As part of Tunnel Vision paint-jam that added street art along the sides of the underpass at York Street station, a poem by Niamh McNally (ig) – Line Work – was added to the ceiling.
These images show the scene at Dunraven Court, a Choice (web | Fb) social housing community in east Belfast.
The main piece (above) shows photographs purporting to be of the 36th (Ulster) Division during WWI, above the title “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori”/”It is Sweet and Honourable to die for one’s country” (which WWI poet Wilfred Owen called “the old lie“) and two epigrams: (left) “And you unborn then, remember that their luck, skill, and nerve where pushed to the limits and they were young like you” and (right) “They layed down the glory of their youth upon the altar of freedom”.
The first is a paraphrase of Cecil Day-Lewis’s poem in homage to the airmen of WWII’s Battle Of Britain, which ends: “And you, unborn then, what will you make of it—/This shadow-play of battles long ago?/Be sure of this: they pushed to the uttermost limit/Their luck, skill, nerve. And they were young like you.”
The second does not appear to be a quotation; it is perhaps inspired by Lincoln’s Letter To Mrs Bixby (WP), perhaps via the film Saving Private Ryan (youtube).
On the wall below the large piece are plaques to Cordner, Long, Bennett, and Seymour from the Troubles-era UVF – see Standing Guard – and to their right ‘Poppy Trail’ plaques of local WWI casualties Joseph Agnew, William Lowry, John Dornan, John Ritchie, William Reid, James Rea, and Robert Atkinson.
A little way into the complex we find a small memorial garden to two UVF volunteers, deceased post-Agreement: Lee Wilson and David Stewart.
Compared to the image (from 2021) seen in The Sacrifice Remains The Same, a blue background and a new wall of Poppy Trail plaques (for the Poppy Trail see this 2017 entry on the board) have been added to the Cosy Somme Association’s tribute to British Army soldiers from the 36th (Ulster) Division in WWI and the modern-day Royal Irish Regiment. (See also the image in Alain Miossec’s collection from earlier this year.)
Ogilvie Street, east Belfast, with a bonus image below of the milkman just around the corner, next to Piccola Parma.
“Deadly” here means “excellent” or “terrific”, perhaps from the idea of “hitting the (living!) target” (Stack) – it is a piece of southern slang that artist and print-maker Leo Boyd (web) perhaps picked up on his journey from Bristol to Dublin to Belfast (Boyd | Atom) where he is one of the Vault Studios artists (Vault).
Here is a selection of placards from the Village in south Belfast, many on the theme of the fight against Home Rule in 1912 and the creation of Northern Ireland in 1921.
The most interesting is perhaps the small placard sandwiched (in the image below) between the UVF territorial marking (see e.g. Welcome To The Village) and the “warning” to landlords (see Not A Dumping Ground). The quote form Salisbury – “Parliament has a right to govern the people of Ulster; it has no right to sell them into slavery” – comes from a speech made in 1892 (Launceston Examiner) and Spencer was addressing the Lords in 1893 when he said, “We feel like the Americans when the integrity of THEIR country was threatened, and, if necessary, we must shed blood to maintain the strength and salvation of THIS country” (Hansard). Both statements, that is, were made in connection with the second Home Rule bill (of 1893) rather than the third as the “1914” crest of the “South Belfast regiment” of the Ulster Volunteers would suggest.
Below is a reproduction of a stamp featuring Edward Carson, described in the Notre Dame collection. These stamps were sold as a fundraiser; they were not used for postage.
This is a gallery of the boards along the lane to the east of Windsor Park where Linfield and Northern Ireland play their soccer matches. Five describe “historical games” played by Northern Ireland at the ground (from 1958, 1975, 1981, 2005, and 2015) and five describe Linfield FC (the “7 trophy” teams of 1921 and 1961, ‘the blues in Europe’, a history of the club, the 2005-2006 season, and Captains).
To the left and right of these boards are the murals seen in Football For All.
Here are four species of bird flying in convoy through Belfast city centre. From left to right we see dunlin, lapwing, godwit (above), and Arctic tern (below). The art was painted by Annatomix (web), with support from Daisy Chain (web), as part of the “Great Expectations” project from the Linen Quarter Business Improvement District (web).
‘Football For All’ is a programme from the Irish FA Foundation aimed at stamping out discrimination and encouraging inclusivity among supporters (web). The new mural, above, is in the lane-way that runs down from Donegall Avenue to the footbridge. There are also reproductions of drawings by kids in the spaces below the footbridge.
Between the two are the boards about Linfield and recounting the role the ground has played in the history of the Northern Ireland team – see Windsor Park.
“‘Creativity, like society, thrives when the individual elements fit within a bigger picture’ – Ernest Hemingway”
There’s no record of this statement being written or uttered by Hemingway. Instead, it appears to come from Will Gompertz’s 2015 book Think Like An Artist (wikiquote gives “Creativity, like society, thrives when the individual elements fit within, and add to, a bigger picture.”).
Hope Street, Belfast city centre, on the side of the Ginger Bisto on Great Victoria Street.
“Promoting Culture, Preserving Identity”. Here are a pair of new boards Mount Vernon Park, north Belfast, launched on August 11th, 2024, celebrating three Scottish bands and the local Fifes And Drums. Each of the bands’ emblems includes the Roman numeral “III”, which also appears in the bottom corner of the ‘Band Of Brothers’ board. It stands for the 3rd Belfast (i.e. north Belfast) battalion of the UVF, “Tiger’s Bay”. The St George’s Cross in the top-left corner and the purple background (of the ‘Band Of Brothers’ board) come from the UVF flag, which typically also has an orange star in the bottom right, here replaced by a swirling musical staff and Union Flag.
“Band Of Brothers. This artwork is a tribute to the unbreakable bond that we in North Belfast, share along with the following bands: Craigneuk [Scotland] True Defenders flute band, formed 1947 [Fb]; Andrew Murphy Memorial flute band [Scotland], formed 1988 [Fb]; City Of Belfast Fifes And Drums, formed 2003 [Fb]; Bellshill [Scotland] Defenders flute band, formed in 2017 [Fb]. For decades, these bands have remained faithful, and been a credit to the loyalist cause that binds us. When on parade, the honour and dignity displayed by each band, is impeccable. In timeless memory of the Fallen, each band proudly and respectfully bears the Colours and Emblems of: the Ulster Volunteer Force, the Young Citizen Volunteers, the 36th (Ulster) Division. ‘More than friends, comrades’.”
