The Blind Piper

If you’re willing to pay the piper, he will perhaps summon a taxi that will take you and yours out of town. This is the centre segment of a large board adorning the front of the West Belfast Taxi Terminal (next to Castle Court), copying The Limerick Piper by John Patrick Haverty (1794-1854) and this Ardoyne mural, which placed the piper under Cave Hill. In this version, the attending girl is smiling. In all three versions, the piper has no visible means of support. On each side are Jim-Fitzpatrick-style Celtic heroes – Nuada on the left (though perhaps meant to be Fıonn Mac Cumhaıll and the salmon of knowledge) and Sadb on the right, though a fawn blocks the view of her shorter-than-short skirt.

King Street/Francis Street, Belfast

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Copyright © 2010 Paddy Duffy
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Stevie McCrea

Red Hand Commando volunteer Stevie McCrea was sentenced to 16 years for the murder of James Kerr in 1972 (Behind The Mask) and was subsequently “murdered by the enemies of Ulster” on February 18th, 1989 in an IPLO attack on the Orange Cross (see M00560 | WP). “For he shall not grow old as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary him nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember him.”

This is a repaint of the mural seen in 2007, which is itself a repainting of the original mural to McCrea – see T00152.

McCrea is included on murals in south Belfast’s Frenchpark Street and Broadway (dating back to at least 1993).

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Copyright © 2008 Paddy Duffy
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William Bucky McCullough

“In loving memory of all our fallen comrades from A Coy, B Coy, C Coy, 2nd Batt UFF West Belfast Brigade. Murdered by the enemies of Ulster.” UDA Lieutenant-Colonel McCullough was killed by the INLA on October 16th, 1981, outside his home in Denmark Street (out of frame to the right), on information supplied by fellow UDA member James Craig, who feared that McCullough would expose his embezzling of UDA funds.

Hopewell Crescent, lower Shankill, west Belfast

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Copyright © 2008 Paddy Duffy
T00470 [T00471]

The Red Hand Of Ulster

“There are many legends telling the origins of the Red Hand Of Ulster. This mural depicts only one of those.” In this case, the myth is that Ulster was offered as a prize to whoever could reach it first and was won by throwing a severed hand onto the shore. The flag of Northern Ireland (the Ulster Banner) is in the apex.

Replaces the Lower Shankill UFF mural (M02478).

Shankill Parade, lower Shankill, west Belfast

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Copyright © 2008 Paddy Duffy
T00669 [T00668]

Cuchulainn, Defender Of Northern Ireland

The mythological hero Cuchulainn, defender of Ulster against the forces of Queen Medb of Connacht, is placed below the flag of Northern Ireland. “Here we stand, here we remain. We simply want to take our God ordained place as indigenous Ulster people, understanding and living out our calling. We assume our identity without shame, retaliation or indignation against those who have caused harm to our past and tried to castrate our culture, our identity and our place on this island.”

Cú Chulaınn has his own Visual History page. This is the most active depiction of the hero; he is usually depicted in his death throes.

Hopewell Crescent, lower Shankill, west Belfast

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Copyright © 2008 Paddy Duffy
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UDU-UFF-UDA

This is a 2007? repainting of a lower Shankill mural placing Ulster Freedom Fighters/Ulster Defence Association (UFF/UDA) within the historical context of “a new organization entitled the Ulster Defence Association, the objects of which are to elect an assembly of 600 delegates, having authority to declare the policy and direct the action of the Ulster Unionists and to raise funds for the purposes of the organization from loyalists of all classes.” The motto of the organisation was “Quis separabit” (which is the same as the UDA’s).

The Union faded away in the 1910s, but the name was revived by the UDA in 2007.

The manifesto was launched on St Patrick’s day 1893, in response to the 2nd Home Rule bill. Membership was closed on June 1st, by which time 170,000 people had signed up. The newspaper source of the text is unknown; a similar newspaper article from the Tasmanian Daily Telegraph can be found here. The words “Ulster Defence Association” do not occur in the manifesto.

For more on Saunderson, see Union Is Strength.

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Copyright © 2008 Paddy Duffy (no date given)
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