Belfast
These pictures were taken on the way from my mate's house on Botanic Avenue to my brother's house off the Cregagh (pronounced Cray-ghee). I chose this route on purpose, because there had been rioting here after the Rangers Celtic game, and I had promised some evidence of civil disturbance.
The Northern Ireland posters on GU Talk say that a sociological study found children in Northern Ireland have 32 ways of determining someone's religion by the time they reach school age. Now, I can't find the article they got this information from, but I can well believe it: I was prompted to start taking pictures after a discussion with three kids on Bankmore street. They were about 9 or 10 years old, and were twirling sticks: this means they were Protestant. Flute bands in Northern Ireland are part of the Ulster Protestant heritage, and quite often they have young lads violently twirling sticks like a psychotic majorette, and tossing them up to 30 metres into the air in front of the marching band.
They kindly informed me to "Watch out, there's a couple of taigs up there", pointing towards the Ormeau Road. I thanked them for their information and went to go on my way. Then they asked "Are you a Prod?". Now, I could have said yes, but the Catholics ahead could be forewarned of my arrival by triumphal 'yeogh'-ing by the kids. Or, I could have said no, and have been beaten by the sticks. I chose to say "I'm neither".
"Are you a fucking Jew then?" was the response.
Smiling, I shook my head and walked on. At least they didn't discriminate when it came to bigotry.
Where do rioters get their missiles from? Simply kick a listed building until it yields. Note the undamaged new brick, which is too sturdy to dislodge. This is near the junction of Ormeau Avenue and the Lower Ormeau Road.
This wall has been kicked over (in the red box) in front of the Markets area, which is a mainly Nationalist estate. Nationalists tend to be Catholics and Nationalists can be Republicans, but there is such a thing as a Protestant Nationalist and a Protestant Republican. I'm not sure if you can be a Republican but not a Nationalist. Atheists and Jews can be anything.
This is an election poster for Sinn Fein's Alex Maskey, who is campaigning to be South Belfast's elected representative in the Westminster elections, although he won't attend Westminster if he is elected. It appears to have been ripped down and danced upon, most likely by Loyalists from the Donegall Pass area. Loyalists and Unionists tend to be Protestants, but there is such a thing as a Catholic Loyalist and a Catholic Unionist. I'm not sure if you can be a Loyalist but not a Unionist. One thing you can't be is a Loyalist Republican: that results in a conflict of ideology.
Here we go, a couple of bricks that were, at one time, flying through the air aimed at either a Catholic, a Nationalist, a Republican, a Protestant, a Unionist, a Loyalist, or a member of the PSNI, or indeed a number but not all combinations of the former. This is near the junction of the East Bridge Street and Cromac Street (the street in which Robert McCartney) was killed). The thing is, when you're taking pictures of things like bricks lying on the road in interface areas, you don't half look like a dick, which may explain the blurry look to these hastily taken pictures.
This is what's known as a 'bonie': kids gather wood for months to build a massive bonfire to be burnt on the night of 12th July. This is another Ulster Protestant tradition, enthusiastically adopted here on the Woodstock Link. I'm afraid this was the best picture I could get because:
a) Taking pictures of youths is risky enough in this day and age, even if they are building a bonfire that will eventually be the size of a semi-detached house; and
b) These kid's parents would give you more than a stern telling off.
These pictures demonstrate how dodgy I must have looked. I'm never doing that again. In fact, I should have waited until the next morning, when it would be kid free and look like this:
Note how wide an area it covers. it will be as tall as those houses on the right side of the picture. All the surrounding houses and the school have to hammer boards across their windows before it's lit- not because of stone throwing thugs but because the heat of the fire causes the glass to crack.
Spools like the one in the foreground are used by the kids as makeshift drums- you can hear the drumming streets away at night, and it's not altogether unpleasant.
Another common site throughout the ghettos of Northern Ireland: territorial markings. Bollards and kerbstones are painted in tribal colours to demarcate the area as one or the other. Red white and blue indicate Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist. Catholic/Nationalist/Republican areas tend not to paint their areas in green white and orange with the same prolificacy, but it does occur.
And finally, a bit of topical graffiti. I'm afraid it has faded since it was first sprayed; it says "ITS ABOUT time the PoPE'S DEAD". Confused use of upper and lower case lettering and missing an apostrophe, but not bad for the bigoted graffitier: an extra mark for the correct use of the conjunctive on the pontiff. This is written on the ground (the same message is written nearby on a wall) on the interface of the Cregagh and the Short Strand area. I've heard there is some bold graffiti written in the Nationalist Falls Road area: "THE MCCARTNEY SISTERS BORE ME".
Anyway, I'm off on holiday to Troon.
