painted wall

Reıfreann Anoıs

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“Referendum now”. On this day 100 years ago (1920-12-23) the ‘Government Of Ireland Act‘ – the fourth Home Rule bill – was passed in the UK parliament, partitioning Ireland into Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland, both within the UK. The rest, as they say, is history, history we are still living out. Sınn Féın’s Mary Lou McDonald claimed (in an interview with Owen Jones of the Guardian) that Irish unity would be achieved this decade. Martin McGuinness said in 2003 that unity would be achieved by the centenary of the Rising (Indo) but that year has come and gone. (Feb poll | Oct poll)

Previously: #TimeForUnity | Time For Irish Unity

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Community Heroes

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Walkway Community Centre (Fb) in east Belfast got a new mural back in May, painted by Nathan Calderwood, to thank all of the “community heroes” working during the pandemic. “ea” (on the left) is for Education Authority who sponsored the work.

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Talk To Me With A Message Of Love

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DMC (Dermot McConaghy) appears to have scrubbed his on-line presence but the man himself was in Belfast in September for HTN2020.

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The Belle Of Belfast City

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“Won’t you tell me who is she?” Work by Brazilian-Ballymena-n Ricardo Brandão (ig | Fb) for HTN 2020.

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Step Back In Time

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The old Ballymacarrett station was the last stop before Belfast when travelling from points east such as Holywood and Bangor. On the morning of January 10th, 1945, a faulty signal caused the 7:10 from Bangor to be halted at Ballymacarrett, only for it to be hit from behind by the oncoming 7:40 from Holywood. The steel lead-car of the Holywood train ploughed through the whole of the last carriage’s wooden coachwork and on into the penultimate carriage, causing the death of 22 people and injury to another 27 (WP).

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Blow It Out Your Nose

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Work by KVLR (tw | Fb) and PENZ for HTN 2020 in Kent Street, Belfast. There are images of KVLR and a blurred-out PENZ at work in the HTN 2020 video.

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Portrush Flyer

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The Portrush Flyer is a steam-engine train service operating (since 1973) between Belfast and Portrush on Sundays during the summer months. The mural, in Ards Park, Monkstown, replaces a UFF mural dating back to 2001. Shown is engine ‘No. 85’ (which is just one of the engines that have been used; for images of ‘No. 171’, ‘No. 4’, ‘No. 85’, and ‘No. 131’ dating back to the 1970s, see SteamTrainsIreland) passing under one of the “new” viaducts (for more info, see Geograph). For an image of the mural’s 2019 launch, see Newtownabbey Times.

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The Past Comes Back

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The “Ulster’s Finest” mural in Monkstown was remarkable for its depiction of two female volunteers, carrying Uzis, the only depiction of female loyalist volunteers (see Rolston ‘Women on the walls’ in Crime Media Culture 14.3, 2018, p. 373). It was plastered over, perhaps because the gable is next to Hollybank primary. Some of the pebbledash wore away in January/February to reveal the mural – still in good condition – beneath (Vintage_UVF). For the original mural, see T00230.

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Let’s Have A Ball

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Holly Pereira (web | tw | ig) is an illustrator, muralist, and sign-writer from Dublin who painted a piece in Kent St for HTN 2020.

Previously: Just Because You Feel It, Doesn’t Mean It’s There |

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Rathfern Remembers

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For the centenary of the end of WWI (in November 2018) a small board was added to the UFF’s South East Antrim Brigade mural in Rathfern.

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