Belfast

They Shall Not Pass

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“In memory of their victims … they shall not pass.” An elaborate celtic cross in memory (i ndil cuimhne) of Troubles victims from Catholic south Belfast and a promise to block Orange Order parades in the lower Ormeau.

Farnham Street, south Belfast

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Copyright © 2001 Peter Moloney
M01536 M01535

Vote Sınn Féın

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Both local elections and Westminster elections were held on June 7th 2001. The first three names are of local council areas and the vote is by preference (hence the “1”), ‘South Belfast’ is a Westminster seat. Sınn Féın took one seat in each of Balmoral and Laganbank.

Dromara Street, south Belfast

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Copyright © 2001 Peter Moloney
M01534

Broken Covenant

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The second panel of the four shown here in Donegall Pass, Belfast, is the most interesting. The upper circle is labelled “Ulster 2001” and shows a modern volunteer between the UVF and YCV symbols. In the lower circle, which is labelled “Ulster 1916”, is a portrait of Carson and the text of the 1912 Ulster Covenant and a headstone which is broken and bloodied. The other panels contain the UVF emblem, the YCV emblem, and the emblem of the 36th (Ulster) Division.

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Copyright © 2001 Peter Moloney
M01530

King Billy At The Boyne

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King Billy crossing the Boyne and trampling on a Jacobite soldier. This mural was painted in 1989 by a “H. Gibson” (according to the 2015 repainting). The original version of this mural was on the other side of the Pass, at the junction of Apsley Street and Howard Street South, next to a mural of the Lindsay Street arch dedicated to Robert Bradford. (See the Paddy Duffy Collection for both of these.) 1989 was the 25th anniversary of the erection of the arch in nearby Lindsay Street, but the arch was not painted into this mural until 2002.

Oak Street, Donegall Pass, south Belfast

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Copyright © 2001 Peter Moloney
M01526

Vita, Veritas, Victa

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South Belfast MP Robert Bradford was assassinated by the Provisional IRA in Finaghy at a meeting with constituents; the caretaker of the community centre, Ken Campbell, was also killed by the fleeing attackers. In late 1981, with the hunger strikes having ended only a month before, the killing was noted around the world and raised fears of broad civil unrest (BBC | NYTimes).

“Vita, veritas, Victoria” [life, truth, victory] is the motto of Londonderry. Here we have “vita, veritas, victa” [life, truth, conquered; perhaps the intended meaning was “conquering” rather than the passive]. The crest is also not quite the crest of the Apprentice Boys, with a ship in the bottom right rather than a skeleton. Get in touch if you can resolve either discrepancy.

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Copyright © 2001 Peter Moloney
M01525

Their Name Liveth For Evermore

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The apocryphal book of the Bible Ecclesiasticus reads “their bodies are buried in peace, but their name liveth for evermore” (44:14), which is here applied to 910,000 “British empire casualties” from the Great War, including the Ulster Volunteers and Young Citizen Volunteers raised by “Sir Edward Carson” which became the 36th (Ulster) Division and particularly the Royal Irish Rifles and fought at the Somme 1916.

Apsley Street, south Belfast

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Copyright © 2001 Peter Moloney
M01524