On The Hall’s Walls

Each Lord Mayor of Belfast has an official portrait which hangs in Belfast City Hall. 2011-2012 Lord Mayor Nıall Ó Donnghaıle’s takes the unusual form of a mini-mural, in the shape of a gable wall and complete with mortar lines. The portrait features a “Short Strand” street-plate (Ó Donnghaıle is from there), images of Titanic, James Connolly – a portrait was mounted at a SIPTU event in the mayor’s chambers in October 2011, after pictures of the royal family had been removed in June, protesters, and an MTV mug. The artist talks about the piece on Slugger (audio) and CultureNI has a good write-up about the process.

Below are a detail from Ó Donnghaıle’s portrait and the more typical portrait of Tom Hartley, Lord Mayor 2008-2009, which includes the bicycle he is famous for riding around town.