Belfast north

Ardoyne, The Bone, And Ligoniel

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“This mural is dedicated to the memory of those local republican activists [34 portraits of volunteers from “A, D, F foıreannacha, cathlann 3rú, Brıogáıd mBéal Feırste”] who devoted their lives to the cause of Irish freedom. Ar son na c[ú]ıse. Óglaıgh na hÉıreann. Unveiled by Sınn Féın councillors Martin Meehan and Margaret McClenaghan.”

“Many suffer so that some day future generations may live in justice and peace – Bobby Sands MP.”

The plaque on the stone is “Dedicated to those friends and neighbours from Ardoyne, the Bone and Ligoniel whose contribution and support to our struggle was and remains invaluable. Aıthníonn muıd a gcrógacht. Óglaıgh na hÉıreann. Meán Fómhaır 2003.” 

Ardoyne Avenue, north Belfast

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Copyright © 2005 Peter Moloney
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Collusion Is Not An Illusion

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“Collusion is not an illusion, it is state murder.” “10 people from Ardoyne were murdered with weapons imported by the British government from South Africa by their agent Brian Nelson in January 1988 until 1994. The consignment of weapons smuggled in by Nelson: 200 AK47 rifles, 90 Browning 9mm pistols, 500 grenades, 30,000 rounds of ammunition, 1 dozen RPG7 rocket launchers and warheads.” The police cap on the left is from the PSNI (rather than the RUC), the one on the right is from the UDA.

Ardoyne Avenue, north Belfast

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Copyright © 2005 Peter Moloney
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Young Guns

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Sixteen year-old Glen “Spacer” Branagh was killed by a premature blast bomb during a riot on Remembrance Sunday, 2001. His portrait is on a board at the centre of UDA flags and guns (and the tigers of Tigers Bay).

“If the Provos and the pan nationalist front and the British and Irish governments keep trying to succeed in a united Ireland then they may prepare themselves for another 30 bloody years for the battle will have just begun.”

The term “Pan Nationalist Front” was used (first by nationalists) to describe the co-operation between John Hume (SDLP) and Gerry Adams (Sinn Féin) in 1994 that led to the IRA ceasefire and the Downing Street Declaration.

Edlingham Street, north Belfast

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Copyright © 2005 Peter Moloney
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The New Lodge Six

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“Remembering six sons of the New Lodge: Jim Sloan, Jim McCann, Brendan Maguire, Tony ‘TC’ Campbell, John Loughran, Ambrose Hardy. Murdered by British state forces as part of the occupation of our country on the night of the 3rd and 4th February 1973”. Two of the Six (James Sloan, James McCann) were killed by the UDA outside a bar and four (Tony Campbell, Ambrose Hardy, Brendan Maguire, John Loughran) among the crowd that gathered by British Army snipers from their positions on top of the flats, using night-vision sights. Previously seen in 2002.

Donore Court, New Lodge, north Belfast

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Copyright © 2005 Peter Moloney
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New Lodge Volunteers

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Volunteers from the IRA’s 3rd battalion, Belfast Brigade, Billy Reid, Sean McIlvenna, Rosemary Bleakley, and Michael Kane are shown walking down New Lodge Road. Gibraltar victim Dan McCann is included in the 16 faces in the apex. The main image is on boards while the knotwork and dedication are on brick. “I measc laochra na nGael go raıbh a nanamacha.”

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Copyright © 2005 Peter Moloney
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An Gorta Mór

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An Gorta Mór is the Great Famine, or the Great Hunger among those who point out that there was plenty of food in Ireland in the late 1840s, just not made available to peasants. Of a population around eight million, a million people died and a million more emigrated. “They buried us without shroud or coffin” is a line from an unrelated Seamus Heaney poem Requiem For The Croppies.

The mural comprises three images from Illustrated London News: The Ejectment, The Day After The Ejectment | The Embarkation, Waterloo Docks Liverpool.

“Ardoyne Art & Environment Project”. In 2004, “Emigration” was incorrectly spelled with two “M”s – see the post at Extramural Activity.

Ardoyne Avenue, north Belfast

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Copyright © 2002 Peter Moloney
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