other – N Ireland

Donaghadee Remembers WWII

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As part of the town’s VE Day celebrations, Donaghadee mounted a series of flower boxes, information boards, and crocheted poppies, along Hunter’s Lane (which runs between High Street and the Parade). Also included are small panels to twenty-three local soldiers who died during the War.

“Donaghadee Community Development Association [Fb], in collaboration with Donaghadee Community Partnership, Donaghadee Historical Society [Fb] and the In Stitches Group, is proud to present this floral and educational display in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe. With support from Ards and North Down Borough Council, First Presbyterian Church, Abbeyfield, Wesley Housing and local residents, this project brings history to life in the heart of our town. / On 8th May 1945, the guns across Europe fell silent. After six years of devastating conflict, Nazi Germany surrendered unconditionally, marking the end of the Second World War in Europe. VE Day – Victory in Europe Day – was met with celebration, relief, and solemn reflection. Across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, crowds rejoiced, even as they grieved for the fallen and the irrevocable loss left in war’s wake. This display honours the 23 men and women from Donaghadee who gave their lives in service during World War II. We remember them with pride, gratitude, and sorrow. Through a series of commemorative panels, we also highlight the stories of eight wartime figures – from global leaders to everyday heroes – whose courage shaped history. / This is more than an remembrance. It is a space to reflect, to learn, and to give thanks. As we mark this significant anniversary, we commit ourselves anew to the values of peace, unity, and understanding. Let us remember – not only what was lost, but also what was won: the enduring freedom we enjoy today.”

The eight notable figures are: “Winston Churchill, the voice of defiance”, “King George VI and Queen Elizabeth”, “Her late majesty Queen Elizabeth II”, “Dame Vera Lynn, the forces’ sweetheart”, “Lt Col Blair Mayne, SAS trailblazer”, “Violette Szabo, the courageous spy”, “General Bernard Montgomery”, “Douglas Bader, the indomitable ace”.

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Keep Talking

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“Welcome to Maghera”. These images are of the lockdown-era art on the public bathrooms in Maghera, with a variety of mental-health messages: “Don’t pretend. Don’t bottle it up. You are good enough”, “No matter what you do, you will allways [sic] be forgiven”, “Our mind’s our own”, “Mask your face, not your feelings”, “Mental health matters”, “Unlock skills in lockdown”,

St Lurach’s Road, Maghera

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Digging

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Poet Seamus Heaney grew up in Bellaghy, about seven miles from Maghera where this street-art in the centre of the town (on Walsh’s Hotel) includes lines from his poem ‘Digging’: “Between my finger and my thumb the squat pen rests. I’ll dig with it.”

The main part of the piece depicts local farmer Jamese McCloy, reproducing a picture taken for Tourism NI’s ‘Embrace a Giant Spirit’ campaign (Derry Now).

Painted by Pigment Space (ig) and YellaG (ig) in 2020.

Coleraine Road, Maghera

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Guerillero Heroico

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Korda’s famous photograph of the 31-year-old Che Guevara was taken in Havana, Cuba, in 1960, and was turned into the ubiquitous two-tone poster by Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick in 1968. (For a more complete history of both the photo and the print, see the Visual History page on the influence of Jim Fitzpatrick.) This very faithful reproduction of Fitzpatrick’s Che is in Glen Road, Maghera.

“Marcella”, in the bottom right, might be the name of the artists; Bobby Sands used his sister’s name – “Marcella” – to sign the pieces that he wrote for newspapers outside Long Kesh.

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The Great Seal Of The United States

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Charles Thomson was born in Maghera in 1729 and moved to North America in 1739. He served as the secretary of the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence. He helped design both the front and back of the nation’s Great Seal in 1782. (WP)

He is honoured in his home town by the board shown here. Thomson’s design for the reverse of the seal – the all-seeing eye over an unfinished pyramid (WP) – appears in the eagle’s left-hand wing, and his preliminary sketch, with wing-tips pointed downward (WP), in the right-hand wing.

Meeting House Avenue, Maghera

See also: the Visual History page of Ulster-Scots Murals.

Text of the information panel: “The Final Design of the Great Seal – June 20, 1782. On June 13, 1782, Congress asked Charles Thomson to come up with a suitable design for America’s Great Seal. With the reports and drawings of the three committees before him, he set to work. Thomson had served the past eight years as the Secretary of the Continental Congress where he acquired a reputation for fairness, truth, and integrity. Well-versed in the classics, he was once a Latin master the Academy of Philadelphia. Although today he is not a well-known founder, Charles Thomson was at the heart of the American Revolution. Thomson incorporated symbolic elements from all three committees with ideas of his own to create a bold and elegant design. He made a sketch and wrote a description of his preliminary design. For the front of the Great Seal, Thomson drew an American bald eagle and for the centrepiece he a [sic] placed the shield upon the eagle’s breast. Thomson envisioned an eagle “on the wing and rising.” In the eagle’s right talon is an olive branch. In its left, a tightly drawn bundle of arrows. Thomson said these symbols represent “the power of peace and war.” In the eagle’s beak, he placed a scroll with the first committee’s motto: E Pluribus Unum ‘Out of Many, One’. For the crest above the eagle’s head, Thomson used the radiant constellation of thirteen stars suggested by the second committee. He described the light rays as “breaking through a cloud.” For the reverse side of the Great Seal, Thomson used Barton’s (third committee) suggestion: an unfinished pyramid with the eye of Providence in its zenith, but added a triangle around the eye (like the first committee did). He also created two new mottos: Novus Ordo Seclorum ‘A New Order of the Ages’ and Annuit Coeptis ‘Providence has Favoured Our Undertakings’. After consulting with William Baron, the position of the eagle was changed to “displayed” (wings spread with tips up) and the chevrons on the shield were changed to the vertical stripes we see today.”

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Dead On

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Messages on love hearts on the side of The Bon-Bon sweet shop (web) in Newcastle: “Keep ‘er lit”, “What’s the craic?”, “Catch yourself on”, “Buck eejit”, “Wise up”, “‘Ats us nai”, “Aye, dead on”, “Boys-a-dear”, “Sweet shap”, “Ack, hiya love”. “‘Bout ye?”, “Rite, big lad”, “Here’s me ma”.

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Welcome To Narnia

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“‘That part of Rostrevor which overlooks Carlingford Lough is my idea of Narnia’ – CS Lewis”. Lewis wrote these words in a letter to his brother Warnie (Guardian), referring to time spent in the area as a child (Ireland.com). The lough can be seen from the glacial erratic known as Cloughmore (the big stone), which sits 300 metres above the town in Kilbroney Park on the slopes of Slieve Martin; a snowy image from behind the rock can be seen at Heart Of Rostrevor.

Also included is an image of the small painting of Mr. Tumnus on the front of the building – he welcomes children who have stepped through the wardrobe.

Both are by Pigment Space (ig) on the Rostrevor Inn in Bridge Street, Rostrevor.

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Carlingford Sunset

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Warrenpoint’s ‘Wake The Giant’ festival (web) returns this year (2025) on June 28th and 29th (programme), featuring a ‘parade of giants’ (puppets) on both days.

This street art was painted for last year’s (2024) festival on the boarded-up façade of the Osborne Hotel by English artist Faunagraphics (web).

Osborne Promenade, Warrenpoint

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