“Deadly” here means “excellent” or “terrific”, perhaps from the idea of “hitting the (living!) target” (Stack) – it is a piece of southern slang that artist and print-maker Leo Boyd (web) perhaps picked up on his journey from Bristol to Dublin to Belfast (Boyd | Atom) where he is one of the Vault Studios artists (Vault).
The new work shown here is at the American Bar (web) in Sailortown.
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A kraken awakes in Belfast harbour, under the watchful eyes of working-class men on the waterfront in Belfast’s Sailortown, in front of local landmarks.
Street art by KVLR in Corporation Street.
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Stella Maris (“star of the sea”) hostel in Sailortown provides accommodations for “up to 23 long-term homeless street drinkers” (web). The name is a hold-over from the building’s former use as a charity for seafarers; the name “stella maris” has also long been associated with the pole star by which sailors reckon their course of sail.
This large installation (by Elfire Ceramics – ig) on the exterior wall of the hostel is full of maritime imagery, including the pole star, as well images of hope such as a message in a bottle (left) and a life-preserver (right), as well as inspirational words: love, care, acceptance, respect, dignity, hope, equality, decency, kindness, awareness.
The piece was launched in September 2023 (St Joe’s); the previous piece in this spot was a ceramic representation of St Brendan crossing the Atlantic.
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The info plaque next to this new piece of street art in north Belfast reads: “The Dark Dreamer – The Silkie mural by Loretta Lizzio is a recreation of the oil painting “Dark Dreamer” by world-famous Irish artist Patrick Jones who lived here in the family home.”
Patrick J. Jones (web) grew up in Belfast before leaving for London, England, in 1984 and Brisbane, Australia, in 1997. Lizzio, (web), who is also from Australia, reproduced Jones’s original (Fb) on the side of the Stax coffee-shop on the Cliftonville Road, renaming it ‘The Silkie’, though it depicts a mermaid rather than one of the seal-folk; compare with KMG’s interpretation of the Selkie myth in the city centre.
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The rosette at the centre of the poppy wreath shows the UK armed services badge (with the crown overlaid by the Ulster Banner) surrounded by a verse from Binyon’s ‘For The Fallen’ and “Tiger’s Bay – York Street – Sailortown loyal”. That group’s Facebook page is private and no home-page seems to be available for ‘North Belfast Friends Of The Somme’.
North Queen Street, Tiger’s Bay, Belfast, at the old Lewis Street.
The large cloth on the Shore Road was also seen last year.
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These bird-boxes and platforms were installed by Wild Belfast (web) – a group aimed at enhancing natural habitats – in order to attract house-martins, who visit Ireland in the summer in order to breed, but whose numbers are in decline because of a loss of nesting sites (under the eaves of houses) and building materials (mud).
The boxes are in front of street art by artist Daniela Balmaverde (web) on the end of one of the stands at Cliftonville FC (BBC) – the shamrock earrings are the club’s emblem.
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The two passages cited here have been cited before on the side wall at the junction of the Limestone Road and N Queen St, with images of Orange symbols and Union Flags, in order to promise that Your Kingdom Will Endure Forever. That theme has now been invoked in upper Tiger’s Bay, to celebrate the latest king (Charles III) of the everlasting kingdom demarcated by the shields of the “four nations” in the corners of the main gable, Northern Ireland included.
The people in question in the second book of Samuel are the people of Israel but as with previous scriptural references on the lower wall (Lamentations | Chronicles | Revelations | Psalms | Genesis), the Protestant people in Ireland and Britain are under discussion (though they might also refer to contemporary Israel).
In the King James version, 2 Samuel 7:10-16 the prophet Nathan is speaking to David: “Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime, and as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.”
In Luke 1:31-33, an angel is speaking to Mary: “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
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The death-toll in Gaza now stands at more than 38,000 people, in addition to the 1,100 Israelis killed on October 7th (Al Jazeera). This graffiti singling out US President Joe Biden – and by extension America’s continued supply of weapons to Israel – is on the hoarding around the derelict Willowbank House, built in 1896 (Belfast Live).
Willowbank Gardens, north Belfast.
See also: The Fog Of War (on Slıabh Dubh) | Ireland Says “No” To Genocide Joe | Don’t Look Away | The Going Down Of The Sun
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“Israeli Genocide” (Israel represented by the Star Of David) – This Antrim Road (north Belfast) graffiti protests the on-going Israeli attacks on cities in the Gaza Strip. The death toll of Palestinians now stands at more than 37,000 people, with 60% of residences destroyed (Al Jazeera).
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The electoral pact between the TUV and Reform UK for the Westminster elections on July 4th – announced in March (BBC) – was abruptly thrown into disarray when Nigel Farage, who decided to stand only at the last moment and was made leader of Reform UK (Sky News), endorsed the DUP’s Sammy Wilson in East Antrim (as opposed to the TUV’s Matthew Warwick) and Ian Paisley Jr in North Antrim (rather than TUV leader Jim Allister). Candidates in other constituencies continue to have Reform’s support (BelTel | BBC).
Farage in the Dark Horse courtyard: Sweet Rockall.
The placard above is on the Ballysillan Road, north Belfast.
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Extramural Activity 