printed board/placard

Macha

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Macha – máthaır, bandıa, banríon, gaıs[c]íoch/mother, goddess, queen, warrior.” Armagh is named after Macha, who is shown here pregnant against knot-work of three interwoven horses. In one story about Macha, she wins a race against the horses of Connor, the king of Ulster, even though she is pregnant. The race caused her to give birth and she cursed the men of the Red Branch for nine generations, which would leave them all – except for Cú Chulaınn – unable to fight to the forces of Medb (Visual History).

“Artist: Sheila McGaffin – Samhaın 2025”. McGaffin was profiled in Armagh Jobs.

Above the Cuchulainn Bar in Dobbin Street, Armagh

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
T08329 T08330

Only Our Rivers Run Free

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The photograph on the right is real: it shows British troops collaring a civilian in Coalisland in December 1971 – photographer unknown. The image on the left – a Celtic cross draped with a Tricolour – is AI slop. The first (or at least, an early and prominent) use of AI to produce images was Stop The Slaughter In Gaza from November 2023, and it is becoming more frequent in printed boards and wall-painting.

“”And still only our rivers run free” [youtube] – Independent Republicans Armagh [Fb]”

Lower English Street, Armagh

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
T08300

To Keep Our Country British

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

This entry updates 2024’s Here Dead We Lie – the plaque to Boyle and Somerville remains as before (it was originally mounted in 2005) but all three of the boards have been updated. The two on the extremes have the same content as before, while the central board marks the “50th anniversary” of the death of “Volunteer Harris Boyle”, “eternally remembered by the officers and volunteers of Mid-Ulster UVF”. Both Boyle and Somerville were members of both the UDR and UVF; they were “killed in action” when the bomb they were planting on the minibus of the Miami Showband went off prematurely. A parade in Boye’s memory took place in Portadown (BBC). Surviving Showband members and their sympathisers also marked the anniversary – on July 31st, 2025 – with a service at the spot of the attack (BBC).

The boards are at the junction of Gloucester Avenue and Princess Way in Portadown – Boyle was from the Killicomaine estate; Somerville is individually commemorated in Moygashel.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
T08274 T08273 T08275 T08276 T08277 T08278

Ulster Says No!

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

This is the scene at the Corcrain-Redmanville bonfire (Fb) site, along Drumilly Green, where the hut has been moved to the south side of the Green, to join the Union Flag and Ulster Banner.

The 2025 bonfire topped 100 feet in height (News Letter); collecting for the 2026 pyre has yet to begin.

Westland Road, Portadown

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
T08292 T08290 T08291 T08293

Ulster’s Chosen Few

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

This entry updates the images seen at the end of 2022 (in Loyalist Movilla). The UDA board with hooded gunmen (above) remains as before but the tarp below it is new (though perhaps relocated from the Glen estate). The other two tarps are also new: “Newtownards supports British Armed Forces – They served us all” with the emblems of the Paratroop Regiment, the SAS, the RIR and the UDR, and, “North Down First Flute [Fb], LOL 111 Newtownards – Ulster’s chosen few”.

George’s Street, Movilla, Newtownards

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
T08230 T08228 T08229 T08226 T08227

This Is The Crew

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Titanic Gentlemen’s Club [Fb], every Wednesday 6pm – 8pm, Connswater Community Centre. Make mental health great again. Every man has an engine room – you don’t have to maintain it alone. Let’s break the silence and support men’s mental health.”

The green ribbon is the symbol of the campaign to release political prisoners, and “Make ___ great again” is the form of the slogan of the MAGA movement in the United States.

The board was officially launched July 9th (Fb) in Severn Street, east Belfast.

“”BreaktheStigma” for the men who rise, together: We are the voices once held back,/Taught to smile through every crack./But now we speak, we face the fight,/Together stepping into the light.//This is Break the Stigma, strong and true,/A brotherhood of me and you./Men alike, from every road,/Each carrying a silent load.//No shame in tears, no guilt in pain,/No more hiding hurt in vain./We rise as one, we make it known-/You don’t have to walk alone.//We’re not defined by past or scar,/By what we’ve lost or who we are./We’re here to talk, to heal, to grow,/To lift each other from below.//So here we stand, hearts open wide,/With honesty we will not hide./For every man who needs a sign-/Break the Stigma holds the line.”

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
T08194 T08195 T08196 T08197 T08198

Pride Of Lower Falls

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

This is a painted tribute to Jim McKee, who was known as “Mr Immaculata” for his long-time support of Immaculata FC (Fb). McKee died in August when he was hit by a car near the Grosvenor community centre (BBC).

See also: Come On, The Mac, which is a stone’s throw further down Albert Street.

Servia Street, lower Falls, west Belfast

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
T08183 T08184 T08185 T08186

Tell Them Of Us

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Printed panels illustrating the engagements of the British Army in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have been added to the three stones (seen in Continuing Conflicts) that marked the World Wars and “continuing conflicts”. The conflicts depicted are the Great War 1914-1918, Second World War 1939-1945 (with individual photos of James Magennis and Blair Mayne, Korean War 1950-1953, Northern Ireland 1969-2007, Falklands War 1982 (the photo on the right is of troops “yomping”), Iraq 2003-2011, Afghanistan 2001-2023.

City Way, Sandy Row, south Belfast

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
T08171 T08172 T08173 T08174 T08175 T08176 T08177 T08178 T08179 [T08180] T08181 T08182

Communities Of Strength

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Bridging divides”, “30 years of Forthspring”, “Communities of strength”. Forthspring is a cross-community group providing programming to residents of the CNR upper Springfield and PUL Woodvale areas. On its ‘about’ page, the organisation claims 1996 is the year of its founding, so this array of boards might be in anticipation of next year (2026).

Also included are some of the older pieces on the panels at the front of the Springwell House. “Stand here and think about someone you love”, “Dance here and make a new friend”, “Youth Matters Project – believe you can”.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
T08163 T08155 T08156 T08157 T08158 T08159 T08160 T08161 T08162 T08166
T08164 T08165 T08167