Belfast

Roll Of Honour 1981

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For Easter 2025, an “Óglaıgh Na hÉıreann roll of honour 1981” board was added to the wall at the top of Bingnian Drive in Andersonstown, with the names of the ten who died in the second hunger strike. “Óglaıgh Na hÉıreann” here obscures the difference between the IRA and the INLA (O’Hara, Lynch, Devine), and between the Provisional IRA and the anti-Agreement IRA factions. It’s not clear to what extent the (2009 onward) ONH is currently operating, after a split in 2024 (BelTel 2024 | BelTel 2025).

For the RNU piece on the left (in the wide shot) see The Rising Of The Moon. Like the piece on the right, it features Kieran Doherty and Joe McDonnell, two of hunger strikers who were local to the area. For background information, see the board formerly on the wall: To Whom Do We Owe Our Allegiance Today?

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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William McFadzean

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“‘Rubicon’ – the family home of Pte. William F. McFadzean, Victoria Cross, who gave his life to save his comrades at Thiepval Wood on 1st July 1916 immediately prior to the Battle Of The Somme.” – McFadzean died when he threw himself on a fallen box of grenades.

For his heroism, Billy McFadzean (14th RIR) was awarded the VC (WP). The other VC winners pictured alongside McFadzean in the Cappagh Gardens mural (above and immediately below) are G[eoffrey St. George Shillington] Cather, R[obert] Quigg, and E[ric] N[orman] F[rankland] Bell.

The Family home was on Cregagh Road at Cregagh Park – there’s a picture of McFadzean standing outside the house at Royal Irish. The “blue plaque” is the most recent addition to the scene.

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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When A Plan Comes Together

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“I love it when a plan comes together” was the catch-phrase of Hannibal Smith, leader of the (fictional) A-Team, a crew of US soldiers from the Viet Nam war, on the run from the military police and working as hired guns back in the States, in the US television show of the same name. The font used in “THE FA TEAM” (below), like the font used in the show’s title card and credits, imitates military stencils.

There were 98 episodes of the action-series (WP), and it felt as though at least 97 of them involved the gang’s GMC Vandura van being turned into an armed vehicle and used in a spectacular, guns-blazing, escape from and/or assault on the bad guys, assisted by daredevil helicopter-flying by Howling Mad Murdock. Both vehicles have been modified in the Foreign Assassins (Fb) graffiti art shown here with spray cans that are firing their caps as missiles.

The art replaces Stranger Kings on the Comber Greenway in east Belfast.

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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The Holywood Arches

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The area around the junction of the Newtownards Road and the Holywood Road in east Belfast is known as the “Holywood Arches”. The name comes from the fact that – up until 1950 – the old Belfast & County Down railway line from Comber (and beyond that from Newtownards or Newcastle) crossed over both streets on top of two large arches, wide enough to allow traffic in both directions and tall enough to accommodate double-decker buses (see e.g. this image on Pinterest).

This mural is on the shutters of the nearby Arches Café (web); the vintage photograph reproduced can be seen in this pdf from Eastside Partnership.

See also: Step Back In Time about a train crash in 1945 at Ballymacarrett station (on the Bangor line) that killed 22.

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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VE Day

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Thursday, May 8th, marks the eightieth anniversary of VE or “Victory in Europe” day, the end of WWII on the continent. About 380,000 British soldiers died during the war. Commemorative events in Belfast include a walking tour of the city centre (City Council) and a dance on the HMS Belfast (IWM); for events elsewhere in Northern Ireland, see VE-VJDay80. Pubs will be open for an extra two hours (until 1 a.m.) on the day.

This printed flag is in Dee Street, east Belfast, previously home to various WWI commemorations (seen in All together Now | At The Eleventh Hour); for more on the KCIII and QEII boards included in the final image, below, see My God-Given Right To Rule.

See also: VE Day Celebrations | The Shankill Remembers VE Day | From D-Day To VE Day

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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Bring Nature Back

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“The Ark Of Extinction.com – Barn Owl – artist Marc Craig – Thanks to the Bog Meadows Community [Fb] and Ulster Wildlife [web], March 2025 – Bring nature back”.

This giant barn owl at the top (Falls-Road side) of the Bog Meadows is one of several pieces being painted by Craig in various UK locations to highlight local species that are endangered. The other piece, so far, is of a red squirrel in Cornwall. In the case of Belfast and Northern Ireland, only 30 pairs of barn owls remain, at most (Ulster Wildlife).

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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