plaque

Pause, Reflect, Remember

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“Always remembered by the officers and volunteers of South Londonderry/Randalstown Ulster Volunteer Force.” This memorial mural and plaque in Magherafelt names Charlie Wright, Jonathan Wallace, Ken Wilkinson, and Ian McArthur.

Of these, Wilkinson seems the most well-known, as he served as a PUP representative for the area. He commented on sectarian tensions in Randalstown in 1999 (An Phoblacht) and in Coleraine in 2009 (Irish Examiner), and spoke against sueprgrass trials in 2011 as a member of FAST (Irish Times | see previously FAST and FASTing For Human Rights And Justice); he was accused of intimidation of Catholics in Antrim in 2003 (An Phoblacht). He stood for a number of elected positions (e.g. 2013) but was unsuccessful.

Ostensibly for his stand against drug-sellers, in 2010 a pipe-bomb (BBC), and in 2011 a make-shift car-bomb (BelTel), were placed against his home and he received death threats in 2013 (politics.ie). He died in 2021 (BelTel | News Letter | Irish News).

The plaque in the memorial garden (shown below) reads, “This plaque is dedicated in memory of all of the loyalist people of Ulster who have suffered at the hands of the enemies of our land. Lest we forget.”

The mural in the background can be seen in Leckagh Remembers The Fallen.

Also included is a nearby bench celebrating the platinum jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

Leckagh Drive, Magherafelt.

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Essence And Space

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This is the new Sam Rockett mural in the Woodvale, replacing the mural seen in Murdered By Cowards. The old mural just featured Rockett, who died in August, 2000, in the feud between the UVF and lower Shankill UDA. This new mural also features the “ethnic cleansing” of Torrens in 2004.

Torrens sits between Cliftonville, Ardoyne, and the lower Oldpark, and was one of the many historically mixed areas in north Belfast that, with the Troubles, became increasingly segregated and separated from neighbouring areas by “peace” lines. Jarman (1996) provides eye-witness testimony of the dispute in Torrens in 1996 which saw Catholic families leave the area. Its proximity to Ardoyne (and Cliftonville), however, meant that over the next few years the houses were gradually abandoned by Protestants, culminating in 2004 when ten of the remaining Protestant families moved out of the area, alleging persistent intimidation and employing the term term “ethnic cleansing” – a term the poem to the right of the mural uses three times.

The area was eventually redeveloped from 2008-2012, with the Wyndham Street “peace” line coming down and Elmgrove Street being opened to the Oldpark Road.

The line in the poem “the resistance formed a steady band” is unclear – it might refer to loyalists being bussed into Torrens in 1996 (see the testimonies in Jarman); if it refers to B Company it would make a connection to Rockett. As it is, the connection between the two elements of the mural (if any is intended) seems to be that Rockett was from the lower Oldpark, near Torrens.

Sources:
John Darby, Intimidation In Housing, 1974. At CAIN.
Neil Jarman, On The Edge, 1996, which also covers the exodus from nearby Cliftonpark Avenue. At CAIN.
1996 AP footage on youtube
2004: BelTel | BBC | Guardian | Republican News | An Phoblacht

“In the name of Ireland’s cruel game/Oh, land that once sang freedom’s song/Now marred by ethnic cleansing’s wrong.//Echoes of anguish haunt the Protestants of Torrens,/Ethnically cleansed, a sinister goal,/Their weapon honed, to exact a toll.//Families robbed of essence and space,/fuelled by hated, to erase their trace.//Against the darkness, spirits sincere,/Hand in hand across the land,/the resistance formed a steady band.//Ethnic cleansing’s horrors unveiled at last,/Hearts of courage, unbreakable souls,/Truths unfurled, their power untold,/A captured scene of the evil deeds done.”

The in-progress images are from August 17th and 18th. The mural was completed for the anniversary of Rockett’s death on August 23rd. The source for the central image (of furniture being loaded into a lorry) is unknown.

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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The Pigeon Has Landed

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On June 12th 1944, ‘Paddy The Pigeon’ flew from Normandy (where the landings begun on the 6th were ongoing – D-Day Story) back to the English coast. In recognition of his exploits, a plaque was mounted in the harbour of his home town of Carnlough on the Antrim coast in 2009.

Update: The plaque was destroyed in June 2024 – you can it in pieces on the ground in this BBC article.

“During World War II, pigeons were used by the forces as message carriers. Paddy was one of thirty pigeons delivered by RAF Hurn to operational units of the First US Army on June 8th, 1944. They were to be used in connection with a secret task, code named “U2″. Paddy was released in Normandy at around 8.15am on June 12th, carrying coded information on the Allied advance. He returned to his loft in Hampshire in just 4 hours and 50 minutes. This was the fastest time recorded by a message-carrying pigeon during the Normandy landings. For his services Paddy was awarded the Dickin Medal on September 1st, 1944. He had previously served at RAF Ballykelly on Air Sea rescue missions. Andrew Hughes JP, of Carnlough, was the proud owner of Paddy. He handed over several of his pigeons to be trained, along with others for service with the Forces. Paddy lived for eleven years, and to date is the only Irish recipient of the Dickin Medal, which is the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross. – Larne & District Historical Society MMIX.”

