He Sowed That We Might Reap

These two boards are on either side of the Fıanna Éıreann roll of honour in Racecourse Road, Shantallow, Derry.

First (left): the Derry branch of the 1916 Societies (Fb) is named after Sean Dolan, an IRA volunteer interned at the outbreak of WWII on the prison ship Al Rawdah (WP | saoırse32) before being moved to Crumlin Road gaol. He was released on grounds of ill health shortly before dying in 1941 at age 28 in Derry. The title of today’s post comes from Dolan’s gravestone, which is in Ardmore (findagrave).

It was the 1916 Societies that hoisted an Irish tricolour from the roof of Stormont in June 2015 (BBC).

Second (right): two hunger-strikers from Derry, Patsy O’Hara and Michael Devine, were both members of the INLA; the third INLA hunger-striker was Kevin Lynch, from nearby Dungiven. The seven others who died were members of the IRA, whose political wing was Sınn Féın, while the IRSP (web), who sponsored this board, serve as the political face of the INLA.

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Copyright © 2015 Peter Moloney
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Orange School Crossing

In this modified ‘School’ safety sign in the Lower Shankill estate, a mother and child with Orange Order collarettes go to school (under the watchful eye of the trio of UFF, UYM, and UDA boards seen in Loyalist Lower Shankill.)

(In 2000, a board reading “Drumcree” was placed over “School”. See J0585)

Hopewell Crescent, next to Hope nursery.

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Copyright © 2015 Peter Moloney
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Isolation

The dilapidated Rebel’s Rest is being used as a notice-board, first by Sınn Féın and their campaign to extend voting in the Irish Presidential election to the north – “Vótaí do gach saoránach Éireannach”, “Paul Maskey supports #pres4all – Uachtarán do chách/President for all” – and secondly by the IRPWA (web) and their campaign to “End British internment! End Maghaberry torture”.

Falls Road, west Belfast

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Copyright © 2015 Peter Moloney
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The Courage And Sacrifice Of The Hunger Strikers

Here is a close-up of the the middle of the Hunger Strike board above the Clowney Street phoenix (which is the Oldest Mural in Belfast) seen previously in 2013.

For an image of the writing – “Bobby Sands murdered 1.17 am. 5th May 1981. ‘My position is in total contrast to that of an ordinary prisoner: I am a political prisoner.”” – see the Homer Sykes collection. The quotation is from Sands’s ‘The Lark And The Freedom Fighter’ (pdf).

For “Thirty thousand can’t be wrong” see this episode of Thames TV’s ‘TV Eye’ (youtube).

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Copyright © 2015 Peter Moloney
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Ár Tae Will Come

Sınn Féın representatives Paul Maskey (above), Gerry Adams, Alex Maskey, and Martin McGuinness are photoshopped into these coffee-themed, Irish-language puns outside the ‘Falls Rolls’ bakery: Ár tae will come, Tıocfaıgh [sic] ár látte, Al cappuchino, and Mocha-ra.

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Copyright © 2015 Peter Moloney
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You Cannot Kill Ideas

A week before he was assassinated and his government overthrown, Burkina Faso president Thomas Sankara asserted: “While revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas.” Sankara gained power of Burkina Faso (then Upper Volta) in a 1983 coup and launched an ambitious programme of literacy, feminism, public health, and agricultural self-sufficiency, in addition to launching a drive against corruption and of nationalizing natural resources. He attempted this all without the assistance of foreign aid or the IMF or World Bank. However, he wielded power outside the jurisdiction of the courts and controlled the press. He and twelve colleagues were killed in October 1987.

Beechmount Avenue, west Belfast

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Copyright © 2015 Peter Moloney
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End British Internment

“End the torture in Maghaberry Gaol – Smash Stormont – www.irpwa.com – Irish Republican Prisoners’ Welfare Association – strip searching – isolation – controlled movement.”

IRPWA board on the rear of Free Derry Corner.

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Copyright © 2015 Peter Moloney
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