Portadown/Craigavon

1st July 1916

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This is a mural with a twenty-year history, in Watson Street, Portadown.

The mural began with the single panel on the left (2004 D01505) which shows a red hand on top of a St Andrew’s Saltire. Three panels were then added: and Ulster Banner, a Union Flag, and a red hand, along with the title “Battle Of [The] Somme, 1st July 1916” (see C01914 from 2010), though the connection to the Somme is unclear. The whole thing was repainted without the red hand in the fourth panel (perhaps c. 2012 – Street View and M10297 from 2013).

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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Here Dead We Lie

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There are new boards (and a black background) for the memorial plaque to Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville in Portadown.

On the left: “The onus on future generations is to keep our country British, to defend our people from republican enemies and to remember with pride those who sacrificed their tomorrows for our today. UVF.”

And on the right, the words of A.E. Housman’s 1936 poem: “Here dead we lie because we did not choose/To live and shame the land from which we sprung.//Life to be sure, is nothing much to lose,/But young men think it is, and we were young.”

Despite the WWI references and imagery, the two people commemorated belong to the Troubles era. Boyle and Somerville were UDR soldiers and UVF volunteers. They were “killed in action” when the bomb they were planting on the minibus of the Miami Showband went off prematurely. Of the pair, only Somerville’s arm with its “UVF Portadown” tattoo remained identifiable. Three members of the band were also killed in the attack. (WP) The plaque goes back to (at least) 2008: Boyle & Somerville.

Princess Way/Gloucester Avenue, Portadown.

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Portadown Defenders Flute Band

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“Portadown Defenders flute band formed in Levaghery Orange Hall, Killycomain, 23rd Sept 1971. From strength to strength, the band remains an institution ingrained in history, that has stood for over 50 years. Simply the best.”

Portadown Defenders flute band (Fb) unveiled this new installation on April 6th (Fb). The band also has a board in Union Street. The the lion and the unicorn (above) are from the UK coat of arms

Princess Way/Gloucester Street, Portadown

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Have Pride In Our Youth

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These community murals were painted under the auspices of the Edgarstown Residents’ Association (Fb), which hosts a Drop-In, Kids’ Club, Evolve (NI World), Smile (ArmaghI), and PCBDT (Portadown Community-Based Detached Team) (NI World | NIHE). The sub-station was painted in March, 2022 (Fb) – in the early 2000s it bore a UVF mural (see D01333); the low wall reading “Welcome To Edgarstown” is from August of this year (2024).

West Street/Margaret Street and Union Street, Edgarstown, Portadown

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Portadown True Blues

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Two plaques have been added to the Portadown True Blues mural in Edgarstown, Portadown (as compared with the images from 2021). They read “In loving memory of Richard “Dickie” Craven. Fondly remembered by the Portadown True Blues F.B.” and “In loving memory of Mark “E.T.” Elliott. Fondly remembered by the Portadown True Blues F.B.” Craven died in at the end of July, 2021, (Fb) and Elliott also in 2021 (Fb).

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In Deo Speramus

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“In Deo speramus”. “Edgarstown Remembers” “our forty-two fallen sons who made the ultimate sacrifice by giving their tomorrow for our today in the Great War 1914-1918.” “Dear Lord, I am just a soldier, a protector of our land/A servant called to battle when my country takes a stand./I pray for strength and courage and a heart that will forgive/For peace and understanding in a world for all to live./My family’s prayers are with me, no matter where I roam./Please listen when I’m lonely and return me safely home – Unknown”

Union Street, Edgarstown, Portadown

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Red Hand, Red Lion

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The ‘Lion Rampant’ in the crest of (Glasgow) Rangers FC comes from the Royal Banner Of Scotland (where it has a blue tongue and blue claws) (WP); the national flag of Scotland is the St Andrew’s Saltire, which appears in the centre of the trio at the top of this mural, between the red hand of Northern Ireland and the red lion. The “RFC” crest, including the word “Ready”, appeared on players’ shirts between 1990 and 1995 (WP).

There has been a version of this mural in Edgarstown, Portadown, since (at least) 2002, though previously it gave 1873 as the date of formation – see M04154 from 2008 and X00508 from 2011.

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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Their Amazing Attack

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On July 1st, 1916, the Battle of Albert began, the first of many battles in what is known collectively as the Battle of the Somme. Soldiers from the 36th (Ulster) Brigade went “over the top” at 7:28 a.m. By the end of the day, more than nineteen thousand British soldiers were dead, five thousand from the 36th.

Below the main panel, which shows combat at close quarters, are the words of Wilfrid Spender: “I am not an Ulsterman but yesterday, the 1st. July, as I followed their amazing attack, I felt that I would rather be an Ulsterman than anything else in the world … the Ulster Volunteer Force, from which the Division was made, has won a name that equals any in history.”

The side-wall and the Mid-Ulster Brigade roll-of-honour plaque concern the modern UVF: “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty“. (Compare to the side-wall in 2016 / 2021.)

Union Street, Edgarstown, Portadown

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