The image above is of William III landing at Brixham in Devon, England, but the central panel (immediately below) and the fake “blue plaque” celebrate the 1690 landing of William at Carrickfergus. The postcard reproduced in the central panel, as well as an old Londonderry mural which also reproduced it, can be seen in the Peter Moloney collection. For details of the landing, and William’s subsequent travels to Whitehouse, Belfast, Lisburn, and the Boyne, see June 14th, 1690.
The two passages cited here have been cited before on the side wall at the junction of the Limestone Road and N Queen St, with images of Orange symbols and Union Flags, in order to promise that Your Kingdom Will Endure Forever. That theme has now been invoked in upper Tiger’s Bay, to celebrate the latest king (Charles III) of the everlasting kingdom demarcated by the shields of the “four nations” in the corners of the main gable, Northern Ireland included.
The people in question in the second book of Samuel are the people of Israel but as with previous scriptural references on the lower wall (Lamentations | Chronicles | Revelations | Psalms | Genesis), the Protestant people in Ireland and Britain are under discussion (though they might also refer to contemporary Israel).
In the King James version, 2 Samuel 7:10-16 the prophet Nathan is speaking to David: “Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime, and as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.”
In Luke 1:31-33, an angel is speaking to Mary: “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
The large gable at the junction of the Limestone Road and North Queen Street in north Belfast – most recently the site of a celebration of Rangers’ 55th title – see We Are The People – is being repainted, beginning with the low wall in front, as shown above. The side wall on the right of the wide shot below dates back to 2017 (see Your Kingdom Will Endure Forever) and the scriptural references on it also appear in the new installation in Mervue Street – see I Will Plant Them, That They May Dwell In A Place Of Their Own. It’s possible that a King Charles installation is in progress here, too.
The final image is of another Tiger’s Bay territorial marker in Upper Canning Street.
Ahed Tamimi is a young Palestinian activist famous for slapping and pushing two Israeli soldiers in 2017, when she was 16 (footage at NBC News), after her cousin was hit in the head by an Israeli bullet. She was arrested soon after (USA Today) and served seven months (Al Jazeera | Guardian). She was also arrested last (2023) November (Al Jazeera) and released about three weeks later as part of a prisoners-for-hostages swap on November 29th (BBC).
The mural to Tamimi (above) is in Catherine Street, Newry. Also included (below) are an older mural with the cartoon character of resistance Handala (WP) in front of a Palestinian flag with the words “Let this child return home”, and a Connolly-Costello IRSP (Fb) board.
“Ulster is ours”, says James Craig, first prime minister of Northern Ireland, in (a reproduction of) an election poster from c. 1940 (according to Whyte’s). If it is for his own seat in North Down, for Stormont – rather than a poster for the Ulster Unionist candidates in by-elections – it might be from 1938 (WP).
“A Róısín, ná bíodh brón ort fé’r éırigh dhuıt”/Róısín, be not sad about what has happened to you”. The song ‘Róısín Dubh’ [usually translated as ‘Dark Rosaleen’] is a love song to Ireland, in which the infatuated singer recounts the lengths he would go to on her behalf (song (youtube): Muıreann Nıc Amhlaoıbh | Caıtlín Maude | poem/lyrics in English: Mangan | Kinsella at WP).
This new piece in the New Lodge, north Belfast, was painted (presumably) by emic (ig), (presumably) under the same auspices as, and as a thematic complement to, the project we reported on in Communities In Transition. The lack of explicitly nationalist or republican signifiers is perhaps necessary if the piece is to be funded by Communities In Transition, while the cultural reference is perhaps necessary if the art is to survive on what has for the past dozen years been an anti-Agreement wall – see Damn Your Concessions, England and Unbowed, Unbroken. Another emic piece, in Creggan, Derry, has been marked with republican graffiti – see Stand Up And Speak Out. This very skilful piece walks a very fine line very precisely.
“No sovereignty = no control”. Great Britain and the European Union combine to push Ireland through the grinder for American profit. This mural is a cartoon by Carlos Latuff (ig) reproduced by 32CSM (web) on Divis Street, Belfast.
Paddy Duffy Collection 