printed board/placard

Illegal Occupation

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This Lasaır Dhearg (web) board in Lenadoon is explicit in defending the use of physical force by Palestinians (specifically by the Popular Front For The Liberation Of Palestine – WP): “Palestine has a right to resist. The Palestinians have a legal and moral right to resist the illegal occupation of their land by the Zionist settler entity known as ‘Israel’. We support a one-state solution: Palestine, free, from the river to the sea.”

At the Suffolk Road end of Falcarragh Drive/Céıde An Fháıl Charraıgh, formerly the site of Car Crime Is A Growing Problem.

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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Ag Croí An Phobaıl

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Gort Na Móna CLG (Fb) has been “at the heart of the [Turf Lodge] community”, inculcating “muıntearas, mısneach, féınluach, bród [friendship, bravery, self-esteem, pride]” in its young people “ó/since 1974”.

The text and emblem appear here against a montage of photographs over-washed in the club colours of maroon, saffron, and blue.

[A small typographic note: different fonts are used for the Irish on the left and the Irish in the middle; the font in the middle (correctly) lacks tittles/dots on the letter “ı”.]

Springfield Road, at the upper entrance to the estate and across the road from the electrical boxes seen in Lóıste Na Móna.

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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Forever In Our Ranks

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This entry updates 2023’s Leaders Of Unionism Against Home Rule, which shows portraits of Carson, Crawford, and Craig, and describes their efforts in 1912, with creation of the Ulster Volunteers and the importing of arms into Larne and Donaghadee.

To the original board have been added the two plaques (shown above and immediately below), one on either side:

On the right: “In memory of our absent friends. Forever remembered by 1st East Belfast Mens, Cosy, East End and Laganville Somme groups. ‘They live in our hearts forever'”

On the left: “Jim Holt – forever remembered – forever in our ranks [of the UVF]. West End Somme Association, Glasgow.” There is a large board to Holt in Beechfield Street.

Isthmus Street, east Belfast

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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Soldiers Of The Republic

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“In our hearts your memory lives on”: the sixteen republicans executed in connection with the Easter Rising (in 1916) and the ten hunger strikers who died in the second (1981) hunger strike are remembered in a new board on Northumberland Street, west Belfast (Visual History).

64 republicans died during the Rising (An Phoblacht) and 3,500 arrested. 187 people were tried by court martial and 90 were found guilty and sentenced to death. Of these, 14 were executed over a period of ten days in May, 1916, including all seven of the signatories to the Proclamation (WP). Tomás Ceannt did not take part in the Rising; he was executed in Cork for shooting dead one of the RIC officers who were sent to round up the brothers Ceannt (WP). Roger Casement was executed in August, convicted of treason for attempting to smuggle weapons from Germany for use in the Rising. (Irish Times)

The sixteen are: Pádraıg Pearse, Thomas Clarke, Thomas McDonagh, Joseph Plunkett, Edward Daly, Michael O’Hanrahan, Willie Pearse, John Mac Bride, Eamonn Ceannt, Seán Heuston, Michael Mallin, Con Colbert, Tomás Ceannt, Seán Mac Dıarmada, James Connolly, Roger Casement.

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Inár gCroí Go Deo

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“West Tyrone Brigade, Óglaıgh Na hÉıreann. Vol. Charles Breslin, Vol, David Devine, Vol. Michael Devine”. The three were killed on February 23rd, 1985, in a hail of 100-200 SAS bullets, as they returned arms for an aborted mission to a dump near the Fountain area of Strabane; their families were later (2002) awarded compensation. (An Phoblacht | WP | UTv)

The board shown above is in the Fountain Street memorial garden, which centrally features a stone-wall enclosure to the trio. Individual stones have also been added to the garden, to Danny McCauley (TPQ | An Phoblacht), Tobias Molloy (An Phoblacht), and Eugene Devlin (An Phoblacht) (shown below). The local SF cumann is named after Molloy/Devlin/McCauley (Fb).

For the gravestones of many of the volunteers, see Strabane’s Republican Graves.

Fountain Street, Strabane

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Anocht a théam sa Bhearna Bhaoıl

Republican Solidarity With Palestine

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Since the October 7th attack by Hamas and the subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza, the number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel has gone up from about 5,000 to about 9,000, including about 3,500 prisoners held under what is called “administrative detention” or what would be known here as “internment without trial”. (Figures for the last fifteen years are available at HaMoked and at B’Tselem.) Prisoners recently released from Israeli detention have described the beatings and degrading treatment they received (Amnesty | Reuters | Haaretz).

During the peace process of the mid-1990s, a green ribbon was used as a symbol of republican political prisoners, whose release was one of the major goals in a peace settlement – see this large example from Shantallow, Derry, from 1998. It is still used post-Agreement by physical-force republicans, e.g. End Brit Brutality and Maghaberry Concentration Camp.

The board is on the Meenan Square construction site in the Bogside, Derry. For the INLA board in the background of the wide shot, see Serious Trouble.

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A Stitch In Time

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In the 1920s, there were 44 shirt-making factories in Derry employing almost 20% of the city’s population (IAR). (Derry Of The Past has a Fb gallery of historical images of factories.) One of those factories was – and the building still stands – in the Rosemount area, a stone’s throw away from this 2021 artwork by Peaball (web), alongside boards with vintage photographs. Supported by iPrint (ig), Glen Development Initiative (Fb), and CRAFT (Cultural Renewal [and] Arts For Tomorrow).

See also: The Factory Girls

Rosemount Gardens, Derry

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The Spirit Of Freedom

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“The Spirit Of Freedom RFB remember with great pride our late comrade and friend drum sergeant Michael (Micky) Friel on his 20th anniversary. Always remembered and sorely missed by your family and your comrades in the Spirit Of Freedom RFB.” The band does not appear to have an on-line presence but there are references to the band going back to 1997 (An Phoblacht). Friel died in 2004 at age 24 (FindAGrave).

Central Drive, Creggan, Derry

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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Neil McMonagle

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Derry IRA man Neil McMonagle is placed among the seven signatories of the proclamation of the provisional government of the Irish Republic.

The board is in Leafair Park, Derry, close to the spot where McMonagle, aged 23, along with friend Liam Duffy, were shot by undercover British soldiers (specifically Sergeant Paul Oram of 14 Intelligence Company (WP)) on February 2, 1983. McMonagle died instantly while Duffy was wounded but survived. The official account alleged that both McMonagle and Duffy were armed; locals deny this. For an account of the killing and a tribute, see these obituaries from republican publications in 1983.

“Vol Neil McMonagle, Derry Brigade INLA. Killed in action 2nd February 1983. “They may kill the revolutionary but never the revolution.””

Leafair Park, Shantallow, Derry

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Winky Rea

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A portrait of Winston Winky/Winkie Rea has been added to the gallery above the Red Hand Commando board in the upper Shankill, taking the place of a pesudo-Mark Twain quote that has been reproduced in a horizontal format above the quartet. (See the previous iteration.)

Like the other three, Rea was a RHC (or UVF) member who then became a member of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP). On the basis of his interview with the Boston College project, he was charged with crimes including two murders and two attempted murders (BBC | BBC). The trial was still on-going when he died in December of 2023.

“With courage and vision you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate, and the wisdom to be humble. Courage is the foundation of integrity. – Mark Twain [Keshavan Nair].”

Glenwood Street, upper Shankill, west Belfast

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