POWs – Extramural Activity

Free Marwan

2025-09-212025-10-20Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Free Marwan and all Palestinian political prisoners”. Marwan Barghouti, a leader of the group Fatah, has been in Israeli prison since 2002. He was seen last month in a video showing Israeli’s national security minister taunting the 66-year-old Barghouti in his cell (BBC | Al Jazeera | NPR).

Barghouti and 1,000 other prisoners went on hunger-strike in 2017 in order to win family visits for prisoners; see “Free Marwan Barghouti” in Belfast and in Derry and Barghouti’s quote “Our Chains Will Be Broken Before We Are” in a north Belfast stencil.

The photograph reproduced in this mural, of Barghouti giving the “V” for victory symbol while in handcuffs, can be seen at New Arab.

Divis Street, west Belfast, on the International Wall, where Barghouti’s son Aarab spoke at the launch (youtube).

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Hooded Man

2025-07-142025-07-18Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Óglach Kevin Hannaway, Irish Republican Army, hooded man. Unbowed & unbroken. Ar dheıs Dé go raıbh a anam.”

Kevin Hannaway died in January (2025), aged 77. In 1971 he was interned (Belfast Media) and subjected, along with thirteen others, to the “five techniques” – deprivation of food/drink and of sleep, subjection to noise, prolonged stress positions, and hooding (WP) – as well as being beaten and dropped out of a helicopter (Irish Times). The ‘five techniques’ were found to constitute torture in 2021 (RTÉ) and the PSNI apologised to the victims in 2023 (BBC | Irish Legal News).

Hannaway remained a republican throughout his life and was anti-Agreement in recent years (BBC). The board in Hannaway’s honour was launched on Sunday July 13th (Fb video). The panels of the board were siezed by the PSNI during a drug raid on a home in St James’s on the 11th but returned the next day (BelTel).

“IRPWA [web]. Republican prisoners still exist! Unfinished revolution. Unbowed, unbroken.”

Hugo Street, west Belfast. For a close-up of the Pearse Jordan plaque on the left, see the Peter Moloney Collection.

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You Are Now Entering The European Court Of Justice

2024-07-172025-01-08Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The long-running extradition case against Seán Walsh – from the republic to the north – took another twist in March when the supreme court referred his case to the European Court Of Justice. Walsh is wanted on charges of New IRA membership, based on surveillance of meetings organised by MI5 agent Dennis McFadden (Herald). The point now at issue is whether a 2021 UK law on sentencing for those convicted of terrorism charges (pdf) – no early release is possible (gov.uk) – contravenes article seven of the European Convention On Human Rights.

Republicans also claim that he would be subject to maltreatment if extradited (RN).

A write-up of the arguments can be found in this Irish Times article from 2023, when the possibility of referral was first mooted by Walsh’s legal team.

The black shamrock in the centre of the wall pre-dates the Walsh graffiti – see Black Shamrock for its significance. Free Derry Corner has its own Visual History page.

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The Craigavon Two

2024-04-262025-01-08Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“There is no lie big enough to cover the shame of jailing two innocent men #JFTC2”. Brendan McConville and John Paul Wootton were convicted of the 2009 murder of Constable Stephen Carroll (BBC), and sentenced to life with 25-year and 18-year minimums, respectively. The case is under review (Guardian | An Phoblacht).

This RNU (Fb) board also appeared on Northumberland Street in west Belfast.

Berwick Road, Ardoyne, north Belfast. For the Fıanna mural, see Gal Greıne. For the pro-Palestine board, see Old Is The New New. For the right-most board, see Óglach Sean McCaughey.

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Republican Solidarity With Palestine

2024-02-062025-02-17Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Since the October 7th attack by Hamas and the subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza, the number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel has gone up from about 5,000 to about 9,000, including about 3,500 prisoners held under what is called “administrative detention” or what would be known here as “internment without trial”. (Figures for the last fifteen years are available at HaMoked and at B’Tselem.) Prisoners recently released from Israeli detention have described the beatings and degrading treatment they received (Amnesty | Reuters | Haaretz).

During the peace process of the mid-1990s, a green ribbon was used as a symbol of republican political prisoners, whose release was one of the major goals in a peace settlement – see this large example from Shantallow, Derry, from 1998. It is still used post-Agreement by physical-force republicans, e.g. End Brit Brutality and Maghaberry Concentration Camp.

The board is on the Meenan Square construction site in the Bogside, Derry. For the INLA board in the background of the wide shot, see Serious Trouble.

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Conscience

2023-11-112025-01-08Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Cogús supports the republican prisoners”. Cogús (Fb) is (was?) the prisoners’ welfare arm of the RNU. The board above — using a vintage illustration going back to 1981’s I’ll Wear No Convict’s Uniform — replaced More Blacks, More Gays, More Irish on Pantridge Road, Dunmurry, joining the “Join RNU” and mental health boards shown below.

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11,000 Days And Counting

2023-08-032025-01-08Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The number is arrived at by aggregating the days served by republican prisoners in Maghaberry, Hydebank, and Portlaoise (IRPWA – page contains images of all the locations in which this board was mounted).

Braemar Street, west Belfast.

“End internment by remand! 11000 days and counting. Bail denied. Seán Farrell, Davy Jordan, Kevin Murphy, Nick Donnelly, Charlie Love, Shea Reynolds, Ciaran Maguire, Gary Hayden, Sean Walsh, Damien McLaughlin, Sharon Jordan, Mandy Duffy.”

Palestinian Solidarity

2023-04-212025-01-07Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

There has been graffiti art of the side wall of what was Vogue Hair & Beauty and is currently the Kurdish barbers since 2008 (see Visual History 11) but in 2018 the wall was claimed by Saoradh (web) with a mural depicting the Palestinian flag (see From The River To The Sea – it has recently been repainted) and a changing message to the right-hand side – currently a pair of IRPWA “No extradition’ boards.

See also the old Linden Street, where Resistance Is Not Terrorism took over from a TMN homage to Bodé (but was itself later replaced by a tribute to Norah McCabe).

Fáılte Roımh Chách

2023-01-132025-01-07Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

We have featured this ‘bookmark’-dimensioned mural on the so-called “International Wall” before (in 2018) but today include an image (the third one, below) of the replica cell inside the museum itself; a sharper image (and the source for the painting) can be seen on the home page of the Museum’s web site.