Belfast – Page 26 – Paddy Duffy Collection

Woodstock Tartan

2025-08-192026-08-28Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Woodstock tartan – sine pari”.

Tartan gangs were a short-lived phenomenon in the early 70s, bridging the gap between youthful trouble-making and para-militarism. The gangs as entities distinct from youth wings of paramilitary groups had largely disappeared by the late 70s, and the teens and young adults who were members then are now in their sixties and seventies and some have passed away (“No silence is louder, than the absence of a voice you used to hear every day. Semper recordatus”). This new (July 2025) board commemorates the camaraderie of the Woodstock Tartan in those early days: “We are young, we are one, we are tartan”.

The name “tartan [gang]” comes from the tartan clothing, particularly scarves, worn by the gangs. Gareth Mulvenna (2014 and in History Ireland) reports that the first pattern worn by the Shankill Young Tartans was in fact the Burberry tartan – a box of scarves was stolen during a trip to a Rangers match in Glasgow – but they later adopted the Royal Stewart tartan, which is predominantly red rather than tan. (It was made famous by motor-racer Jackie Stewart, who wore a tartan sticker on his helmet (Henry Ford).) The Woodstock tartan pattern (shown in the new board) is the ‘dress’ (white) variant of the Royal Stewart tartan.

The speakers at the board’s launch (Loyalist East Belfast on youtube) recall the activities (and fashions) of the Woodstock gang in the early 70s – building bonfires, attending matches, holding running battles with other gangs – and only obliquely mention the turn towards sectarian violence, ultimately joining the Red Hand Commando in 1972 in response to IRA attacks such as at the Four Step Inn (Mulvenna). In this 7-minute TV report about the Woodstock Tartans from May 1972 (youtube), an interviewee distinguishes the Tartans in east Belfast from gangs in England as defenders of their area: “when IRA mobs come out [from Short Strand] and attack this Protestant area, we have to beat them back, as the soldier don’t seem able to do this.” (See also this Time interview.)

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Local Inspiration

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The emblem in the top left of this board is the original emblem of the Irish Football Association. The Association was formed in 1880 by seven Belfast clubs but after partition a rival Football Association Of Ireland was formed and the original body eventually represented only Northern Ireland. (WP)

All of the players named and pictured post-date 1950, when the IFA stopped selecting southern players for the IFA’s team. They are … Tommy Jackson, Billy Caskey, Phil Gray, Tom Finney, Norman Whiteside, Danny Griffin, George McCartney, Alf McMichael, Tommy Cassidy, Robbie Garrett, Brodie Spencer, Jordan Owens, Billy Ferguson, George O’Boyle.

“AONISC” (bottom left) is the Amalgamation Of Northern Ireland Supporters’ Clubs (web). There are about 60 clubs in the amalgamation, but seven local clubs are named here: Albert Foundry, Woodvale Loyal, Tavern GAWA, Bootle Street, Wheatfield, 1st Shankill, Ligoniel.

In Battenberg Street on the side of the Stadium Bar and off-sales.

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The People’s Band

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“Shankill Protestant Boys [Fb] “The People’s Band” 45th anniversary, 1980-2025.” The band held a parade on August 1st to commemorate the anniversary, with nearly forty other bands attending (Fb).

For “USSF”, see the Peter Moloney Collection. The band’s club is in Bell Close – see SPB Way.

Shankill Road, west Belfast

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A Forgotten Atrocity

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Wreaths are laid at the Bayardo Bar memorial on the Shankill Road on the fiftieth anniversary of the attack, which involved the shooting of two people at the door and the bomb being left at the entrance, which caused the deaths of a further three people: “In memory of five innocent Protestants slaughtered here by a republican murder gang on 13th August 1975. William John Gracey aged 63, Samuel Gunning aged 55, Joanne McDowell aged 29, Hugh Alexander Harris aged 21, Linda Boyle aged 17. Erected by the Bayardo Somme Association. “A forgotten atrocity”.” Fifty other people were injured in the attack.

Here is an opinion piece in the BelTel claiming that “republican communities … have been far more active not only in memorialising violent events impacting upon them, but also campaigning for the truth about those actions … the lack of balance in how the past is being investigated here has created a one-track, green-tinted narrative”.

See also: the memorial in 2023. Included here are close-ups of two recent plaques, one “In memory of Neily Reid Scotland, true friend of the Bayardo Somme Association, died 4th February 2022. Lest we forget.” and the other “In memory of Billy Boyce, loyal friend of the Bayardo Somme, died 19-12-2018. Lest we forget.”

Shankill Road/Aberdeen Street, west Belfast

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Centuries Of Resistance

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The United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Ireland was created in 1801, a reaction to the 1798 Rebellion, led by (amongst others) Wolfe Tone and Henry Joy McCracken, who were founding members of the Society Of United Irishmen in 1791 in Belfast.

