printed board/placard

McGerrigan – Hughes 50th

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Jake McGerrigan and Tony Hughes of the OIRA were both shot and killed by British forces in the Windmill Hill area of Armagh in a 48-hour period spanning April 7th and 9th, 1973. (Lost Lives #791 incorrectly gives March 7th for McGerrigan.) The board shown above was mounted in Navan Street for the 40th anniversary of their deaths, in 2013, and the lower date has now been updated for the 50th anniversary.

The larger portraits on either side are of McGerrigan and Hughes; between them are (left) Peadar McElvanna, Roddy Carroll, Gerard Mallon, Martin Corrigan, (middle) Peter Corrigan, (right) Tony McClelland, Seamus Grew, Sean McIlvanna [McIlvenna], Dessie Grew.

There is an individual plaque to Hughes (shown immediately below) at the spot where he was shot and a stone (shown below; for text see McGerrigan – Hughes) to both of them in the same alley; there is also a stone (not shown) to McGerrigan in Windmill Avenue. (Video of Jake McGerrigan’s funeral.)

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Ní Amháın Saor Ach Gaelach Chomh Maıth

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Quotations from Pádraıg Mac Pıaraıs [Patrick Pearse] and Séamus Ó Conghaıle [James Connolly] are super-imposed upon an Irish-language version of the 1916 Proclamation. From Mac Pıaraıs: Ní [h]amháın saor ach Gaelach chomh maıth; ní [h]amháın Gaelach ach saor chomh maıth [not merely free but Gaelic too; not merely Gaelic but free too]; from Ó Conghaıle: “The cause of labour is the cause of Ireland, the cause of Ireland is the cause of labour’ (from ‘The Irish Flag’ 1916).

The portraits might well be by, or based on, prints by Jim Fitzpatrick (Revolutionaries).

Dalton Park/Irish Street, Armagh

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The Dead Generations

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In the apex of the gable are the seven signatories to the 1916 Proclamation — all of whom were executed after the rising — and to the left and right of the text of the Proclamation are IRA dead from 1973 to 1990.

Left, top to bottom: Jake McGerrigan, Peadar McElvanna, Peter Corrigan, Roddy Carroll, Sean McIlvanna [McIlvenna], and Dessie Grew.

Right: Tony Hughes, Tony McClelland, Seamus Grew, Martin Corrigan, and Gerard Mallon.

See also: 50th Anniversary board to McGerrigan and Hughes.

Culdee Terrace, Armagh

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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800 Years Of Irish Resistance

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There is a memorial garden to the history of Irish resistance at the entrance to the Athletic Grounds in Armagh. From left to right, the images presented here show:

“More than 800 years of Irish resistence” – a sword for the Norman invasion under Strongbow, a pike for the 1798 and 1803 rebellions, a bolt-action rifle for the Easter Rising of 1916, and an assault rifle for the Troubles;

Cumann Na mBan, Mairéad Farrell and republican women who made “the supreme sacrifice”;

The Proclamation, Provisional IRA and Na Fianna;

The dying Cú Chulainn and a plaque “in proud and loving memory of all republican volunteers, ex-POWs and the unsung heroes from this area who fought, suffered and died in the cause of Ireland’s freedom, with a quote from James Connolly: ‘If you strike at, imprison or kill us, out of prisons or graves will still evoke a spirit that will thwart you and perhaps raise a force that will destroy you! We defy you England! Do your worst!”;

“Remember Ireland’s hunger strikers – 22 men” – the ten 1981 hunger strikers and Thomas Ashe, Terence MacSwiney, Michael Fitzgerald, Joe Murphy, Joseph Whitty, Andy O’Sullivan, Denny Barry, Tony D’Arcy, Jack McNeela, Seán McCaughey, Michael Gaughan, Frank Stagg;

A stone “in loving memory of men, women and children murdered by British forces in Ireland.”

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Like A Pack Of Cards

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“Carrickfergus congratulates Rangers FC on their 55th title” on “Champions Row” (that is, Irish Quarter West) Carrickfergus.

As Chairman Dave King appointed Steven Gerrard as the new manager of Rangers in 2018, he predicted that a single league win for Rangers would cause Celtic to “fold like a pack of cards” (Sky Sport). Under Gerrard, Rangers clinched their 55th Scottish championship in spring of 2021. Celtic, however, won in 2022 and 2023 (WP).

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
T03361 we welcome the chase back where we belong kings of scotland we are the people

Inspire A Generation

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“Marching into the future”. The 35th anniversary board – and the Pride Of The Bann flute band (Fb) itself – is still going over a decade after it was mounted in Harpur’s Hill, Coleraine; here is the board in 2012. It has now been joined by a board aimed at young people, designed by members of Sunlea Youth Club.

Tullyarton Road, Coleraine.

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The Supreme Price

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“In proud [and] loving memory: Vol William Campbell, a true Ulsterman who paid the supreme price for the love of his country. William Campbell, who lost his life on active service 3rd January 2002. Quis separabit. 2nd Batt Coleraine.”

This is the third memorial board to Campbell – who died at the age of 19 when a pipe-bomb exploded prematurely – replacing others seen in 2013 and in 2007.

Tullyarton Road, Harpur’s Hill, Coleraine

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The Struggle With Space And Time

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Local children painted portraits of four “Great Communicators” for the BT building at the corner of Main Street and Dundarave Road in Bushmills (NALIL). The set of less colourful boards, which also contain quotes, might be by adults.

Alexander Bell, 1847-1922: “Ideas do not reach perfection in a day, no matter how much study is put upon them.” “Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.”

Michael Faraday, 1791-1867: “All this is a dream, still examine it by a few experiments.” “Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistant [sic] with the laws of Nature.”

Samuel Morse, 1791-1872: “To God be all the glory. Not what hath man, but what hath God wrought.” “God has permitted me to do something for the help and comfort of my fellows.”

Guglielmo Marconi, 1874-1937: “Every day sees humanity more victorious in the struggle with space and time.” “Have I done the world good, or have I added a menance.” Marconi is well-known in Ballycastle for an 1898 transmission between the town and Rathlin.

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Causeway Protestant Boys

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The more familiar mythological figure in Northern Irish muraling — both CNR and PUL — is Cú Chulaınn (Visual History) but this Bushmills board features another larger-than-life figure, from slightly later mythology, Fıonn Mac Cumhaıll/Finn MacCool. In legend, Fionn ate the salmon of knowledge and became leader of the Fianna. His connection to the north Antrim coast is that he is the supposed creator of the “Giant’s Causeway”, the basalt columns that stretch out into the Atlantic Ocean, seemingly towards Scotland.

The Causeway and Finn are both used in the board shown above as symbols of the UDA North Antrim & Londonderry brigade’s 5th battalion/Giant’s Causeway Protestant Boys flute band (Fb) in Dundarave Road, Bushmills, which is about three miles from the Causeway. The board is also notable for its use of the flag of the proposed ‘independent Northern Ireland’, for which see (e.g.) We Must Share The Responsibility | One Island, Two Nations | Freedom Corner which features Cú Chulaınn.

The second image is a UDA/UYM emblem at the entrance to the estate. The third is further along. The last is not from Dundarave but from the exterior of a pub on Main Street.

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