, west Belfast

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Copyright © 2000 Paddy Duffy (no date given)
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King Rat

“Loyalist martyr King Rat 1960-1997”. Billy Wright broke with the UVF over the ceasefire in 1994 and after being expelled (and the Mid-Ulster brigade disbanded) in the summer of 1996, formed the LVF (WP). Wright was killed in the Maze in December 1987 by members of the INLA (neither the INLA or LVF were on ceasefire). Johnny Adair of the UDA’s west Belfast C company was an admirer and supported of Wright and this is one of the murals he had painted in the lower Shankill estate.

Hopewell Crescent, west Belfast

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Copyright © 2000 Paddy Duffy (no date given)
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Sandy Row Parade

Here (in three parts) is a wide community mural replacing the POW mural in Linfield Road, in the Sandy Row area of south Belfast, depicting a parade marching along Sandy Row past a lot of landmarks (not all in appearing as they actually do along the road).

From left to right, the buildings shown are: the Carnegie Library on Donegall Road, Weaver’s Court (which is at the end of the road that the mural is on), the Royal Bar (Hamilton’s), Gilpin’s shoe shop, Orange Hall, Murray’s tobacco factory, the Belfast & Ulster Brewery building (the courtyard of which was used as a drilling ground by the Ulster Volunteers), Sandy Row District No 5 (Fb) arch.

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Copyright © 2000 Paddy Duffy (no date given)
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Spike Chases Adams

Spike (the dog from Tom & Jerry) wears a Union Flag t-shirt and brandishes an assault rifle as he chases Sınn Féın’s Gerry Adams, wearing a Celtic top, out of Belfast and towards Dublin, in front of the UDA murals at (D00971) and behind (D00969) the KFC.

This is one of the murals painted in the era of Johnny Adair’s C company.

Hopewell Crescent, lower Shankill, west Belfast

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Copyright © 2000 Paddy Duffy (no date given)
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Free Our Prisoners

“Free our prisoners o[f] w[ar]”, specifically prisoners from the South Belfast UFF/UDA. This pair of smaller murals is in the garden next to St Alban’s, and the gable mural is across the road.

Blythe Street, south Belfast

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Copyright © 2000 Paddy Duffy (no date given)
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William & Schomberg

King Billy crossing the Boyne, with Schomberg dying in the foreground, making this a crude reproduction of Benjamin West’s 1780 painting ‘Battle Of The Boyne’. Second-in-command Schomberg had crossed the Boyne first and met his fate at the hands of Jacobite cavalry. Schomberg’s helper is perhaps George Walker, governor of Derry during the siege, who was shot and killed (reportedly) while attending to Schomberg – see George Walker.

Shankill Parade, west Belfast

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Copyright © 2000 Paddy Duffy (no date given)
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