printed board/placard

The Missing Of The Somme

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“When you go home tell them of us and say, ‘For your tomorrow we gave our today’.” The Thiepval Memorial commemorates British and South African soldiers who died in the Somme valley and have no known grave. The Battle Of the Somme took place from July 1st to November 18th, 1916, but soldiers were in the area from July 1915 until the end of the war; the Germans attacked in the Somme in the spring of 1918 (Operation Michael) and a second Battle Of The Somme took place in late August, 1918, as part of the Allies’ Hundred Days Offensive.

The words are from an epitaph by John Maxwell Edwards in the Kohima War Cemetery, Nagaland, India.

Crebilly Road, Ballykeel 1, Ballymena

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In The Service Of Our Country

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The upper Woodvale plaque “in memory of all those Protestants and members of the security forces who lost their lives in the greater Shankill area as a result of conflict” has sat unadorned since at least 2008 but now has a pair of boards to accompany it.

On the left, a reproduction of the “Faithful Unto Death” stained-glass window in the Museum of Orange Heritage in Schomberg House on the Cregagh Road (also reproduced in Newbuildings in 2022), along with the emblem of the Country Grand Orange Lodge Of Belfast (Fb).

On the right, a memorial to “all local residents whose lives were cruelly taken by Republican terrorists. Also those who selflessly gave their lives in the service of our country, and those who continue to do so.” (LOL “423” appears to be Banbridge Bible And Crown Defenders.)

Bray Street/Bray Close, Woodvale, west Belfast

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Don’t Buy Into Genocide

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“Don’t buy into genocide – boycott these companies funding the genocide in Palestine: McDonald’s, Starbucks Coffee, Barclays, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Teva. Saoırse don Phalaıstín.”

There was a march in Belfast (in early September) which went to the offices or stores of some of these businesses (Independent) because they fund or support the Israeli military – the links above outline the connections. There are also campaigns from various groups (here is IPSC’s) to boycott consumer goods from Israeli producers.

This board is in Sugar Island, Newry.

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Our Time Ran Out

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“Vol. Brendan Burns, Vol. Brendan Moley, 29 February 1988.” Burns and Moley died “on active service”, meaning the premature explosion of a bomb they were loading into a van (RTÉ video | Sutton | RN). There is a plaque at the spot at which the pair was killed, on the nearby Donaldson’s Road – see M08795. Burns was wanted in connection with the Narrow Water ambush of 1979 (UPI).

“You were being oppressed by the political and military might of the foreign invader. We tried to protect you, we gave you the best that we could, but our time ran out, before the battle was won. Now it’s time for you to give the best you can. Stand together with your comrades we sadly left behind. Be proud to carry on the struggle for the freedom of our land.”

Newry Road, outside Creggan, Co Armagh

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The Martyrs Will Haunt Us Forever

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“We must take no steps backward, our steps must [or: will] be onward, for if we don’t, the [ghosts of the] martyrs that died for you, for me, for this country will haunt us forever [or: for eternity].” The words of Máıre Drumm (from an anti-internment rally in Dunville Park on 10th August, 1975 – RN p. 4) appear below a roll of honour for the IRA’s South Armagh Brigade. The list of volunteers is included below; in 1976 Drumm herself was shot dead in her bed by the RHC in the Mater hospital where she was a patient (WP) – she was Vice President of Sınn Féın at the time.

Michael McVerry, Sean Boyle, Francis Jordan, Gerry McKiernan, James Lochrie, Sean Campbell, Peter Cleary, Seamus Harvey, Liam Farrelly, Peadar McElvanna, Kevin Caherty, Raymond McCrees, Brendan Moley, Brendan Burns, Fergal Caraher, Packie Duffy, Eugene Martin, Tim Daly, Malachy Watters, Gary Toner, Keith Rogers, Francie Caraher, Gerald Fearon, Pat Lynch

Twelve more of the martyrs – the Troubles-era hunger-strikes – are on the stone across the street (for a close-up, see the Peter Moloney Collection).

