WWI soldiers from the Ulster Volunteer Force-turned-36th (Ulster) Division go over the top in WWI.
Drumtara, Ballymena
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Copyright © 2007 Peter Moloney
M03576
36th (Ulster) Division
Author: Extramural Activity
Fame’s Eternal Camping Ground
“On fame’s Eternal camping ground, the silent tents are spread, and glory keeps the solemn round, the bivouac of the dead.” Theodore O’Hara’s 1847 poem in memory of Kentucky soldiers who died in the Mexican War is use to commemorate “our brave fallen volunteers of the 36th (Ulster) Division, North Antrim Battalion (Ballymena).”
Drumtara, Ballymena
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Copyright © 2007 Peter Moloney
M03575
Northern Ireland Crest
This board in Larne Road, Ballymena lacks paramilitary designation, but is presumably associated with the UDA, as the floating Northern Ireland is a symbol of the UDA’s “Ulster nationalism”.
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Copyright © 2007 Peter Moloney
M03574
Taigs Out
This piece of anti-Catholic graffiti would be unexceptional were it not for the fact that it is on the parochial house of a Catholic church, Our Lady’s in Harryville (“the place that time forgot“), Ballymena, site of protests and riots in the mid- to late-1990s (Independent 1996 | Irish Times 1999 | BelTel).
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Copyright © 2007 Peter Moloney
M03573
South East Antrim Ulster Scots
Saint Andrew’s Saltire (on the left) is paired with a provincial Ulster flag (rather than an Ulster Banner), exceedingly rare in a PUL mural.
Larne Street, Harryville, Ballymena
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Copyright © 2007 Peter Moloney
M03572
Ulster Young Militants
Emblem of the UDA youth section the Ulster Young Militants in Larne Street, Ballymena. There was also a UDA board at the other end of the row of houses.
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Copyright © 2007 Peter Moloney
M03571
New Lodge Volunteers
IRA volunteers from the New Lodge are “fondly remembered” in the (second) memorial garden, at the end of Donore Court. The portraits are to the left and the right of the lists of names.
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Copyright © 2007 Peter Moloney
M03753 [M03754] M03751 [M03743] [M03743] [M03743] [M03743] [M03743] [M03743] [M03743] M03752
Bernadette
The Bernadette mural by the Bogside Artists is prepared for an update, ten years after originally being painted, in 1997.
“The Artists’ first coloured mural is a tribute to the women of Derry and their role in the civil rights campaign. Bernadette Devlin, Britain’s youngest MP, addresses the crowd during the Battle of the Bogside: her actions resulted in a six month jail sentence for inciting and taking part in a riot. The woman to her left bangs a dustbin lid on the ground to alert neighbours to the arrival of the authorities. The triable motif inspired by the gable end is repeated throughout the painting. Our job is to do justice to our history and the price people have paid for their democratic rights. That’s what we are about.“
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Copyright © 2007 Peter Moloney
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Let Us Swear By Joe’s Martyred Blood
“This plaque commemorates IRA vol. Joe McDonnell who lived in this house prior to his capture on 14th Oct 1976. Joe later died at 5.11 am on 8th July 1981 after 61 days on hunger strike in the h blocks Long Kesh. ‘Let us swear by Joe’s martyred blood never to waver of fail til the true united Irish socialist republic stands forth before the nations, a testimony to the worthiness of our case.’ Óglach calma dobhrıste. [A strong, unbreakable volunteer]”
Lenadoon Avenue, Belfast
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Copyright © 2007 Peter Moloney
M03539
The Famine
“Nature sent the potato blight, government & landlords created the famine.” 1845-1849 saw one million Irish people die and a million more emigrate. During the period, the full range of other foodstuffs was produced and shipped to England, being too expensive for the native population.
Lenadoon Avenue, Belfast
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Copyright © 2007 Peter Moloney
M03538
Peter Moloney Collection 