Women’s Voices Matter

03070 2015-10-01 Women's Quilt+

Today’s image is of the final new mural in the recent re-imaging of the Lower Shankill estate. It shows a patchwork quilt of word related to women and the roles they play in families and communities, such as “aunt”, “mother”, “sister”, “granny”, and “caring”, “diverse”, “strong”, and “unheard voices”.

Other murals in the project: I Am Not ResilientOnly In The Movies | Coming Of Age In The Lower Shankill

03071 2015-10-01 Women's Quilt info+

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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03070 X03071 The Lower Shankill Women’s Group created this artwork using the theme of a traditional family quilt as their inspiration. The quilt idea was chosen as an item, which is often made together by family members and is ultimately handed down through generations. The women decided to decorate their quilt with words that described themselves their family members. Each member of the group contributed to the project, which were brought together digitally to form the overall artwork. They also wanted to highlight that woman have a pivotal role to play within the Shankill area and that their voices area as important as any one else’s. Artist Lesley Cherry worked with the women during this project, drawing out family stories of care, loss, remembrance and ultimately love, not only for their immediate families, but for their friends and the wider community. This artwork was funded by the Housing Executive, working in partnership with the Lower Shankill Community Association. The artwork replaces a contentious paramilitary mural and an artwork depicting the burning of Protestant homes at the beginning of the Troubles. hope friend loud kind broken honest care pride family stubborn inspiration diverse niece pride care caring acceptance welcome love powerful equalilty equality for all

Men Of Mayhem

03048 2015-09-24 VisualWaste CNB15 SOA+

Following up on last year’s mural of Saul Goodman from the TV shows Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad, and the year before that of Breaking Bad character Walter White, Visual Waste chose Sons Of Anarchy character Jax Teller, played by Charlie Hunnam for this year’s Culture Night mural. Hunnam is from Newcastle, England, and previously starred in Queer As Folk. (WP) According to the video (below) of the artist talking about the work, Teller was chosen because “he’s a badass but a leader”.

Also: video of the piece being painted at the Visual Waste website

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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03048 redwood original v. president

Welcome To Lord Street

03169 2015-11-11 Ledley Hall+

Saturday (November 28th) saw the official launch of the repainted Lord Street. All of the murals and side-walls (such as in the final image, below) have been painted over or painted out as part of a project sponsored by the Housing Executive and CharterNI. Also included in the work was a repainting of the Ledley Hall/Queen’s Jubilee mural at the junction with Kingswood Street. The new mural shows the hall past and present and features local figures Bob Yarr (OBE), Eddie Witherspoon, John Cross (BEM), John Currans, Sam Rainey, and Reggie Morrow.

For information about the hall itself, see the previous entry Ledley Hall. See also Workers & Warriors for the new Somme mural across the street.

03170 2015-11-11 Ledley Remembers+

03168 2015-11-11 Lord St w+

03114 2015-10-11 Welcome To Lord St+

Update 2016-04: (part of) the info board. NIHE article on the re-imaging of nine murals in Lord St.

03369 2016-04-07 Ledley Hall info

X08267 2021-07-08 LordSt Reimaging info+

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Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03169 X03170 X03168 X03114 Blaze FX X03369 X08267 [X08268] [X08269] before after the old mural being removed and wall prepared in association with the diamond project charter NI housing executive lord street residents series of workshops

We Need A Bonfire

03159 2015-11-06 We Need A Bonfire+

A suggested cure for the winter-time blues, in waste ground off Milner Street: We need a bonfire. The pink plastic Barbie-mobile is not the best fuel.

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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03159 truck child’s toy barbie

Throw Me To The Wolves

03063 2015-09-28 DMC CNB15 Blue Lady Halo+

This haloed madonna is Sandra Nestor (Twitter page with image on which the mural is based), a friend of street artist Dermot McConaghy or “DMC” (Fb), painted for CNB15. The piece is more than three storeys tall. It replaces last years Culture Night mural by DMC: We All Skream. DMC was the subject of a recent short film called Outsider by Rua Meegan and Owen Farrell.

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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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The Heart Of Our Community

02758 2015-08-10 Kickhams+

In early August the RNU blacked out an Ard Eoın Kickhams GAA mural in Ardoyne (featured previously) and replaced it with a tarp calling for the RUC/PSNI to be disbanded (see this Belfast Live article for an image). After complaint from the local community, the tarp was removed and the central part of the mural was repainted, showing the celtic cross of Cumann Lúthcleas Gael, a football, sliotars, and hurleys. Members of the RUC were forbidden from GAA membership until “Rule 21” (WP) until 2001; they are now permitted to join and play Gaelic games, even if they not welcome in the area – see the image below.

03138 2015-10-13 Ardoyne Kickhams blue Not Welcome+

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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02758 X03138 founded 1907 MI5 british army not welcome in this area gaelic athletic association GAA CLG

In The Land Of The Giants

03112 2015-10-11 Belfast Giants d+

Here are three shots of the new Blaze Fx (web | Fb) “Belfast Giants” mural in east Belfast’s Lord Street. The Giants have been Belfast’s ice-hockey team for the last fifteen years, beginning in 2000. The detail above shows mascot Finn MacCool and the image of the full mural, below, includes the team motto, the (a)politically-motivated “In the land of the giants, everyone is equal.” The mural takes the place of a UDA mural (featured previously, Feriens Tego; see also the second info board, below, on “the re-imaging of Lord Street 2012-2015”) and is one of three large murals and various small murals to be replaced or painted out. (This News Letter article puts the total at nine.)

03164 2015-11-11 Giants Supporters+

03162 2015-11-11 Belfast Giants+

03370 2016-04-07 Belfast Giants info+

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Copyright © 2015/2017 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03112 X03164 X03162 ice hockey stick jersey mobile phone go foam finger cheering taking picture skates X03370 junior and senior teams local media likes mark morrison nathan clements bradley scott kaitlyn morrison X04481

Giz A Wee Lick At Ye!

03060 2015-09-24 kjboe CNB15 A Wee Lick+

In the video profile included below, Keith Boe (Fb) expresses a wish to participate in CNB and for this year’s celebration he brought his “creepy stuff” to a car park in Kent Street in the form of skeletal head with a threateningly long tongue.

The artist of the boy statue below is unknown; perhaps JMK.

X03062 2015-09-28 CNB15 Statue+

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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03060 X03062 skeleton face eyeball red culture night belfast mural streetart kjboe

Big Men Wail Hammers

03047 2015-09-24 For The Productions Of Lemons+

Here are the six posters created by Leo Boyd to accompany a poem by Nathaniel McAuley for CNB15. Four are photographs taken in situ; two others are from Leo’s instagram.

A City-wide Initiative
for the [mass] Production
of Lemons

Instead,
the city plants
for lemons.

Big men wail hammers
parting the streets
in search of earth

seeds grow in
the cupped hands
of patient children

and shoot
from inside pockets
out of sleeves and collars.

Every hole in the wall
is over-packed
with knots of root.

Within the year
the luminescent
cache of fruit

is promised
to be vast enough
to displace night.

03016 2015-09-20 Big Men Wail+

03019 2015-09-20 Big Men Wail w+

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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03016 X03047 X03019c X03019 Belfast Harbour Commission for the Culture Night Almanac

Nan With The Pearl Earring

03053 2015-09-24 DavidCreative CNB15 Nan+

Vermeer’s original is given a local twist in this piece of street art by David McClelland (web) for CNB15.

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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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