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Charlotte Despard

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Today’s images come from London but there is an Irish and a Belfast connection. Charlotte Despard was a novelist, suffragist, socialist, pacifist, vegetarian, and Sınn Féın advocate in the years around the Lock Out, the Rising, and the War Of Independence.

She moved from London – where she worked to alleviate poverty among the children of the Battersea area – to Dublin after WWI and was classed as a “dangerous subversive” by the Irish Free State. The image above (which is a panel from a mural celebrating political radicals of Battersea, below) reproduces a photograph of Despard addressing the crowd at an anti-fascist/Communist rally in Trafalgar Square on June 11th, 1933 – four days before her 89th birthday.

At the end of a very long of activism, she moved to Whitehead, County Antrim, where she died in 1939, and was buried in Glasnevin (WP).

A Battersea street is named after her – Charlotte Despard Avenue; the plaque is at 177 Lavender Hill – the offices of the Labour Party in Battersea.

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Copyright © Peter Moloney
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Though Absent You Are Ever Near

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“Talents have been robbed by addiction, suicide, mental illness” – the shoes of the dead form part of an installation on Stewart Street, around the perimeter of the Markets. The RNU banner off to the right contains the numbers for Pieta House, PIPS, Samaritans, Teen Line, Lifeline, and Breathing Space.

“I am here – a son, daughter, father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, partner, lover, cousin, friend, grandfather, family. Why, why, why??? Are you okay? Our love[d] ones. Every day in some small way memories of you come our way. Through [sic] absent you are ever near, still missed, still loved, and ever dear.”

“The families[‘] pain continues!! They continue to struggle in silence: each loss has had a ripple effect throughout our community! Through the travel of time the pain remains the same!!!”

“It’s OK not to be OK – mental health illness is an invisible illness – breathing space – open up when you’re feeling down”

Below the shoes: “Dream big – smile – be thoughtful – respect – caring – love – be you – support – family”

The final image is from the nearby Friendly Street: Believe in yourself – Be kind – Something inside so strong – Positive mental well-being

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Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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#BreakTheBias

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Crossed arms are the symbol of the #BreakTheBias campaign, which is the theme of this year’s International Women’s day (IWD) and people all around the world are striking the pose on social media to show their support (e.g. tw) including this large mural in Belfast, which has been painted off Corporation Street.

By Visual Waste (web | ig), with support from Children In Crossfire (web) (see previously Derry Lama).

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Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Freeze Derry

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Night falls over Free Derry Corner and temperatures head down, reaching freezing before dawn this morning. To heat your home with oil currently costs roughly 460 pounds or 500 euro for a delivery of 500 litres in the area (Derry Journal). In Belfast, prices have increased 36% in two months (Belfast Live). The council characterises a household as suffering “fuel poverty” if it spends more than 10% of its income on home fuel (Derry & Strabane). To protest and demand action, the group Derry Against Fuel Poverty (Fb) is holding its second rally this afternoon at 4 p.m. in Waterloo Place.

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Copyright © 2022 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
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Women Are A Whole Community

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“Women are a whole community – within her is the ability to create and strengthen and transform”. The mural is part of the ‘Communities in transition’ programme from Factory Women’s Group/Factory Community Forum (web | Fb), along with the ‘Be Aware’ mephedone campaign.

Lower Waterloo Street, Larne, formerly Factory Row, site of Brown’s weaving mill.

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Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Stop Mephedrone Before It Stops You

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“Be aware: Mephedrone is destroying our community. Prescription drug misuse is the biggest killer. Stop mephedrone before it stops you. How to spot the signs and save a life.” Mephedrone has been classified as a Class B drug since 2010 but it and other (still-legal prescription) drugs continue to take a heavy toll. According to the 2020 NIAO report, a majority of drug-related deaths involved prescription drugs such as diazepam, tramadol, and pregabalin. The two boards shown in today’s post are in Larne (Lower Waterloo Road, above, and Drumahoe Gardens, below).

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Celebrate Identities

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Ballynafeigh is the neighborhood just across Ormeau bridge, containing Annadale flats and surrounding streets – home to Ormeau Road UDA/UFF and Ballynafeigh Apprentice Boys flute band (Fb). The mural shown above was painted by Daniela Balmaverde (web) with help from local volunteers and presents imagery from non-Western cultures along with slogans on tree-trunks: “Cultural dialogue”, “Celebrate identities”, Shared neighbourhood”, “Community development”, “Tolerance”, and “Respect cultural diversity”. Welcome to Ballynafeigh.

The mural is at the southern Ormeau Road entrance to Ormeau park opposite Candahar Street. The Brigada Romona Para mural was previously in this spot.

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Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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In The Paint

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‘Peace Players’ is an organisation that runs cross-community sporting events, including the basketball “interface league” that Noah Donohoe took part in – he is pictured here wearing his Peace Players shirt. It renamed one of its annual awards as the ‘Noah Donohoe Spirit Award’ (tw). He also played U-14 basketball at Belfast Phoenix (Fb) and the club created a scholarship in his name (Belfast Media). The mural is at the Shaftesbury rec centre in lower Ormeau.

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Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Seek Ye The Lord While He May Be Found

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So sayeth the entablature above the entrance to Ballyhackamore Gospel Hall on the Upper Newtownards Road (which dates back to 1919). The Lord may be sought there during services on Sundays and Bible study on Tuesdays; the Tesco express next door is open seventeen hours a day, seven days a week. “The wages of sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life – Romans 6:23”

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Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Break The Stigma

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“It’s okay not to be okay” – These are the shutters of Beep’s ice-cream and sweet shop (Fb) on the Woodstock Road, painted last October in support of mental health in the community.

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Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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