The Northern Ireland posters on GU Talk say that a sociological study found children in Northern Ireland have 32 ways of determining someone's religion by the time they reach school age. Now, I can't find the article they got this information from, but I can well believe it: I was prompted to start taking pictures after a discussion with three kids on Bankmore street. They were about 9 or 10 years old, and were twirling sticks: this means they were Protestant. Flute bands in Northern Ireland are part of the Ulster Protestant heritage, and quite often they have young lads violently twirling sticks like a psychotic majorette, and tossing them up to 30 metres into the air in front of the marching band.
They kindly informed me to "Watch out, there's a couple of taigs up there", pointing towards the Ormeau Road. I thanked them for their information and went to go on my way. Then they asked "Are you a Prod?". Now, I could have said yes, but the Catholics ahead could be forewarned of my arrival by triumphal 'yeogh'-ing by the kids. Or, I could have said no, and have been beaten by the sticks. I chose to say "I'm neither".
"Are you a fucking Jew then?" was the response.
Smiling, I shook my head and walked on. At least they didn't discriminate when it came to bigotry.
Where do rioters get their missiles from? Simply kick a listed building until it yields. Note the undamaged new brick, which is too sturdy to dislodge. This is near the junction of Ormeau Avenue and the Lower Ormeau Road.
This wall has been kicked over (in the red box) in front of the Markets area, which is a mainly Nationalist estate. Nationalists tend to be Catholics and Nationalists can be Republicans, but there is such a thing as a Protestant Nationalist and a Protestant Republican. I'm not sure if you can be a Republican but not a Nationalist. Atheists and Jews can be anything.
This is an election poster for Sinn Fein's Alex Maskey, who is campaigning to be South Belfast's elected representative in the Westminster elections, although he won't attend Westminster if he is elected. It appears to have been ripped down and danced upon, most likely by Loyalists from the Donegall Pass area. Loyalists and Unionists tend to be Protestants, but there is such a thing as a Catholic Loyalist and a Catholic Unionist. I'm not sure if you can be a Loyalist but not a Unionist. One thing you can't be is a Loyalist Republican: that results in a conflict of ideology.
Here we go, a couple of bricks that were, at one time, flying through the air aimed at either a Catholic, a Nationalist, a Republican, a Protestant, a Unionist, a Loyalist, or a member of the PSNI, or indeed a number but not all combinations of the former. This is near the junction of the East Bridge Street and Cromac Street (the street in which Robert McCartney) was killed). The thing is, when you're taking pictures of things like bricks lying on the road in interface areas, you don't half look like a dick, which may explain the blurry look to these hastily taken pictures.
This is what's known as a 'bonie': kids gather wood for months to build a massive bonfire to be burnt on the night of 12th July. This is another Ulster Protestant tradition, enthusiastically adopted here on the Woodstock Link. I'm afraid this was the best picture I could get because:
a) Taking pictures of youths is risky enough in this day and age, even if they are building a bonfire that will eventually be the size of a semi-detached house; and
b) These kid's parents would give you more than a stern telling off.
These pictures demonstrate how dodgy I must have looked. I'm never doing that again. In fact, I should have waited until the next morning, when it would be kid free and look like this:
Note how wide an area it covers. it will be as tall as those houses on the right side of the picture. All the surrounding houses and the school have to hammer boards across their windows before it's lit- not because of stone throwing thugs but because the heat of the fire causes the glass to crack.
Spools like the one in the foreground are used by the kids as makeshift drums- you can hear the drumming streets away at night, and it's not altogether unpleasant.
Another common site throughout the ghettos of Northern Ireland: territorial markings. Bollards and kerbstones are painted in tribal colours to demarcate the area as one or the other. Red white and blue indicate Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist. Catholic/Nationalist/Republican areas tend not to paint their areas in green white and orange with the same prolificacy, but it does occur.
And finally, a bit of topical graffiti. I'm afraid it has faded since it was first sprayed; it says "ITS ABOUT time the PoPE'S DEAD". Confused use of upper and lower case lettering and missing an apostrophe, but not bad for the bigoted graffitier: an extra mark for the correct use of the conjunctive on the pontiff. This is written on the ground (the same message is written nearby on a wall) on the interface of the Cregagh and the Short Strand area. I've heard there is some bold graffiti written in the Nationalist Falls Road area: "THE MCCARTNEY SISTERS BORE ME".
Anyway, I'm off on holiday to Troon.
4 Comments:
On a wall in Bushmills I saw 'UFV' painted. In Armagh there's a 'We Remembeber Our Dead', and a mate of mine from Belfast informs me that 'Trouts will be shot' used to grace a wall there.
And I remember seeing "TIGS OUT" in Glengormley. And they say there's a good standard of education in the north?
"ITS ABOUT time the PoPE'S DEAD"
Aside from the confusing use of upper and lower case letters it's grammatically correct. You only use an apostrophe in "it's" to denote ownership, not for "it is" which is written "its".
AFAIK
"it's grammatically correct"
Now I'm confused...
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