Also in the harbour is a plaque (shown below) to the sailors who died on the Peridot in November, 1905.

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Scottish Brigade

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The hand-painted UVF Scottish Brigade mural (see Boab Kerr) in Beechfield Street/Tower Street has been replaced by this new printed board. The plaque to Kerr has been retained, but four names have been added – David Totten, Brian Milligan, Billy Inglis, and Jim Holt, who is now the most prominent. Holt died in February 2021 (ACT Fb).

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Clós Ard An Lao

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Here is a gallery of the murals and plaques in Clós Ard An Lao/Ardilea Close in the Machaıre Botháın/Marrowbone area of north Belfast. A full repertoire of republican events is commemorated – the United Irishmen, Great Hunger, the Rising, the Troubles, the (modern) hunger strikes. What is most striking is the significant presence of religious icons, such as the Sacred Heart in the glass cases in front of the two main murals (above and last below).

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Andrew Mason

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19-year-old Andrew “Macey” Mason was wearing his Hillhall band uniform and a UDA badge while en route to visit his girlfriend on April 19th, 1987, when he was set upon by two men near Carnlough on the Antrim coast. The gruesome details of the beatings and stabbings that followed are given in Lost Lives (#2827).

This is the second (see previously 2010 – M05938) memorial board to Mason in Hillhall. The memorial plaque (below) is a new version of the older plaque to John McMichael, Raymond Smallwood[s], Jim Guiney, and Mason.

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
T02320 T02321 T02319 Hillhall Gardens “Sons of Ulster do not be anxious for we will never forget you as long as the sun shines and the wind blows and the rain falls and the rivers of Ulster flow to the sea. Always remembered by volunteers from Hillhall C Company.”

The People’s Monument

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In August (2022), Saoradh Doıre (web) and the Derry IRPWA (web) unveiled a new memorial to the Derry Brigade IRA/Brıogáıd Dhoıre Óglaıgh Na hÉıreann on the green at the Fahan Street turn which it is calling “the people’s monument” (Derry Now) perhaps in parallel with the series of murals by the Bogside Artists called “the people’s gallery” (Visual History page).

In the centre is a Derry Brigade roll of honour with 42 names; on the left is a role of remembrance of naturally-deceased óglaıgh and activists, including Geordie McGilloway who worked on the nearby hunger strike memorial (An Phoblacht); on the right is a list of the deceased twentieth century hunger strikers, beginning with Thomas Ashe.

“This monument is dedicated to the people of Derry City who have resisted & still resist the occupation of our country by Britain. We acknowledge with pride the sacrifices they made throughout every decade. Their names would be too numerous to mention & their deeds of bravery & resistance unequaled in the history of our struggle. The republican movement of Derry City salute you and your families. Your reward will only be a united Ireland.”

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Pass Not This Spot In Sorrow

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There has been a 36th Division board on this wall since 2003 (see Steeple Defenders) and this second one is now more than a decade old – see the 2013 post on Peter’s site. It is accompanied by two quotations:
“Pass not this spot in sorrow but in pride/That you may live as nobly as they died.” These lines are also used in a WWI memorial mural in Carlingford Street, Belfast.
“They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old./Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn./At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.” from Binyon’s For The Fallen.

The mural below, with YCV and 36th Division emblems and a “South Antrim 1st Batt” flag was added in 2016. There’s no mention on-line of “Vol. Jimmy Fee” of the 1st (and only) battalion of the South Antrim brigade.

The board and mural are on the gable next to the Steeple memorial mural to Denver Smith; between the two gables is the UVF flag shown below.

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Henly Gate

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Five Belgian brigades trained in Northern Ireland towards the end of WWII, as the Belgian Army rebuilt itself after the liberation of Belgium in 1944 (WarTimeNI). The 3rd or ‘Rumbeke’ brigade was raised in March 1945 and trained in six south-east Antrim towns, including Carrickfergus, where they were stationed at Henly House. After training, it took part in the occupation of Germany for about six months (BE Brigades). The boots and plaque are beneath the arch of what was once Prospect House.

The text on the plaque reads in full: “Henly Gate. This portico is the only portion of the Henly Gate remaining. The gate was erected in the 1920s as a 21st birthday present to Gwen Henly who was the last owner of Prospect House Estate. Belgian 3rd Infantry Brigade “Rumbeke”. During WWII the Estate was commandeered for military purposes. Following the liberation in late 1944 it was agreed that Belgium would raise 5 Infantry Brigades which were to be trained in Northern Ireland. The 3rd Infantry Brigade “Rumbeke” was posted to Northern Ireland from March 1945. It was billeted around the Northern shore of Belfast Lough. The 2nd Battalion was located here at Prospect House. The Brigade trained for almost 6 months in this area before going on to take part in the occupation of Germany. Dedicated 5th November 2006 by the Borough of Carrickfergus.”

At the junction of Woodburn Rd and Prospect Rd, Carrickfergus.

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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