For the Union Flag mural on the other side of the road, see The People’s Army and LPWA, and for the plaque see Big Bill Campbell.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01220
Shankill Reflections
PUL
Direct Action
After a delay, the UVF mural in Inverwood Court, replacing a George Best mural, has been finished. (The Belfast Telegraph reports it was finished on 2013-09-21, and that negotiations to remove it are “ongoing”.) The quote on the right – Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed – comes from the section of Martin Luther King’s Letter From A Birmingham Jail in which he considers the merits of civil disobedience or direct action. For a shot of the half-finished piece, see Second Best.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01330 for god and ulster
Industrial Legacy
A fourth and final metal-work piece from the Cupar Way “peace” line shows an aeroplane in outline over a globe and gives a list of various Belfast streets which were formerly industrial centres: Shankill Rd., North St., Victoria St., High St., Ann St., Peters Hill, Royal Ave., Castle Place, Queens Bridge. A wide shot of all (one | two | three) four pieces (as well as Let Go Of The Past and 3 R’s) can be found below.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01289 X01300
Total Abstinence
Two more images from inside the hall of the Loyal Orange Order on Clifton Street, both having to do with temperance. (Previously: All Our Hope On Thee Is Stayed | Occupy Till I Come)
The first, above is of ‘the angel with the book’, a reference to Revelation 10: “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: and he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth.” (King James trans.)
The second, below, shows Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley being burnt at the stake in 1555. “Be of good comfort, Master Ridley and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle by God’s grace in England [as I trust] shall never be put out.” (WP)
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01311 X01308 Ballygomartin l.o.l. no. 741 st. michael’s church defender 1890
Occupy
Another image from inside the Clifton Street Orange Order hall: an outline of the island of Ireland under the title (in Old Irish script) Oḋreaċt na [h]Éıreann – The Heritage of Ireland – surrounded by the coats of arms of the cities of Londonderry, Dublin, Cork and Belfast, and with the words “Occupy Till I Come – Luke 19:13” at the bottom.
“Occupy until I come” is the King James translation of Luke 19:13 (Greek: πραγματεύσασθαιἐνᾧἔρχομαι) and is better translated as “conduct business until I come [back]”. It is from the story of the king who gave money to 10 servants to see what they would make with it. The one who does nothing with it says he knows the king is exploitative and harsh (αὐστηρὸς, austere!) and he was afraid (to lessen or lose the money, presumably). To which the king says, roughly, ‘if you knew that I expect to profit from other people, you should have done something with it!’ and has his money taken away; meanwhile, the citizens who spoke against the king in his absence are executed. So the moral of the story for Ireland is … the King has given Ireland to Protestants in order to increase its value, and they better make sure they do, because he expects to collect the profit; and anyone among the natives who protests is to be executed upon his return?
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01306
The 3 R’s Of Restorative Justice
Above is another ‘Alternatives‘ board, on Cupar Way, encouraging reconciliation between victims and offenders (alternativesrj.org).
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01284 the offence offender victim restorative journey agree resolution responsibility restitution reconciliation provides an opportunity for those directly affected by an offence to communicate and agree how to deal with the offence and its consequences alternatives mediation heard accepted compassion empathy proud respected empowered in control satisfied
A Better Future
In this new east Belfast mural, we move from a part of “violence – terrorism – conflict – imprisonment’ to a future of ‘culture – empowerment – human rights – multiculturalism’. The mural is black-and-white on one side and colour on the other. On the left we have watchtowers and paramilitaries in hats and sunglasses; on the right schoolchildren in front of city hall, working on a computer and playing football.
The mural was defaced immediately after it was finished (roughly the end of July), indicating dissatisfaction with the current direction of ‘the future’, but quickly repaired. There is a mural directly above this one, on Lendrick Street, which was featured previously. A wide shot of them both can be found below.
Update: Spring 2022 – some of the words on the colourful ‘future’ side of the mural have been painted over: “empowerment”, “equality”, “diversity”, “multiculturalism”. There is also a streak of white paint on the arm of a black person in the centre of the mural. See the final two images.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2013/2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01278 X01277 X14079 X14078 looking to a better future, learning from others in conflict in northern ireland ulsters darkest day’s days trouble again bombs explode the troubles a chronology of the northern ireland conflict january-february 1973 stormont earth globe john stewart BCC press release
Identity
Another colourful piece of metalwork on the Cupar Way “peace” line, celebrating the construction of the Titanic at Harland & Wolff shipyard.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01289
Second Best
As reported in the media a week ago (BBC | Guardian | U.tv video | Slugger), an east Belfast mural featuring footballer George Best, which itself replaced a UVF mural, has been painted over and is being replaced by a new UVF mural. Progress on the piece, however, seems to have halted. This image shows the progress as of Monday 9th, showing no change since the 4th. The mural quotes Martin Luther King’s Letter From Birmingham Jail (pdf), drawing a parallel between the Civil Rights movement in the US and the situation of contemporary Protestants. Below is an image of the George Best piece, courtesy of the Geograph project.
Update 2013-09-13 U.tv reports that the work on the mural has indeed been halted.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01304
Let Go Of The Past
Board on the Cupar Way side of the “peace” line showing, on the left hand side, rioters with petrol bombs attacking the police, the “peace” line, and a burning vehicle, and, on the right, construction workers, university graduates, and happy children. “Fight for a better future. It is your choice.” For more information, see Daniela Balmaverde.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01283
Extramural Activity 