God, Give Us Men!

“Men whom the lusts of office do not kill/Men whom the spoils of office do not buy/Men who possess opinions and will/Men who love honour; men who cannot lie” – part of a poem by Josiah Gilbert Holland.

The men on the left of the mural are Captain James Craig (who fought in the Second Boer War before becoming a unionist leader, organiser of the the Ulster Volunteers, and first Prime Minister Of Northern Ireland) and Major Frederick Crawford, who fought in both Boer Wars and organised the Larne gunrunning.

The four others, listed both on the plaque in front of the mural and on the stone in the memorial garden (constructed in 2003) are UVF volunteers Robert Seymour, shot dead by the PIRA; James Cordner and Joseph Long, who were killed in a premature explosion, and Robert Bennett, killed by the British Army during a riot. (Seymour and Long are on the right of the mural.)

Fraser Pass, east Belfast

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2006 Peter Moloney
M02950 M03175 [M03176] [M03177] [M02951] [M02952] M02953 M02949 [M02948] M02947
2011: [M06832] [M06831]
[M06830] which shows the lower wall of the mural whitewashed

Release The Political Hostages

“We have achieved peace, we have maintained peace – now stop the injustice: release our political hostages.” “Dedicated to Mark Rice”, a Tullycarnet resident who was jailed for 20 years for possession of an assault rifle used in the attack on Sean Graham bookmakers on the Ormeau Road in February 1992 (Relatives For Justice). To the left of centre, a red fist smashes through an Irish tricolour; a tricolour is also worn by the volunteer in the crosshairs.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2006 Peter Moloney
M02935