physical force – Page 2 – Paddy Duffy Collection

Our Present Fight

2026-06-282026-07-23Extramural Activity1 Comment

“[Scaoıl] saor Niall Sheerin anoıs”, “Republican prisoners still exist”. Niall Sheerin was imprisoned for seven years for possession of the weapon that police believe was used by the New IRA to shoot Lyra McKee in April, 2019 (BBC). The calls for his release have been prompted by Sheerin reaching the 50% mark of his stretch and becoming eligible for parole. (RN | Fb video of a protest | a Newry billboard (BBC) (previously used for Don’t Forget The Palestinian Children). There is also a large board supporting Sheering in Creggan.

“We must see our present fight right through to the very end – Bobby Sands IRA volunteer”. The quote does appear to be genuine, though its source is unknown, suggesting it was in a Marcella column in AP/RN. An extended version reads, “We must see our present fight right through to the very end. Generations will continue to meet the same fate unless the perennial oppressor – Britain – is removed, for she will unashamedly and mercilessly continue to maintain her occupation and economic exploitation of Ireland to judgment day, if she is not halted and ejected.” (Leave a comment/send an e-mail is you can provide the source.)

The ‘barbed wire’ emblem is from the IRPWA (web) and the ‘sunburst’ from Saoradh (web). The ‘green ribbon’ is a generic symbol of republican political prisoners going back to the ceasefire era (see the Peter Moloney Collection) and the ‘Easter lily’ of Irish republicanism. (There is a small Sheela-Na-Gig/Síle-Na-Gıgh plaque next to the lily, possibly part of Project Sheela (web).) The ‘clenched fist’ is the same fist as appeared in the old (1994) Battle Of The Bogside mural.

Lecky Road, Bogside, Derry

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Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
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Derry Volunteers Commemoration March

2026-06-282026-07-21Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Derry volunteers commemoration march, Sunday 28th June 2026, assembling at Central Drive, Creggan at 1 pm.”

On the railings in front is a hand-made placard reading “End occupation, end the genocide, end Zionism, saoırse don Phalaıstín. ÓSF Doıre [Fb].”

Also included is another image of the nearby RSYM [Fb] board: “The “crisis” is capitalism”.

Lecky Road, Derry, on the rear of Free Derry Corner.

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We Rise!

2026-06-272026-08-03Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The same slogan – “We exist! We resist! We rise!” – has been used by Saoradh (web) in connection with Palestinian prisoners in west Belfast (see Springfield | Andersonstown) but here the accompanying image shows the sun rising on a native American in full headdress holding a spear, mirroring the Gal Gréıne and the pike that are part of the Saoradh emblem. It’s not clear if there is a current campaign around Native rights; in the past Saoradh has expressed support for Leonard Peltier.

Lone Moor Road, Brandywell, Derry

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Rising From The Ashes

2026-06-272026-07-24Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

This mural, painted in 1981, still exists as is and is thus the oldest original mural in the north. It shows a phoenix rising from the shields of the four provinces and a stand of three flags: Starry Plough, Tricolour, and Sunburst.

Anne Street/Glendara, Brandywell, Derry

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Times Bar

2026-06-062026-08-28Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

A memorial service was held at the Times Bar on Friday (June 5th) (News Letter) to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the attack on the Times Bar in 1976, in which Edward McMurray and Robert Groves were killed by a republican bomb. (An image of the bombed bar can be found on Xitter.)

Three plaques were added to the memorial garden where the service took place, to William Haddock, James Smyth, and William Flynn. (Compare to 2019.)

As the images from May 10th, below, show, a painted mural was originally planned for the spot.

May 10th:

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Antrim UDA

2026-05-312026-06-22Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

This UDA emblem is on a gable wall at the back of a house in Queen’s Road, but serves as the upper limit between the UVF Steeple (Parkhall Road) and the UDA Kilgreel Road areas of Antrim. Some of the UDA board have gone from Kilgreel Road, and those that remain are in poor condition, but this one was re-painted/repaired relatively recently (c. 2020). The original, which dates back to at least 2008, was black – see the Peter Moloney Collection. The main mural in the estate is kept in good condition.

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Steeple Remembers

2026-05-302026-06-15Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“In eternal memory, UVF Volunteer Jimmy Fee.” This entry updates 2023’s Pass Not This Spot In Sorrow, which showed a painted UVF flag in memory of Jimmy Fee. This has been replaced by a printed board which contains a photographic portrait of Fee. As reported in that earlier entry, there is no information readily available about Fee, who perhaps died around 2016, when the original mural was painted. The two upper boards (in the shape of gravestones) have been retained from the earlier work, while the “north Antrim/Londonderry battalion, south Antrim brigade – remember them with pride” board is new.

Parkhall Road, Steeple, Antrim. The WWII banner is in the nearby Steeple Park.

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The Fallen Comrades Of The INLA

2026-05-182026-08-28Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Christopher “Crip” McWilliams has been added this new version of the INLA memorial on Northumberland Street (Visual History). McWilliams was a long-time member of the IPLO and was present at the Lenadoon shout-out with the RUC in Lenadoon in which Bonanza McCann died. He joined the INLA while in prison for the 1991 killing of a snooker-hall manager (Independent) and in 1987 was the gunman in a team of three that killed the LVF’s Billy Wright in the H-Blocks (IRSN | Cory Report (pdf) | MacLean Report (pdf)).

The info board in the final image was originally mounted in 2014 to accompany the version painted on a board which featured Loughran, McLarnon, McCann, and Gallagher, and updated in 2019 for the printed version which added McElkerney.

For images and video from the launch on May 17th, see El Norte De Irlanda.

An Architect Of Peace

2026-05-082026-08-28Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The UVF boards at the junction of London and My Lady’s roads in east Belfast have been completely replaced (compared to 2022). The hooded gunmen on the short side have been replaced by “Joy, peace, love” while a tribute to David Ervine now replaces the lettering reading “East Belfast Ulster Volunteer Force”. Ervine was a UVF member from 1972 to 1980 before turning to a career in politics. “He asked the question “why can’t I be an Irish citizen of the UK?” … “An architect of peace. An inspiration to us all.” Always remembered by his family, comrades, colleagues and friends.”

Next to Ervine is a UVF roll of honour in which Roy Walker joins Robert Bennett, James Cordner, Joseph Long, and Robert Seymour, who were previously portrayed (Ulster’s Brave). Walker was killed in a feud with the UDA in 1976. And around the corner the UVF emblem has been replaced by a board to the Ulster Volunteer Force Regimental Band, containing a controversial photograph of the band marching past the site of the 1992 Sean Graham bookies massacre (Crime World). Update: the photograph has been replaced – see the parallel entry in the Seosamh Mac Coılle Collection.

The largest panel remains a tribute to the dead of WWI, for which see again the parallel entry in the Seosamh Mac Coılle Collection.

Shared Space

2026-04-292026-08-28Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

These UVF and UDA board are on adjacent walls at the entrance to the Glen estate, Newtownards; above and directly below, a North Down UVF and graffiti, while directly above it (final image) two UDA hooded gunmen take aim at the viewer on the pavement.

Also in Glen: a UVF hooded gunman at the bottom of the estate – Neighbourhood Watch – and UDA gunmen at the top of the estate – Hope That It Will Get Better.