In this mural, Tone and McCracken on the left gaze across the “centuries of resistance” from 1798 to 1916 Rising revolutionaries Countess Markievicz and James Connolly, and beyond to Troubles-era figures Maıréad Farrell, Bobby Sands, and Máıre Drumm.

Around the same time as this mural was painted, a Féıle exhibition called ‘Vibrant Colours, Violent Past’ included A Panorama Of Republicanism which contains dozens of figures but again chooses 1798/Tone, 1916/Connolly, and the Troubles/Martin McGuinness as the pivotal moments and figures.

“Comóradh Éırí Amach Na Cásca Bhéal Feırste/Belfast Easter Commemoration. This is the traditional place where on Easter Sunday Belfast republicans gather to honour Ireland’s patriot dead on their way to Milltown Cemetery.” “Honour Ireland’s patriot dead – wear an Easter lily.” “Unbowed, unbroken.”

The Beeechmount-Falls Corner has its own Visual History page, as the most-often painted wall in Belfast.

July 27th:

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Comóradh Blıantúıl Ar An Staılc Ocraıs

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Michael Devine was the last of the 1981 hunger-strikers to die, on August 20th, 1981, and although the strike was not called off until October 3rd, his death now marks the end of the strike for commemorative purposes. The 44th annual national commemoration of the strike will take place this year on the 24th, “assembling at Dunville Park” in west Belfast.

Beechmount Street, west Belfast. The MLK tarp goes back to 2014.

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Maıreann An Grá Go Deo

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This mural celebrates the Irish-language institutions in west Belfast. From left to right, the buildings by the loch are: Gaeltacht Bhóthar Seoıghe, Bunscoıl Phobal Feırste, Raıdıó Fáılte, An Chultúrlann, Teach Ard Na bhFeá, Coláıste Feırste, and Áras Na bhFál. In a sense they are all ripples from the initial drop that was the Shaw’s Road Gaeltacht, established in 1969 and which led quickly to the bunscoıl in 1971 (WP). The NVTv documentary about the Shaw’s Road gaeltacht borrows its title from the slogan motivating the early efforts, “Ná habaır é, déan é” [Don’t say it, do it] – the bunscoıl was not officially recognised until 1985.

Among the pioneers (“ceannródaıthe”) of those early ventures were the Mac Seáın family, who grew up in a house adjacent to the wall on which the new mural is painted: “Tógadh Séamus Mac Seáın, Seán Mac Seáın, agus Caıtlín Mıstéıl (née Mhıc Sheáın) sa teach seo. Bhí an trıúr seo ı measc na gceannródaıthe a bhunaıgh Gaeltacht Bhóthar Seoıghe.”

The mural was commissioned by Spórtlann Na hÉıreann’s Irish-language heritage project “Gael Staır” (Meon Eıle | Belfast Media), with support from Mary’s Gift (Belfast Media), and painted by Aodán Ó Manacháın (Fb). It was unveiled Sunday 10th.

Rodney Drive, St James’s, west Belfast

In-progress image from July 27th:

Collecting Signatures

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Tourists from various countries – shown above are Brazil, Canada, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, New Zealand, German, the United States – can now sign the Cupar Way war-wall in a specially-designated panel for their country; guests from other nations will have to continue defacing the wall wherever they can find a spot, whether or not it is covered in art.

The panels extend to the right of image and replace Only A Fool Would Fight, which already has various place-names of divided areas above it – Israel/Palestine, Shankill/Falls, Nicosia, Baghdad, Berlin.

For background, see the wall’s Visual History page.

Paste No Paste-Ups

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Above and immediately below are two new paste-ups by Leo Boyd which attempt – by example and by reverse-psychology – to turn the hoarding around the War Memorial building in Waring Street into a paste-up gallery (similar to the new “legal wall” for graffiti and street-art in Little Patrick Street – see First!).

The third image is of a Boyd paste-up already on the wall, mixing the police land-rover (see Off The Ledge for an index) with the cat looming over city hall (see Belfast Kitty Hall). The final stencil is by French artist MDLF (ig).

Join Your Local Band

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Here are three from Mersey Street, east Belfast.

Above, a recruitment tarp for the Blues And Royals flute band (Fb).

Below, (and on the wall above the flute band’s tarp) a NI Centenary board using the St Patrick’s saltire in the background. The saltire is an Anglo symbol of Ireland and was included in the Union Flag when the union was between Britain and Ireland and thus – like the word “Ulster” – has been reduced to signifying Northern Ireland after partition.

Last, street-art on the bridge over Conn’s Water.