Author: Extramural Activity

Wear Your Easter Lily With Pride

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“National Republican Commemoration Committee national Easter commemoration: assemble at Creggan shops – 2pm Monday 21st April 2025 for march to the People’s Monument — Free Derry Corner. Wear your Easter lily with pride.”

Easter Monday falls late this year – April 21st – though still not as late as it did in 1916, when it was on the 24th. The event is typically celebrated at Easter, regardless of its proximity to the 24th, though for the centenary in 2016, anti-Agreement republicans commemorated the Rising on April 24th, specifically, while others paraded at Easter (which was at the end of March).

This Saoradh (web) board calling for attendance at the national march from Creggan to the new (2022) “People’s Monument” in Rossville Street is in Hugo Street, west Belfast

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Copyright © 2025 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Our Allegiance Is To The Working Class

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These two images are from outside the IRSP offices on the Falls Road at Donegall Road. The idea of painting electrical and other utility boxes (Visual History) started with street art on boxes in the city centre and has now spread into CNR areas. This one (above) appears to have been left incomplete, at least compared to the one around the corner in St James’s Park – see the Paddy Duffy Collection.

Below is a familiar ICA-INLA board, seen previously on Northumberland Street.

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Copyright © 2025 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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The World Is Our Playground

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Children play among and with the landmarks of the world – riding the Sydney opera house, building the pyramids out of sand, climbing the Eiffel Tower, building the Taj Mahal from blocks, blowing on a windmill, and swinging from Samson and Goliath.

This is an old (2016) piece by Friz (web), still in excellent shape on the wall of Currie Primary school, off the Limestone Road in north Belfast.

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Copyright © 2025 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Many Moons To Go

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A student makes their way through the cycles of the moon, with Pride pin, skull earring, and owl familiar (and horcrux scar on the cheek?) to guide the way.

Street art by emic (web) at Belfast Royal Academy on the Cliftonville Road, north Belfast.

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Copyright © 2025 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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I Was A Stranger And You Welcomed Me

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God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son (John 3:16). And, greater love hath no man but to lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13, often used in the context of military sacrifice). But local homes are for local people. (The use of a stencil is a step up in sophistication.)

The Union Flag fills the empty frame where there used to be a list of locals who died in The Belfast Blitz.

Hogarth Street, Tiger’s Bay, north Belfast

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Copyright © 2025 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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From D-Day To VE Day

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39 Allied divisions – 12 of them British – participated in the Normandy Landings – officially “Operation Neptune” – that took place on June 6th, 1944; in planning for the operation, the original “D-Day” was June 5th, but bad weather postponed it until the following day, when 160,000 troops stormed the beaches of the Bay Of The Seine. By the end of August, Paris had been liberated, and by the following May, victory in Europe had been achieved. 2024 was the eightieth anniversary of D-Day and 2025 the eightieth anniversary of VE Day, on May 8th.

This D-Day board and VE Day mural are in Edlingham Street, Tiger’s Bay, north Belfast. Also included below is a WWI memorial electrical box opposite, though as can be seen from the board (immediately below) the ‘graveside mourner’ silhouette is becoming a generic symbol of lost UK forces.

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Copyright © 2025 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Lies And The Lying Liars Who Tell Them

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The BBC and RTÉ are liars, covid and woke are lies. Only the RSYM (Fb) will tell you how it really is.

Cliftonville Road, north Belfast

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Copyright © 2025 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Hang Tight

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Here are three stickers/paste-ups from illustrator and artist DEID (web) in Belfast city centre.

Above: “Слава Україні!” [Slava Ukraïni!] – a Ukranian soldier in front of a field of sunflowers gives the shaka/hang loose sign.

Immediately below: MAGA red-hats with an upside-down Stars And Stripes bring to mind David Bowie’s 1997 song “I’m afraid of Americans” (youtube).

Third, below, “Do you know the traffic warden?”

There are more DEID paste-ups in the Paddy Duffy collection.

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Copyright © 2025 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Copyright © 2025 Fintan Woods
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Burkina Faso

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For an explanation of this latest message on Black Mountain, see Gael Force Art’s Facebook page. An Irish tricolour would later joing the lettering shown here, though the piece had a short life-span, as it was replaced a message supporting Kneecap (for background see Seas Le Kneecap).

For a history of the messages on the mountain, see the Slıabh Dubh Visual History page.

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Copyright © 2025 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Full-Frontal Unity

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As an apéritif for Hit The North 2025 many local artists painted on the “Belfast Stories” hoarding along North Street in mid-April. Here is a selection, from Wee Nuls (web), All The Doodz (ig), KVLR (web), Kilian (ig), and Graffic Belfast (ig). For all fifteen pieces, see the Paddy Duffy Collection.

For the previous art on these hoardings, see ‘Bout Ye?

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Copyright © 2025 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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