hood/mask/balaclava

Bowtown UVF

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Here is a gallery of UVF boards along Abbot Drive, in Bowtown, Newtownards, mixing North Down with East Belfast brigades (see East East Belfast), and mixing UVF/PAF with the Ulster Volunteers and 36th Division – “Through the years the uniforms may change but our cause will always remain the same”. “The prevention of the erosion of our identity is now our priority.”

There is also a board to QEII – see Bowtown Thanks You.

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Our British Identity

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Various changes and additions have been made to the Ulster Volunteers/UVF mural in London Road, east Belfast, compared to the version that replaced a religious mural (Jesus Strong Man) in 2017.

“Our British identity cannot & will not be sacrificed to appease the Irish Republic – East Belfast Battalion [UVF]”. The ‘hooded gunman’ board seen in the images above and immediately below was previously around the corner where the writing (“East Belfast Ulster Volunteer Force”) now is but has now been moved to the main Our Lady’s Road. (It had replaced a Union Flag painted next to smaller writing – see East Belfast Ulster Volunteers.) There is now also a UVF emblem at the end – see the final image.

For close-ups of the WWI portion, painted by Mark Ervine, see Between The Crosses; for a close-up of the four portraits of volunteers Seymour, Long, Cordner, and Bennett, see Ulster’s Brave.

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Ulster’s Defenders

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Ulster’s defenders, past and present, from Cuchulainn “Ancient defender of Ulster from Gael attacks”, via the 1893 UDU and WWI soldiers memorialised in the towers at Messines and Thiepval, to the modern UDA/UFF: “In memory of the officers and volunteers of A. Coy. UDA/UFF West Belfast Brigade who unselfishly dedicated their lives in defence of their country.”

There was also a Cuchulainn mural on Newtownards Rd in 1992 (updated in 2005), as well as ‘past defenders’ in the form of B Specials and UDR (1992 | 2005). There is a Visual History page on Cú Chulaınn.

Among the volunteers listed on the stone, 19 year old Alan Simpson was shot in his home in nearby Highfield Drive.

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Marky Quail

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Mark Quail, of the UVF, was “murdered by the enemies of Ulster” – that is, shot by the UDA – at his Rathcoole home on November 1st, 2000. His was the fourth death in four days (after David Greer, Bertie Rice, Tommy English) (Irish Times) as the UVF-UDA feud that began in the Shankill with the infamous “loyalist day of culture” in August 2000 spread to north Belfast and Newtownabbey (though the BBC says they are unrelated). There were also attacks in east Belfast (BelTel) before the feud ended in mid-December (BBC | Guardian).

See also Jackie Coulter (and Bobby Mahood) and Sam Rockett “Murdered By Cowards”.

This is a repainted mural; for the previous version see Marky Quail.

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Prepared For Peace, Ready For War

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For this year’s Twelfth, the famous UVF “Prepared for peace, ready for war” mural that has stood over the entrance to Mount Vernon for twenty years was retouched. The most obvious change is in the apex, as a different UVF symbol – with flags – has been included, along with the words “3rd Battalion” which had been in the much earlier version of this mural on another wall.

For the previous version (and a link to the original wall), see Prepared For Peace, Ready For War.

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None Shall Divide Us

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“Audemus jura nostra defendere – We dare to defend our rights”. The UDA/UFF/UYM/LPA mural above shows hooded gunmen standing either side of a view of Carrickfergus castle. The phrase “The price of peace is eternal vigilance” is associated with British politician Leonard Courtney (who also said “Lies – damned lies – and statistics) though it probably goes further back. As can be seen from the second image, the mural watches over Woodlawn primary school. The third image shows the memorial garden off to the right-hand side; the plaque is shown fourth: “This memorial is dedicated to the memory of the officers and members of our organisation who were murdered by the enemies of Ulster and to those who paid the supreme sacrifice whilst on active service during the present conflict. Quis separabit.”

For the previous mural (Ulster’s Call 1893 – Boer War), see Murals Irlande du Nord.

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Progression Requires Inclusion

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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.

The PSNI board was seen previously: In The Pocket Of Sinn Féin.

Below: “Progression Requires Inclusion” – a UVF hooded gunman painted in 2013 is still visible in 2022.

Davy’s Street, Carrickfergus

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Young Citizen Volunteers

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The Young Citizen Volunteers of 1912 eventually joined the Ulster Volunteers (in 1914) as the 14th battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles and part of the 36th (Ulster) Division (WP). In 1972 the name was resurrected for use as the youth wing of the UVF (WP). In the wide shot, below, this history is presented as a continuous movement from left to right; a modern-day hooded gunman climbs out of a WWI trench with one hand on a YCV flag.

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Alternative Ulster

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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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