Here are two details of a large board on the Shankill celebrating the Queen’s diamond jubilee. Still no firm rules for the main Covenant march this coming Saturday … (BBC | Slugger)
Here is a close-up of the first three panels (out of 7.5) of Rita Duffy’s Banquet, (mentioned yesterday as having preceded the 2012 Covenant board in Argyle St.). It was originally produced for International Women’s Day 2011 and was launched on March 11th (Greater Shankill Partnership | Newsletter). There’s an excellent set of pictures, taken by the Shankill Women’s Center, of the boards being erected over a 2002 mural celebrating the Queen’s 50th anniversary, and a video by NVTv.
A wide shot and a close-up of the info board are below … This is a difficult piece to photograph in its new location (Cupar Way): it is long and there’s a tree on the pavement; it is also highly reflective. Unlike other pieces on Cupar Way, it has (so far) largely escaped the plague of locusts that is the signatures of tourists.
Northern Ireland is anticipating the centenary of the 1912 Ulster Covenant (WP | Slugger) next weekend (September 29th). The board above marks the occasion, featuring, in the middle third, a reproduction of a famous photograph of Edward Carson making the first signature. The full text of the Covenant is included in a mural on Thorndyke St.
The plaque (below) was added after the main picture was taken (perhaps at the same time as a sequence of plaques – see Say It With Guinness): “This mural was dedicated by Alderman Hugh Smyth OBE on Friday the 21st September 2012 to commemorate the centenary of the signing of Ulster’s Solemn League and Covenant”.
Marian Price (WP) mural, Whiterock Rd. Launched May 13, 2012. Owen Paterson (with one “t”) was replaced last week as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland after five months in office. Charges against Price were reinstated on September 5th (Slugger). See also Marian Price poster .
There was more news (Belfast Telegraph) last week (September 6, 2012) related to the on-going series of trials involving supergrass witnesses. A FAST banner is here seen in Spier’s Place. Last year there were banners in Donegall Pass, Mount Vernon, and Newtownards Road. For background and the collapse of the original trials, see Families Against Supergrass Trials.
Here’s a mural by Friz (who was featured painting in east Belfast), on the Cupar Way peace line. This mural went up earlier this (2012) summer, but it is already covered in signatures and messages from tourists, who are encouraged to write on (some of?) the pieces on Cupar Way. There’s a “clean” version on Friz’s own blog.
Graffiti in lower Shankill: “Free the Lower Shankill Six!! Send our prisoners home.”
According to this blog post, this is not political, but refers instead to six fellas done for stealing pallets. (Which perhaps means we can safely enjoy the old joke about the journalist asking the politician, “And what do you think about the Renault 5?”. To which the politician replied, “I think they should be released immediately.”)
This mural expresses solidarity between Irish republican and Palestinian prisoners of war. It was painted by a local artist in collaboration with Carlos Latuff, a Brazilian political cartoonist. There’s a picture of Latuff and the local artist in front of the mural, as well as his cartoon version, here. (Update – he also drew a cartoon on the wall of a café in Belfast.) He also visited Derry.
Extramural Activity 