Union Flag – Page 10 – Paddy Duffy Collection

Saint Patrick

2022-10-162024-07-31Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The board on the left explains the composition of the Union flag as a combination of the saltire of Saint Andrew of Scotland, the cross of Saint George of England, and the saltire of Saint Patrick of Ireland. As the text notes, the saltire is much later than the saint: “The association with Saint Patrick dates from the 1780s, when the Order of Saint Patrick adopted it as an emblem. This was a chivalric order established in 1783 by George III. It is often suggested that it derives from the arms of the powerful FitzGerald dynasty [which dates to the 12th century].”

The text ends oddly: “The saltire has occasionally served unofficially to represent Northern Ireland and [has] been considered less contentious than other flags flown there.” Similar language is used on the symbols.com page for the Saltire.

The central board, shown above, shows a young Patrick (without the clerical garb in which he is often portrayed) against the backdrop of Slemish mountain, where Patrick is thought to have tended sheep as a young slave to a local chieftain, c. 401 AD and developed his Christian faith.

The board on the right shows a ship racing towards shore, superimposed over a 1659 map of Ulster by Blaeu. “The Red Hand Of Ulster: According to legend Ulster had at one time no rightful heir. It was agree that a boat race should take place and that whoever’s hand first touched the shore would become king. One contended, upon seeing that he was losing the race, cut off his hand and threw it ashore to win. O’Neill is said to have been the chieftain who cut his hand off to become the King of Ulster. The Red Hand is a key emblem of Ulster’s identity, an ancient and powerful symbol that is traditionally shown as a blood red hand.”

The colourings of the Saint Patrick profile are by children from the nearby Donegall Road Primary School.

The boards were unveiled on March 10th, 2016 by first minister Arlene Foster who remarked that the saint had become “very Gaelicised” and this — and the presence of Irish tricolours at parades — deterred unionists from celebrating “the patron saint of everybody in Northern Ireland” (Belfast Telegraph; also contains video of the launch). Anglicanism venerates saints but Presbyterianism does not, generally taking the “communion of saints” to refer to all members of the church.

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Copyright © 2022 Paddy Duffy
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Donegall Pass UVF

2022-10-162024-07-30Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Visible from the Ormeau Road, this large union flag greets visitors to Donegall Pass in the south of the city. It asserts the presence of the UVF and connects the original Ulster Volunteer Force of 1913 to the present-day group one hundred years later: the aim of the original UVF was to resist the impending rule by Catholics under Home Rule.

The image below is of the wall opposite, in the car-park; the names are presumably those of local children, with “WATP” [we are the people] and poppies.

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To Bathe The Sharp Sword Of My Word In Heaven

2022-10-132024-07-30Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

South Belfast MP Robert Bradford was assassinated by the Provisional IRA in Finaghy at a meeting with constituents; the caretaker of the community centre, Ken Campbell, was also killed by the fleeing attackers. Taking place in late 1981, with the hunger strikes having ended only a month before, the killing was noted around the world and raised fears of broad civil unrest (BBC | NYTimes). The board above serves as a substitute for an earlier mural to Bradford on the adjacent gable wall.

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Defenders Of The Pass

2022-10-132024-07-30Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Young Conquerors Flute Band mural in Pine Street, south Belfast, connecting the band to local soldiers who died in WWI. The two boards to either side show a photograph of the original Donegall Pass Defenders Flute Band, which lasted a short time in the 1970s before the formation of the Conquerors in 1977 (Fb). The second shows the patch of the band.

Video of the launch at the Young Conquerors Fb page.

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Close Yir Een An Remember Me

2022-10-092024-07-30Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

This is the scene at the Rex Bar at (the old) Moscow Street on the Shankill, including, below, three boards describing the formation of the Ulster Volunteers (‘A Force For Ulster’) and using the Thiepval Memorial To The Missing Of The Somme against a background of portraits to commemorate the losses suffered by the 36th (Ulster) Division of the British Army, which the Volunteers became, at the Somme and in other battles, mowed down by “the Hun machine guns” (‘The Great War’). 32,186 men from west Belfast were killed, wounded, or missing. “To them bravery was without limit, to us memory is without end”.

