“Saint Malachy’s G.A.C. is more than a club. It’s our club. To participate is to represent your community and an expression of your cultural identity.”
This is the 2021 repaint of the mural celebrating Gaelic games in the parish of St. Malachy/Naomh Maolmhaodhóg, in the Markets area of Belfast. The parish church – featured in the top centre – has a celebrated fan-vaulted ceiling (WP). This mural, on the other hand, features a bay window.
“Conaíonn [Cónaíonn] muid ı scath dá chéıle” is a straightforward rendering of the epigrammatic “Ar scáth a cheıle a mhaıreann na daoıne”, which was included in the previous version – see Cultural Identity.
18th Newtownabbey FC (Fb) play their home games on the youth pitch at Cloyne Crescent, Monkstown. This new mural is on a gable two rows above the field, on the site of an old Somme mural (M05678).
Sacred Heart Boxing Academy was housed in the parochial hall (shown in the middle of the mural) before closing perhaps because of safety concerns and/or debt.
“Ardoyne-Bone boxers have punched well above their weight. As professional we have won … British, Commonwealth, European & W.B.U. titles. As amateurs we have won 3 Olympic bronze, European Gold, Commonwealth Gold, World Junior silver, 17 Irish senior titles & an A.B.A senior title. Nor forgetting all our boxing coaches, who put in their time and effort for all our young boxers. Truly amazing for such a small area.” The wide shot below shows the whole of this new Ardoyne/Ard Eoın mural celebrating local boxers; the boxers named are Darren Corbett (WP), John Kelly (FightsRec), Paddy Barnes (WP), Harry McAuley (BoxRec), Anthony Maguire, Hugh Gilhooley (BoxRec), Eamonn McAuley (BoxRec), Freddie Gilroy (WP), Terry Magee (WP), Sean Brown, Noel Magee (WP), Barney Burns, Pat Kelly, Eamonn Magee (WP).
This image shows the replacement set of painted boards; for the originals see A Small Area.
Sport and politics intersect in this mural at the junction of Broadway and Donegall Avenue in south Belfast. Northern Irish flags provide a backdrop for the shields of Linfield football club and the Northern Ireland football association.
Footballer Billy Simpson moved from Linfield to Rangers in 1950 and over the course of nine years and 239 appearances scored 163 goals. He also scored the winner for Northern Ireland against England in 1957. Simpson died in January of year 2017 and is remembered by this board outside the Supporters’ Club in Barrington Street, south Belfast.
“From Sandy Row to the house of Windsor: happy diamond jubilee 1952-2012. God save the Queen.” Although the coronation was held in June 1953, Elizabeth acceded to the throne immediately upon the death of George VI, on February 6th, 1952. This board was previously on an adjacent wall but has been moved to this location (on top of the ‘Our Wee Country’ mural, replacing a damaged mosaic) to make way for the NI centenary board shown below.
The Irish Football Association (web | tw) is the governing body for Northern Irish soccer, overseeing both domestic and international events. The original Our Wee Country (fan organisation Web | tw) mural was in Carnforth Street, east Belfast.
Left: “The Annals of the Four Masters record that in 665 AD, the Battle of Farset (Belfast) took place between the County Down Dal Fiatach, self styled Ulaid, and the Pretani or Cruthin where Cathasach, son of Laircine, was slain. This was an attempt by the Dal Fiatach to encroach on the Curtain territory of Trian Congail. The “third of Congal”, which encompassed territory on both sides of the Lagan, corresponding more to less to Uppers and Lower Clandeboye, including modern Belfast. Cathasach was Congal’s grandson. The battle was the first mention of Belfast in Irish history.”
The battle scene shown is Jim Fitzpatrick’s vision of the battle of Moira (in 637), rather than “Bellum Fertsi”. The salience of this description of intra-Ulster fighting is that there is a contention that the Cruthin were Scots (Picts) thus allowing for the idea (employed especially by the UDA – see Ulster’s Defenders and Defender Of Ulster From Irish Attacks) that present-day northern Protestants have a heritage, and a history of fighting for what is roughly Co. Antrim, that pre-dates the plantations. For more information and a similar board, featuring the tower blocks of Rathcoole rather than Cuchulainn and the Battle of Moira, see Kingdom Of The Pretani. For the debate over a connection to the Picts, see WP.
The Annals date back to the 1630s though they mostly comprise a variety of earlier sources.
The image of the gentleman with the sword appears to be a stock fantasy image, used for at least two characters in Game Of Thrones fandom (Rhaegon Targaryen and Lord Cameron Umber).
Middle: 2021 was the centenary of the creation of Northern Ireland and the year in which Scottish football club Glasgow Rangers won their 55th league title. Support for the club is widespread among the PUL community in Northern Ireland; local soccer and the international team is overseen by the IFA.
Right: “Centenary of cultural expression 1921-2021. Sons Of Belfast LOL 743. Castleton Temperance LOL 867. The Memorial LOL 1197. Belfast Harbour LOL 1883. The Coote Memorial LOL 1921. Cave Hill Temperance LOL 1956.”
This is a gallery of some old and newer pieces at the top of Springhill. Above and immediately below are the pieces painted in 2014 in support of Palestine. (For the tank protester, see David And Goliath. The ‘Four Irelands’ piece was never finished – it was going to show the shrinking Gaeltacht.)
The others (Noah Donohoe and CSP) are from last year (2021). Cumann Spóırt An Phobaıl (Fb | ig) is an all abilities (and all ages – starting at age 5) soccer club based on the Ballymurphy Road in west Belfast. The club was profiled in the Irish News in late 2020. “CSP Abú!”
Here are three shots of the new Blaze Fx (web | Fb) “Belfast Giants” mural in east Belfast’s Lord Street. The Giants have been Belfast’s ice-hockey team for the last fifteen years, beginning in 2000. The detail above shows mascot Finn MacCool and the image of the full mural, below, includes the team motto, the (a)politically-motivated “In the land of the giants, everyone is equal.” The mural takes the place of a UDA mural (see, Feriens Tego) and is one of three large murals and various small murals to be replaced or painted out. (This News Letter article puts the total at nine.)
Paddy Duffy Collection 