Cosy Somme Association

A large loyalist memorial mural and commemorative display painted across several connected buildings. The walls are painted in vivid royal blue and are covered with military remembrance imagery, poppy memorial plaques, and Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) symbolism.

Main Central Mural
The largest mural depicts a wounded soldier being comforted or carried by another serviceman in a wartime scene. Above the image is the text:
“Cosy Somme Association”

To the right of the image is the slogan:
“Time Changes
But The
Sacrifice
Remains
The
Same.”

The mural visually links modern Ulster servicemen with the legacy of the Battle of the Somme and wider British military remembrance traditions.

Lower Central Panel
Below the painting is a large Union flag design featuring the crest of:
“The Ulster Defence Regiment”

The banner text reads:
“In Defence Of Our Country”

Surrounding banners list the six counties of Northern Ireland:
Armagh
Down
Londonderry
Fermanagh
Antrim
Tyrone

Repeated Memorial Plaques
Across the adjoining blue walls are dozens of identical memorial plaques featuring red remembrance poppies. The text is difficult to fully read at this distance, but they appear to commemorate individual soldiers or local volunteers, likely connected to the UDR or wider loyalist remembrance culture.

Other visible features include:

UDR insignia and regimental imagery
Memorial wreaths mounted on the lower left wall
A standing soldier memorial panel on the right side
Military rifles displayed vertically in one section
Multiple remembrance emblems and veterans’ association logos

Context / Interpretation
This is a strongly unionist and military remembrance mural complex. The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was a locally recruited infantry regiment of the British Army active during the Troubles from 1970 to 1992. In loyalist communities, the UDR is often commemorated as defenders of the community and the state.

The reference to the Somme is particularly significant in unionist culture. The Battle of the Somme (1916), especially the 36th (Ulster) Division’s role on 1 July 1916, is a central historical symbol of Protestant and unionist identity in Northern Ireland.

The phrase “Time Changes But The Sacrifice Remains The Same” connects First World War sacrifice with later security-force losses during the Troubles, creating a narrative of continuity in service and remembrance.

Unlike contemporary community-art murals, this mural complex is explicitly commemorative and political, reinforcing themes of British identity, military service, sacrifice, and unionist heritage.