painted wall

Mill Street, Ballymena

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

These shutters of a solicitor’s office in Mill Street, Ballymena, are painted with a view of the street from around the turn of the (20th) century.

The original photograph, by photographer Robert French, can be seen in the National Library Of Ireland. French died in 1917, which provides an upper limit for the date of the scene.

In the misty distance is the tower of St Patrick’s (CI) church (WP) and closer to the camera (on the right of the left-hand panel) is the steeple on top of the old town hall, which was originally built in 1684 (one of the old “seven towers” in the town) and most recently replaced in 1928 (WP).

See also Ballymena Town Hall.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
T06079 T06078

Donaghadee Harbour

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Donaghadee harbour celebrated the bicentennial of its construction (which took from 1821-1834) with a mural towards the bottom of Manor Street. From left to right, we can see the “motte” or “moat”, an Anglo-Norman motte-and-bailey castle from the 1100s; the lifeboat (behind the crew) is the Sir Samuel Kelly, named for a hero of the Princess Victoria sinking in 1953 (Historic UK) – the station was established in 1910; the Copeland Islands and holiday-makers; Tom Blower, who left from Donaghadee to swim the North Channel in 1947; Bobby Simpson hiring out row-boats below the lighthouse, which was built in 1836.

The work is by Verz (ig) and Ed Reynolds (web).

(Sources: WP | Ards & North Down council Fb | web | News Letter)

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
T06056 [T06055] [T06057] T06054

335th Anniversary

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

This pair of Sandy Row murals will this year celebrate their 35th anniversary, being two of the three painted in the street in 1990 for the 300th anniversary of the Battle Of The Boyne. For the murals in the year of their creation, see M00823 and M00826.

Above is the crest of the city of Londonderry – the siege ended in 1690; below is the crest of the Young Citizen Volunteers, the part-time territorial force for young adults established in 1912, which became the 14th Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles and part of the 36th (Ulster) Division in WWI.

Rowland Way, Sandy Row, south Belfast

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
T06030 T06031

Ulster First Flute

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The Ulster First Flute mural in Linfield Road will be twenty-eight years old this year (2025). There is an image in the Collection from 1998 and images in the other collections from 1997, 2009, and 2018. The band formed in 1996, according to its Fb page, though at the bottom the text reads “Est. 1997”.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
T06033

Cuidich’N Righ

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The festive atmosphere depicted along the bottom of the Pride Of Ballybeen flute band’s new mural, with people clapping and waving and doing cartwheels as the parade passes by, is in contrast with the regimental emblems in the upper part of the mural: we see (on the left-hand side; first close-up below) the Highlanders (“Cuidich’n Righ” is Scots Gaelic for “Help the king”) and the Irish Guards (motto “quis separabit”; 1783 is the year the Order Of St Patrick was created), and (right-hand side, second close-up below), the Royal Irish Regiment and the Logistics Corp (motto “Honi soit qui mal y pense“). These are perhaps regiments in which band-members serve or have served; the band does not have a (public) internet presence.

For the previous mural, see Pride Of Ballybeen.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
T06020 T06021 T06022 T06019