Graffiti on the Falls Road at the Royal Victoria Hospital: “racism, nazis not welcome in our community”.
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Nazis Not Welcome
Belfast west
Right Of Return
DUP leader Gavin Robinson posed in front of the original graffiti reading “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” outside the Royal (see Stop Israeli Terror, from October 2023) in order to draw attention to its continued presence, despite a complaint had been made that it was anti-Semitic (BBC). Immediately upon its obliteration this past week (November 2024), a condemnation of the DUP appeared (above and below), and shortly afterward the slogan was restored, though without the Palestinian flag (see wide shot below).
“LD” is (presumably) Lasair Dhearg (web)
Falls Road, west Belfast
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The Memory Of Our Dead
“Beır bua – It is the responsibility of the living to keep alive the memory of the dead.” This is the second ‘Working Class Heroes’ piece in Ballymurphy. The other, from 2014, features Tommy “Toddler” Tolan, who appears here to the left of the phoenix.
The plaque on the right reads “This mural was unveiled by Johnny Doc and Maureen Tolan, 5th November, 2023.” There is video of the launch on Facebook, which contains a reading of the names of all the people pictured from the 1m 57s mark onwards.
Glenalina Crescent, Ballymurphy, west Belfast
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Free As A Bird
The Guinness toucans – invented in the 1930s by John Gilroy (Collectors’ Weekly | Guinness Project) – balance pints of “Guinness 0.0” on their beaks as they fly over Clonard Monastery and the houses and shops along the Springfield Road, including (in white) Dan’s Bar (Fb), which is the site of this large poster (on its Cupar Street side).
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Saoırse Don Phalaıstín
Saoırse don Phalaıstín [Freedom for Palestine]. On August 9th, 2024, Irish-language rappers Kneecap launched a third mural in Hawthorn Street/Sráıd Na Sceıthe, (joining Incendiary Device and England Get Out Of Ireland,) which blows up a sticker seen on a nearby street-sign (seen previously in Land Grab) into a mural and which imitates the version from England Get Out Of Ireland which shows Britain grabbing a piece of Ireland.
For images from the launch, see the Paddy Duffy collection.
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Gaza Unbowed
The 1916 centenary mural in Andersonstown has been repurposed and repainted to express solidarity with the people of Palestine.
From the frame of the previous mural – see The Undauntable Thought – the title, phoenix, and chains have been preserved but two instances of the inverted red triangle have been added at the top and bottom – see Resist! (and My Kite You Made).
The main panel puts the struggles in Palestine and Northern Ireland in parallel, showing (from top to bottom on each side) political prisoners, violence against protesters, and relatives carrying portraits.
On the left, Palestinian prisoners languish in Israeli jails (based on a photo of Hamza Abu Halima and on this Reuters photograph of prisoners sitting in the street, both from December 2023) and IDF soldiers make violent arrests – the one on the left is from 2016 (CCUN) and the one on the right is perhaps based on this Reuters photograph.
On the right: British soldiers restore order after the Burning Of Long Kesh (see Operation Pagoda), next to blanket-man Hugh Rooney, above three arrests made by British Army soldiers – their caps indicates that they are from the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (left) and the Paratroop regiment (centre). (For two of the original photos, see BBC | Getty.)
Along the bottom of both sides, marchers hold portraits of the dead, including the recently-killed leader of Hamas Yahya Sinwar (BBC).
Also visible in the wide shot is Ag Fíorú Na Poblachta.
Launched on November 10th, 2024 (PD Fb). An Neasc Theas, Baıle Mhıc Aındréıs, Béal Feırste thıar (South Link, Andersonstown, west Belfast)
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Gaza Square
“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” “Stop the genocide – save Palestine.”
The South Link green-space as been renamed “Gaza Square” (see the small plaque in the wide shot, below) and the murals seen recently (at end of March) in Though An Army Besiege Me, My Heart Will Not Fear have been repainted, switching images of Israeli weapons for the images of death, suffering, and destruction seen here.
According to the Al Jazeera tracker, the Palestinian death toll is approaching 45,000, with more than 100,000 injured.
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Reaching Out Is A Strength
“… not a weakness.” Mental health mural in the middle Falls, with the telephone numbers for Lifeline, the Samaritans, and the Suicide Awareness & Support Group.
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War And Peace
A new tribute to UDA assassin Stevie “Top Gun” McKeag has been put in place in the lower Shankill, replacing the flat-capped version of 2016.
The main-streaming of McKeag continues with this new display: in the previous version he was presented in soldierly garb but as a soldier of the UDA; now, one would be forgiven for thinking that McKeag was a soldier in the British Army, given that the “military commander”‘s beret is now green (rather than grey) and now adorned by a poppy (rather than the UFF star), both complementing the commando-style sweater he is wearing. He is also being mourned by band leaders in ceremonial dress, such as is worn by the Royal Regiment Of Scotland (dress regulations pdf) when serving as equerries to the royal family.
In the right-hand side-wall, the UDU, the poppies, and the graveside mourners are used to put McKeag’s actions in the context of resistance to Home Rule and the British Army’s role in the Great War. McKeag killed at least a dozen Catholics between 1990 and 1998 (WP). He is shown here smiling.
The Leo Tolstoy quotation on the side-wall is unpacked in the entry at the Paddy Duffy Collection.
Not only does this display replace the previous display, but the paint from previous murals (and perhaps a layer of plaster) was removed, until the original mural on the wall, of “King Rat” (D01005), was reached. It then appears that the new display was mounted on top of this. The following image is from May 15th:
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Ape
Art by Kate Whiteman (web) on Broadway, west Belfast.
See also the Visual History page on painted utility boxes.
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Extramural Activity 