“This we will always maintain.” The Northern Ireland government’s coat of arms was approved for use in 1924, three years after the government was established. Its “supporters” – the red lion of Scotland and an Irish elk, carrying (respectively) Irish harp and De Burgh flags, and standing on a grassy mound with flax plants – were added later.
This mural celebrating the centenary of Northern Ireland’s creation, in the Woodburn estate, Carrickfergus, accurately shows the Tudor crown on the arms, as was used at the time of creation and prior to the Edwardian crown (WP).
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).
“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.
Above, a “Welcome to loyalist Seymour Hill” board with flags and poppies, and a (2021) tarp “Seymour Hill says no to the Irish Sea border”.
Below, Queen Elizabeth II 70th/platinum Jubilee banners remain on either side of the UDA board above the Seymour Hill shops, even after her death in September (previously there were two NI Centenary banners). There are orange lilies at the four corners of the UDA emblem.
The mural in Cluan Place goes back to (at least) 2002. It used to include the words “5 people shot, houses burned, houses bombed” but these have been painted out in this repainted version.
These three panels form a single installation at the top (Woodvale) end on the Shankill Road. The one above celebrates the ties between Belfast and the Stirling & District Campsie Club, a branch of one of the associated clubs of the Apprentice Boys Of Derry. It features the cannon “Roaring Meg” (“presented by the Fishmongers Company of London 1642″) which is used as the seal for the club, the club’s flag which includes a red hand of Ulster, the key to the gates, and the emblem and coat of arms of the Apprentice Boys.
“Formed on the 2nd May 1987 we have been at the forefront of loyalist culture in our area since then and were the first club in Scotland to have a Battle of the Somme Commemoration Parade. Since our inauguration we have formed many friendships with our brethren and bands from the province many of which are still active today. For many years the club has participated with Belfast Campsie Club at the closing of the gates parade in December. We have through the years had great affinity with the many bands from Belfast some who are unfortunately no longer with us. The club would like to thank the people of Belfast for their support and friendship through the years and to the people of the Shankill for giving us the privilege of this murals. No surrender.
The Campsie Club is the only Apprentice Boys Club to be named after one of the “Brave 13″. It is persumed presumed that Henry Campsie was the first man to shed blood in the Defence of Londonderry. Campsie was the inspiration behind the Shutting of the Gates and was severely wounded whilst leading his associates to secure the City Magazine and armoury. The emblem of the Roaring Meg was adopted as the Seal of the new club.”
The middle panel celebrates the Stirling Protestant Boys Flute Band and its association with the Shankill Road: “Stirling Protestant Boys Flute Band [Fb] were formed in February 2003 and to this day take part in parades across Scotland, England and Northern Ireland. The band has a great connection with our friends from Belfast, especially those from the Greater Shankill area. In November 2012 Stirling Protestant Boys were presented with the battle honours of the Young Citizen Volunteers and the 36th (Ulster) Division. The band would like to thank the people of the Shankill Road for their continued support.”
The third celebrates the Apprentice Boys contains a long description of the Shutting Of The Gates in December 1688 and the Siege Of Derry, which was ended with the breaking of the boom of the river Foyle in July 1689.
Highland Fusiliers Joseph McCaig (18), (his brother) John McCaig (17), and Dougald McCaughey (23) were lured by members of the (P)IRA from a city-centre pub to their deaths in the fields above Ligoniel in 1971 (WP). Their deaths contributed to the resignation of Chichester-Clark and the introduction of internment in August. There are monuments to the three men in Ballysillan and at the site of their deaths on White Brae depicted on the right of the mural – for images of the monuments see The Highland. This new Rathcoole mural to their memory replaces one to Queen Elizabeth II.
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.
An estimated 100,000 people congregated at Craigavon House on the 23rd of September, 1911, to hear Edward Carson’s inaugural speech as Unionist leader (McNeill Ch. 4). In his speech he said “Our demand is a simple one. We ask for no privileges, but we are determined that no one shall have privileges over us. We ask for no special rights, but we claim the same rights from the same government as every other part of the United Kingdom. We ask for nothing more; we will take nothing less”. Ten years later, in 1921, Northern Ireland was created and it has survived to reach its centenary, despite (according to this mural) “100 years of fighting a fascist republican enemy sponsored by the Irish state.”
This Monkstown mural commemorates four UDA volunteers: Malcolm Fisher, Colin Weir, Jim McClurg and William Hobbs. Hobbs and McClurg were killed when a bomb went off prematurely (CAIN’s Sutton Index 1977) ; there is no mention of the other two. Please leave a comment or send an e-mail if you have any information.
Paddy Duffy Collection 