international

City Hall Stained Glass

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Here is a gallery of seven pieces of stained glass in Belfast City Hall. BCC has a guide to all of the stained-glass windows in the Hall.

1 (above): North Irish Horse, and in particular, the WWII battles it participated in (listed at the bottom of the window).

2 (below): Spanish Civil War

3 Cú Chulaınn – seen previously in Ulster’s Defence Force. See also the Visual History page In The Shadow Of Cú Chulaınn.

4: The Dockers’ Strike – seen previously in One Big Union.

5: The Famine Window. See also the Visual History page on The Great Hunger.

6: The Pathways Window – according to the guide, this window commemorates the pain caused to the relatives of deceased persons from whom organs were taken without consent.

7: The Centenary Window

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X15061
X15062
X15063
X15064 X15070
X15065 X15069
X15066
X15067 X15068

No Country For Young People

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Above, “How many [Palestinian] children have to die? Ceasefire now” opposite a (former) shop called Tír Na nÓg [County/Land Of Young People], and, below, “End the occupation. Free Palestine. We are all Palest[in]ian” with drawings of Palestinian and Irish flags.

See previously: How Many Kids Have You Killed To-Day? | How Many Kids? (from the Painting For Palestine project on The International Wall)

Castle Street/Water Lane and Stephen Street, Sligo

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X14989 [X14988] X15004

The Hardships Our Children Must Endure Tomorrow

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Sandy Row says “no” to an Irish Sea border, but “yes” to Israel’s invasion of Gaza. The verbiage along the bottom of the tarp reads, “The battles we refuse to fight today become the hardships our children must endure tomorrow.”

The tarp is on the Rangers “55” hoarding on Sandy Row, and was seen previously in Let Us Shout Joyfully.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X14774 X14775

We Cannot Live Only For Ourselves

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Free Gazz” is corrected to “Free Gaza” – graffiti in Pacific Avenue, Newington’s “best kept street, 1981”.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X15010

Still Standing

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The WHO and UNRWA now estimates that of the 34,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza, about 14,000 were children (Egypt Today). 18 were killed in a single explosion in Rafah yesterday (AP). This new board in west Belfast illustrates the disparity between Israeli forces and ordinary Palestinians by showing children in ragged clothing armed only with a single, odd-looking (AI hallucinated?), slingshot facing off against other children armed with assault rifles and wearing riot gear.

Of the RNU social-media handles along the bottom, only the Facebook and TikTok ones actually work.

Previously, from 2018: RNU Stands With Palestine.

Northumberland Street, west Belfast; later with a knotwork surround – see T08102.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X14945 X14944

Black Shamrock

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The black shamrock is a symbol of Irish neutrality dating back to 2006 (Irish Times | Pensive Quill). In the light of the attack on Gaza it is being used by the IPSC and other pro-Palestinian causes as a symbol of solidarity. This shamrock, on Free Derry Corner, has been augmented with two small Palestinian flags, one with a dove and the word “peace” (shown below).

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
X14931 X14930 X14932 [X14929]

Though An Army Besiege Me, My Heart Will Not Fear

Extramural Activity2 Comments

In 2000, during the Second Intifada, Palestinian teenager Faris Odeh was photographed by an AP photographer in the act of throwing a stone at an Israeli tank. He was shot and killed a few days later and the image became a symbol of resistance. (A mural of the photograph was painted in Springhill: see David And Goliath.) The iconic image is updated here for Israel’s current invasion of Gaza, showing a young girl with a soft toy standing in front of a tank that is bedecked with the flags of the European Union, France, the USA, the UK, and Germany.

The F-16 jets and rubble and child with teddy-bear are the same as in the We Stand With Palestine mural in Ardoyne.

For the teddy-bears and soft toys, see Boycott Israeli Genocide and It Could Be You.

For the Easter Rising mural, see The Undauntable Thought.

South Link, Andersonstown, west Belfast. Launched November 18th, 2023 (PD Fb).

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X14847 X14849 [X14848] X14846 X14845
from the river to the sea will be free Mickey Doherty

Land Grab

Extramural Activity1 Comment

The “Put it back, thief” imagery is applied here to Palestine and Israel, except that there is no piece of territory in the Israeli arm, only a grasping hand, and the slogan is “Saoırse don Phalaıstín”.

In case you need any reminding of the trope, a close-up from the Kneecap mural in Hawthorn Street is included directly below; in CNR muraling, the imagery dates back to Stad Maggie Anoıs (1986) and England Get Out Of Ireland (1989). Similar imagery, based on a Soviet poster, was seen recently in Give It Back, Thief, concerning Lough Neagh.

Finally below is “An Phalaıstín” with the flag as a shield, as though the country were a sporting club.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X14890 [X15014] X14889 X14831

Ban Israeli Goods

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Here is an assortment of images concerning boycotts of Israeli goods in response to the invasion of Gaza. Above, “Ban Israeli goods” on the wall of the Alexandra Park Tesco, north Belfast; below, V-for-victory fingers as scissors snipping barbed wire (bdsmovement.net) in a shop window in Andersonstown, west Belfast; “BDS” [Boycott, divestment, sanctions] and “IPSC” [Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which maintains a list of Israeli goods] next to a painted Palestinian flag in the middle Falls, west Belfast; plus an Artists Against Genocide (ig) sticker.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X14886 X14836 X14888 X14778

The Fog Of War

Extramural Activity1 Comment

Irish politicians are making their annual pilgrimage to the United States for St Patrick’s Day. Taoıseach Leo Varadkar was first in Boston and is now in Washington, DC (gov.ie). Sınn Féın leaders Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O’Neill say (Sky News) that during their visit they will raise the issues of Israel’s military attack and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza with US President Joe Biden, changing “Say “No” to Genocide Joe” to “Say “No” to genocide, Joe”. Michelle O’Neill (SF) and Emma Little-Pengelly (DUP) together promoted Northern Irish business opportunities (journal.ie).

SDLP leaders are not in attendance and People Before Profit called for a boycott (see previously: Don’t Look Away).

Meanwhile in Qatar, it is hoped that negotiations between Hamas and Israel will be rejoined (AP).

Slıabh Dubh has its own Visual History page.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X14893 X14892 X14891