Geordie Bell was caretaker at the Short Strand community centre, on the other side of this mural, as well as a trade unionist and republican. A piece of art in the Skainos centre is dedicated to his memory (East Belfast Mission).
On the same wall: Tree-Teapot-Street
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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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The area known as the Pound Loney is featured in a long mural in Durham Street. The Pound Loney is Divis or the lower part of Divis on either side of Cullingtree Road; a “loney” is a lane and originally a natural path, in this case next to a stream beside the sheep-pound that existed before the area was developed for housing (Old Belfast Districts).
The mural features many of the place-names, landmarks, and personalities of yesteryear, including the Arcadian cinema on Albert Street – left of centre in the full shot below; see also the two images below of the Arcadian in happier days and in 1969, at the start of the troubles (images from Cinema Treasures and the Belfast Forum). Also featured are the Divis tower block, the Blessed Virgin mural, Barney’s mill, McGahan’s pub, Saint Peter’s. The streets include Barrack St, Galway St, Cullingtree Rd, Scotch St, Christian Place, Derby St, Castle St, Pound St, Nail St, Currie St, Albert St, Brook St, Jude St, Hamill St, Divis St, Milford St and Massereene (Row or Path or Walk) in Divis flats. If you can identify any of the characters in the mural, please leave a comment.
Previously: Lampost swinging | Mickey Marley’s Roundabout | Saint Peter’s
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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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An owner, with Ireland’s Saturday Night (which ceased publication in 2008) tucked in his coat pocket, shows off his greyhound.
The words of the poem read
“In the east of the city, isolated alone, is a dear little place we like to call home.
Old strengthened by new, the homes and the streets, looking out for each other, a broad smile when they meet
The once terraced streets, some narrow, some wide, behind so many faces a story there lies
In the east of the city by the lagan’s fair side, looking back at its history our hearts fill with pride.”
Next to No More in Edgar Street, Short Strand
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Above is the centre portion of the board on the west side of the underpass on Donegall Avenue and Tates Avenue. It shows ‘John catching spricks + tadpoles’, ‘men playing pitch ‘n toss’, ‘gypsies who collected our potato peelings’ and ‘Nancy + Josie swinging from the lamppost‘. The wide show, below, also includes Mickey Marley’s Roundabout (the Townsend Street image of which was featured previously one | two) on the left and ‘me and Dad going to the football’ past Jamesons shop, on the right. The companion board on the east side of the underpass was featured a few days ago. The title of today’s post is the official title of the project, by david creative.
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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The wide image, below, shows an elderly gent pulling back a curtain under the Tates Avenue-Broadway overpass to reveal a scene from times past which includes suited men “going to the football”, a “Broadway hairdressers”, a “Nummy grocery van” and the two figures shown in the detail, above: “Andy of Broadway” and “Rev. Charlie Maguire, the minister on a bicycle”.
The piece (and its companion across the street) were done by “david creative,” (David McClelland) and you can see images of the conception and development of the piece at his web site.
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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The colourful mural above is in Pearl Street, in the Willowfield area of east Belfast. It shows children playing and talking, depicted inside of a series of cogs.
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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As can be seen from the final image below (showing the whole of the main panel), a bright sunlight was streaming through the glass ceiling on the day of our visit to Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry frescoes in the Detroit Institute of Arts, making many of our images of the north wall unusable and degrading the quality of the few included here. They nonetheless show the stunning level of detail Rivera went to despite the massive size of the work. These are all of the main panel, the bottom third of which shows construction of the eight-cylinder engine for the Model B (probably).
For more information, see also: Infant In The Bulb Of A Plant (East) | Building The Model B (South) | Life & Death (West)
Top centre …
Bottom centre …
Bottom left …
Shot of the main panel on the north wall …
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Copyright © 2013 Cathal Woods
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These pictures of children with a hand in the air can be found above the office of Cumann Pobaıl Mhachaıre Botháın, the Marrowbone Community Association office on the Oldpark Road/Bóthar Na Seanphaırce.
Below is a short (15 min) documentary about the area.
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Irish-language signage from Belfast City Council at the corner of An Bealach Leathan/Broadway and Bóthar na bhFál/Falls Road. On the left you can see the English translation of the central board’s “Ag tógáıl Béal Feirste feabhsaıthe”: “Building a better Belfast”. The building shown to the right and left of the centre is proposed for the site.
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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A no longer vibrant “vibrant” — one of the alternating panels of images and single words on the Eastway in the upper Bogside in Derry. Below are “Resilient”, “Community Pride” (modified to become “Community Ride”), “Revival”, and “Creativity”.
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Extramural Activity 