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Ulster’s Brave Young Men

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The background to the Avenue Road “Memorial to the 36th (Ulster) Division and to other men of Ulster who served in the Great War 1914 – 1918” has been repainted in the purple and orange of the UVF and the wall simplified by the removal of two smaller boards to each side of the main board (above) which shows soldiers looking out over the edge of a WWI trench. (For the the previous boards, see the Peter Moloney Collection.)

The seat is dedicated to “Jack”, an 11-year-old member of the Avenue Road Memorial flute band who died in 2019 (News Letter), with boxing gloves and emblem of the NI soccer association. 2 Timothy 4:7 says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Avenue Road, Lurgan

The final image is of a board in nearby King’s Park Mews to a soldier who died on “the homefront” – Dublin during the 1916 Rising – Second Lieutenant James Howard Calvert of the 6th Royal Irish Rifles. Calvert lived at 41 Avenue Road, Lurgan.

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At The Graveside Of Cú Chulaınn We’ll Kneel Around And Pray

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Oliver Sheppard’s statue of Cú Chulaınn dying – see the Cú Chulaınn Visual History page – memorialises nine IRA volunteers from the Lenadoon area, whose names are listed on the scrolls to each side and whose portraits appear in the apex: Tony Henderson, John Finucane, Brendan O’Callaghan, Joe McDonnell, Laura Crawford, Maıréad Farrell, Patricia Black, Bridie Quinn. Below the statue are the shields of the four provinces and the words “Léana An Dúın – unbowed, unbroken” and “saoırse” [freedom].

The mural dates back to 1996 (see T00160) and was repainted in 2009 (see M05134) and c. 2014 (see M11028, which includes a close-up of the plaque added in 2009.) In this version, nothing has changed in the composition of the mural and the photographic portraits and the Easter Rising centenary board have been retained.

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The Men From Harryville

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This entry updates 2023’s Harryville Says No with images of two additional boards/plaques erected by the 12th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles Memorial Association (Fb), “in honour of the men from Harryville [Ballymena] who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Battle Of The Somme from 1st July to 18th November 1916”.

“Remembering 57386 Sergeant John McNabney, formerly of No 9 Larne Street, 36th Divisional signal company, awarded the distinguished conduct medal, military medal with bar, and mentioned in despatches.” McNabney’s career and many decorations are described in Ballymena Guardian | Your Lurgan.

Larne Street and Waring Street, Ballymena

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Village Team On Tour

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“Loyalist Village, south Belfast – Village team on tour.” This is a new printed board at the eastern edge of the Village in south Belfast. The association with the Northern Ireland soccer team (governed by the Irish Football Association) is perhaps an attempt to rehabilitate the name from the graffiti that appeared in 2015 (Welcome To Hell) and 2016 (Taigs Will Be Dealt With).

There is a “Linfield” version of this board, in red, white, and blue, in Tavanagh Street.

The/An “I am not an Ulsterman …” board was originally in Kilburn Street – see the Seosamh Mac Coılle Collection.

For the Linfield/Northern Ireland mural in better days, see For Club And Country.

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Alex McDonald Loyal

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The new Rangers supporters club in Donegall Pass is named after Alex “Doddie” MacDonald, who played midfield for Rangers from 1968 to 1980, which included the team’s victory in the European Cup-Winners’ Cup in 1972. (A full biography can be found on the Rangers web site.)

The new board announces the “Alex MacDonald Loyal RSC (Donegall Pass)” and the photographs show various high-points in MacDonald’s career: “Signed for Rangers 19 November 1968”, “Hampden Park on 25 October 1975 when MacDonald scored the winner in the Old Firm League Cup final”, “Rangers hall of fame”.

Also included beneath the main board are the crests of “Southbank True Blues” and “Kirkintilloch RSC” (Fb).

Pine Street, Donegall Pass, south Belfast. Launched on September 13th – Facebook.

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