Carrickfergus

Comply With Your Country’s Demand

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The new panels shown here re-re-image the side-wall of the mural on the left (see For Valour), which was dedicated to the Royal Irish Rifles of the Great War. We now see hooded UVF gunmen from the 1st East Antrim battalion, and an interesting quote from Edward Carson.

In September, 1914, six weeks after the Great War had begun, Edward Carson wrote to the Ulster Volunteers entreating “those who have not already responded” to “my call for Defenders of the Empire” to “enlist at once for the Ulster Division in Lord Kitchener’s Army”, fighting alongside “our fellow Britishers”: “Quit yourselves like men and comply with your country’s demand”. The impulse for the display of force shown here is the other, original, motivation for the paramilitary force, which Carson describes as “to defend our citizenship in the United Kingdom” (Strachan & Nally).

The Larches, Carrickfergus

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Copyright © 2022 Paddy Duffy
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The Present Conflict

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“Greenisland 3rd Battalion, South-East Antrim Brigade [UDA]. This memorial is dedicated to the memory of the officers and members of our organisation who were murdered by the enemies of Ulster and to those who paid the extreme sacrifice whilst on active service during the present conflict. Quis separabit. UFF. UDA, LPA”

At the shops in Glassillan Court, Greenisland.

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Copyright © 2022 Paddy Duffy
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Maintain The Union

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“Loyalist Woodburn celebrates 100th anniversary Northern Ireland”. Maintain the union of (left to right) England (St George’s Cross), Wales (The Red Dragon), Northern Ireland (Ulster Banner), Scotland (St Andrew’s Saltire). Along the fence we have the NI coat of arms and Captain Sir Tom Moore.

Sandes Ct, Carrickfergus

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Copyright © 2022 Paddy Duffy
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Progression Requires Inclusion

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The UVF 1st East Antrim Battalion is “Still ready & willing to defend the people of Ulster against all foes” including the British government that – even as Northern Ireland marks its centenary – has “deserted” it over the NI Protocol that involves checks on goods moving between Britain and Ireland (whether north or south) but no (new) checks on goods moving between north and south (gov.uk). The “still” goes all the way back to 1912, when the British government of the day proposed (for a third time) “Home Rule” for Ireland and the Ulster Volunteers were formed – though the original “deserted” postcard and previous murals show the date as 1914.

The PSNI board was seen previously: In The Pocket Of Sinn Féin.

Below: “Progression Requires Inclusion” – a UVF hooded gunman painted in 2013 is still visible in 2022.

Davy’s Street, Carrickfergus

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Copyright © 2022 Paddy Duffy
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Show No Mercy

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“Show no mercy and expect none”. Iron Maiden’s Eddie the trooper, armed with an assault rifle and carrying a UDA flag, leads the grim reaper over the graves of “G. Adams”, “McGuinness” and “A. Maskey”. UDA/UFF mural in Castlemara, Carrickfergus.

For more on Eddie, see his Visual History page.

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Copyright © 2022 Paddy Duffy
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Young Citizen Volunteers

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The Young Citizen Volunteers of 1912 eventually joined the Ulster Volunteers (in 1914) as the 14th battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles and part of the 36th (Ulster) Division (WP). In 1972 the name was resurrected for use as the youth wing of the UVF (WP). In the wide shot, below, this history is presented as a continuous movement from left to right; a modern-day hooded gunman climbs out of a WWI trench with one hand on a YCV flag.

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Copyright © 2022 Paddy Duffy
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Alternative Ulster

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The upper flag on the right-hand side of this mural – purple saltire on a blue background with star and red hand – is the proposed flag of Ulster nationalists. The position was espoused by the UDA of the 1970s, under the guise of the political parties the Ulster Loyalist Democratic Party and the Ulster Democratic Party, and for a time by the Red Hand Commandos under the Ulster Loyalist Central Coordinating Committee.

For the previous (identical) version, see UFF Carrickfergus in the Peter Moloney collection.

Castlemara Drive, Carrickfergus

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Copyright © 2022 Paddy Duffy
T01275

The Liberties Of England

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William III, statholder of Holland, landed at Torbay, England, in November, 1688 with 250+ ships and 30,000 men in order to overthrow the Catholic convert James II who had become king in 1685. As he came ashore he proclaimed “the liberties of England and the Protestant religion I will maintain.” As king of England, William was automatically made king of Ireland, but he and his forces had to go to Ireland to win the island from James and the forces loyal to him. Schomberg had already successfully besieged Carrickfergus in 1689 when William landed in June 1690.

The mural reproduces the illustration from a postcard.

Oakfield Ave, Carrickfergus

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Copyright © 2022 Paddy Duffy
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