Paddy Duffy Collection

Ruaırí Óg CLG

2023-07-152025-04-18Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

This is the second version of the Ruaırí Óg (web) (and Clann Lır) mural in the middle of Cushendall – the original dates back to 2006, which was the 100th anniversary of the club’s founding (“bunaıthe”) (see M02832). The hurlers and Curfew tower remain; the “Big Ears” (Volunteer) trophy is gone and in its place are three traditional musicians. The Clann Lır has been painted to include the harper seen in Jim Fitzpatrick’s painting of the Lear myth. A Celtic warrior has appeared on the bridge over the Dall.

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Everything Is Going To Be All Right

2023-07-152024-08-27Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

This is Ciaran Gallagher’s (ig) take on McBride’s pub in Cushendun. Around the outside are a verse from Moira O’Neill’s ‘To W.C.S.’ in More Songs Of The Glens Of Antrim (pdf at Google Books): “I dreamt of gentle Ireland beneath the northern light/The waves that broke on Ireland were callin’ me at night/Till back across the salt sea, back against the sun/I took the way the birds know, and woke in Cushendun.”

For the exterior of the pub, surrounded by famous individuals, see Kathryn Bannister’s painting from the Dark Horse pub, Belfast.

Below the painting (and shown below) is Derek Mahon’s poem ‘Everything Is Going To Be All Right’: “How should I not be glad to contemplate/The clouds clearing beyond the dormer window/And a high tide reflected on the ceiling?/There will be dying, there will be dying/But there is no need to go into that./The poems flow from the hand unbidden/And the hidden source is the watchful heart/The sun rises in spite of everything/And the far cities are beautiful and bright/I lie here in a riot of sunlight/Watching the day break and the clouds flying/Everything is going to be all right.”

Main Street, Cushendun

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Laochra Gael

2023-07-152024-08-27Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The two laochra featured in the first panel (above) are Danny McNaughton and John Darragh, while GAA hall-of-famer Terence “Sambo” McNaughton is featured in the final panel (BBC | GAA). Also included are Finn MacCool (on Giant’s Causeway), Setanta/Cú Chulaınn, and Queen Meadhbh – the latter two are in the style of Jim Fitzpatrick – the first is based on Fitzpatrick’s Hurling Match and the second takes Leyendecker’s painting of Maeve (WP) and renders it in Fitzpatrick’s style, complete with club-coloured drapes.

Coast Road, Cushendall at the grounds of Ruaırí Óg CLG (web).

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Mol an óıge agus tıocfaıdh sí. Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam. Ní neart go cur le chéıle.

Bound Together

2023-07-152025-04-18Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

This Ruaırí Óg mural is on the side of the Lurig Inn (Fb), Coast Road, Cushendall, and features Ruaırí Óg superfan “Main Man” John McKillop (in the yellow bib).

The text in the centre reads “Main Man John McKillop Sept 2015”, which is when Ruaırí Óg senior hurlers defeated Ballycastle McQuillan for the Antrim title. “Image courtesy of Seamus Loughran” is the lower right-hand corner. For the photograph itself, see the Irish News.

See also Ruaırí Óg CLG and Laochra Gael.

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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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The Pigeon Has Landed

2023-07-152024-08-27Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

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.

Bright Eyes

2023-07-092026-01-20Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The movie that made child-actress Shirley Temple a star was the December 1934 film Bright Eyes, in which she played an orphan, Shirley Blake, living with a wealthy and mean-spirited family but befriended by her godfather and pilot Loop Merritt (played by James Dunn in their third movie together that year, after Stand Up And Cheer! and Baby Take A Bow) (WP Bright Eyes | WP James Dunn). She was awarded a special Oscar for her performance the following year (WP).

The Strand Cinema in east Belfast opened a year later, on December 7th, 1935, and Bright Eyes was the first movie shown. The venue for a time operated exclusively as a concert hall (from 1984-1988); in 2013 it became the charity ‘Strand Arts Centre’, supporting a variety of arts in addition to a now-independent four-screen cinema operation (StrandArtsCentre History).

The 3-D mural by emic (ig) on the Pim’s Avenue side of the theatre reproduces a publicity photo from 1935.

Jim McCabe

2023-07-092025-08-04Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

A new mural was unveiled yesterday in memory of Jim McCabe, the husband of Norah McCabe who was hit by a plastic bullet in 1981 and died a day later. Jim went on to become a “lifetime campaigner for truth + justice” and a “founder member of Relatives For Justice [web] and United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets [web]”. (For a profile of Jim’s campaigning work, see Belfast Media.) Jim died in January of this (2023) year.

Big Ribbo Is On The Wall

2023-07-092024-08-27Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Big Ribbo” is David Conville, who died last year of injuries sustained in an assault by a friend (Bel Tel | Belfast Live). This memorial board shows him playing in the Ulster First Flute (Sandy Row) flute band (Fb).

For the bonfire mural, see Guiding Light.