On the Shankill proper (at the newly-christened “Scots Corner”) is a board and plaque to the UVF’s “Scottish Brigade”: “Aye ready they stood, aye ready they fought, through conflict, blood and tears, loyal to the end, every one, the Scottish volunteers.” “Aye ready” was the motto of the 59th Scinde Rifles of the British Indian Army (and later of the Canadian Navy) but is best known from the label of Camp Coffee, in which a Highlander was served a cup of Camp by a Sikh servant (nowadays, they both have a cup of their own).

A Scottish soldier plays the pipes over a list of the “Battalion Of The Dead”, Scottish volunteers from the (modern) UVF. The list is led by William “Big Bill” Campbell, who has had a small plaque in his memory at this spot since (at least) 2014. Preacher and DUP politician George Seawright (see A Crown Of Life) is also included – he was born in Glasgow in 1951.

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If You Want Peace, Prepare For War

2022-10-092024-07-30Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The Castlereagh (4th battalion) UDA memorial garden behind the Bunch Of Grapes has changed over the years from painted murals (M | X) to spray-painted boards (We Forget Them Not) and now again to tarps, some within red frames.

As far as content is concerned, the UFF, LPA (“We forget them not – past and present”) and UYM (“They shall not grow old etc”) remain but Tim Collins – a product of re-imaging – is out (see On That Journey). The side wall of the pub has also been employed for the first time, with more hooded gunmen (see the final image, below). Two small plaques have been added to the outsides of the memorial wall.

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You’ll Never Walk Alone

2022-10-092024-11-02Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The civic spirit of Bedfordshire’s Captain Tom Moore has been celebrated in murals across the UK, including this one by Blaze FX in Clonduff. Moore attempted to raise funds for the NHS during covid by doing laps around his garden with his walker in advance of his hundredth birthday. He originally aimed at raising 1,000 pounds but ended up raising 30 million after the effort went viral.

On the left is a tree cross-section (or “tree disk”) (on the left) that has been decorated with a hooded gunman and the insignia of the (east Belfast) UVF and YCV, along with a printed board with “The uniform may have changed but the cause remains the same. Ulster Volunteer Force” around the UVF emblem and “Fallen, not forgotten” below. There is a very close variant of this wording on a mural in Bowtown (Newtownards).

Tullyard Way, Castlereagh

Update, 2024: the mural has been – mostly – blacked out

Now Is The Time To Kneel

2022-10-092024-07-29Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The “now” in “now is the time to kneel” would seem to suggest that there is some inappropriate kneeling going on at some other time, besides as a mark of respect to the patriotic dead (in this case, Queen Elizabeth II, who died on September 8th, 2022) – perhaps the kneeling prior to Premier League soccer matches as a protest against racism (World Soccer Talk).

Replaces Clonduff Youth on Clonduff Drive in Castlereagh.

Getrude Star

2022-09-252024-07-24Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Gertrude Star flute band (Fb) celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2021 and to mark the occasion this (2022) May, the two side-walls were painted, one of which is shown below. The main mural was painted for the 50th anniversary in 2011, with Ulster Banners and Union Flags flanking the UK coat of arms – “Dieu et mon droit”, “Honi soit qui mal y pense”. The following areas are listed: (left) Gertrude St, Clarawood, Templemore Ave, Woodstrock Road, Albertbridge Rd, south Belfast, Scotland, Antrim, Glengormley, Carrickfergus, Braniel; (right) Dee Street, Newtownards Rd, Cregagh Rd, Castlereagh Rd, Holywood, Ballybeen, Tullycarnet, Shankill Rd, north Down, Bangor.

In Defence Of The Woodvale

2022-09-182024-07-22Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The end wall of Columbia Street in the Woodvale was knocked down, taking with it a former Duke Elliott/UDA mural, which was then replaced with boards (rather than murals) commemorating the history of the UDA and Elliott. Elliott lived one street over, in Leopold Street (WP). He was killed in 1972, at age 28, in a dispute with other UDA members.

Ohio St