|
A HBC reader suggests mentioning Belfast mural art. There are hundreds of
these - both loyalist and republican. Some are overtly political. Some show historical scenes. There are s many loyalist ones showing King Billy (William III) on his famous white horse at The Battle of the Boyne. There are murals in support of the hunger strikers in the 1980s. Often children are depictefd. Here you can often tell the loyalties independentb ofvthe political message. Boys or girls wearing the green and white hooped jersey of Glasgow Celtic are republican. Most protestants in Belfast follow the other team - Glasgow Rangers. (Glagow of course is in Scotland, but there is a large Irish community in Glasgow.) These historical murals are now a tourist attraction! A firm runs coach tours around Belfast to view them. I don't know if the artists get any payment though!.Some of them are very well painted - some, not surprisingly,have been defaced with graffiti or are just weathering.
There are s many loyalist ones showing King Billy (William III) on his famous white horse at The Battle of the Boyne.
We note a mural depicting the hedge schools. "Liom" is hard to translate - it means to whet or sharpen as applied to a knife or pike. Thus - "Labhair an Teanga Gaeilge Liom" means - "I'm keen (sharp) to learn the Irish language". Hedge schools kept the language and other aspects of Irish culture alive in the 19th century. Again - accurate depiction of clothes I think - reeches, shirts, waistcoats, no shoes (for the children) and one real Irish hat like the "teacher" is wearing!.The standing boy has proper long trousers and a coat - he may even be wearing shoes - I can't make it out. He may be from a slightly better off family - but all parents wanted their children to protect their Irish heritage. He may even be from a protestant family - some made common cause with the oppressed catholics - and many of the leaders of the rebellions were protestants (since they had access to weapons etc.).
The central event in Irish history is the Potato Famine (1845-50). This Belfast mural focuses on those who died in the Famine (figure 1). "An Gorta Mor" means The Great Hunger (or The Famine). The quote is from a poem by Seamus Heaney - the great Irish (Ulster Protestant) poet. I think the mural here accurately depicts poor catholic boys' clothing at the time - mid- 19th century - breeches, loose shirts and no shoes (figure 1). There is a dead boy on the cart. The girls wear short dresses (though one may be a younger boy) and the mother wears the famous Galway Shawl. (Galway and the West of Ireland were devastated by the famine.) Many older boys perished in the famine that their sisters and younger brothers might live.
Seamus Heaney wrote a noted poem, "Requiem for the Croppies". Croppies was a name given derogatively to Catholics by Protestants in the 19th century. It was due to their short hairstyles not farming. There is a famous song "The Croppy Boy" about the 1798 rebellion. The "Battle" of Vinegar Hill (in Wexford) was where the "Rebellion" of 1798 was finally cut down by superior English firepower. The same happened to the Scotts at Culloden 47 years later. A reader writes, "But you can't cut down peoples who wish to have their own country and even boys' clothing reflects that. That's why the Rnglish had to ban the kilt until it became part of established "Britishness" through the English Crown." Heaney's poem "Requiem for the Croppies" reads, "The pockets of our greatcoats full of barley . . .
No kitchens on the run, no striking camp . . .
We moved quick and sudden in our own country.
The priest lay behind ditches with the tramp.
A people hardly marching . . . on the hike . . .
We found new tactics happening each day:
We'd cut through reins and rider with the pike
And stampede cattle into infantry,
Then retreat through hedges where cavalry must be thrown.
Until . . . on Vinegar Hill . . . the final conclave.
Terraced thousands died, shaking scythes at cannon.
The hillside blushed, soaked in our broken wave.
They buried us without shroud or coffin
And in August . . . the barley grew up out of our grave."
We note a mural, "Women in Struggle". The central figure is of course Constance Markievicz standing outside the G.P.O. in Dublin. (The G.P.O. is the Government Post Office, importantbin Irish hisory because it was seized by the Republicans in the EasterRising (1916). This brings us right back to Na Fianna Eireann. The other women are from the 70s/80s/90s etc. - they used to bang dustbin lids on the pavement to warn of an approaching British Army raid on an area.
There are murals in support of the hunger strikers in the 1980s. Often children are depictefd. Here you can often tell the loyalties independent of the political message. Boys or girls wearing the green and white hooped jersey of Glasgow Celtic are republican. Most protestants in Belfast follow the other team - Glasgow Rangers. (Glagow of course is in Scotland, but there is a large Irish community in Glasgow.) With the "Peace Process" in full swing I think analysing the 80s and 90s is important. One mural shows the children - and how many catholic boys in Belfast will wear the Celtic jersey - as mant protestants will the Rangers one over there. Yet these are Scottish teams! As I said I'm of a mixed Protestant/Catholic heritage so I have no axe to grind - I just thought the clothing in a particular part of Ireland as depicted in murals might one day be of some significance.Beyond the Celtic jersey though the clothing is not that different to that worn in the 80s and 90s all over Europe - maybe the U.S. too.
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing artistic pages:
[Return to the Main Irish artistic page]
[Return to the Main artistic page]
[Chronologies]
[Individuals]
[National]
[Styles]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main Irish page]
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Satellite sites]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
