Causeway Protestant Boys

The more familiar mythological figure in Northern Irish muraling — both CNR and PUL — is Cú Chulaınn (Visual History) but this Bushmills board features another larger-than-life figure, from slightly later mythology, Fıonn Mac Cumhaıll/Finn MacCool. In legend, Fionn ate the salmon of knowledge and became leader of the Fianna. His connection to the north Antrim coast is that he is the supposed creator of the “Giant’s Causeway”, the basalt columns that stretch out into the Atlantic Ocean, seemingly towards Scotland.

The Causeway and Finn are both used in the board shown above as symbols of the UDA North Antrim & Londonderry brigade’s 5th battalion/Giant’s Causeway Protestant Boys flute band (Fb) in Dundarave Road, Bushmills, which is about three miles from the Causeway. The board is also notable for its use of the flag of the proposed ‘independent Northern Ireland’, for which see (e.g.) We Must Share The Responsibility | One Island, Two Nations | Freedom Corner which features Cú Chulaınn.

The second image is a UDA/UYM emblem at the entrance to the estate. The third is further along. The last is not from Dundarave but from the exterior of a pub on Main Street.

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Alternative Ulster

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
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