Shiner

“Keep the diamond shinning [sic] bright”. The ‘Diamond Project’ is an initiative from Belfast City Council to re-image Lord Street, east Belfast (Belfast Media). Diamonds also feature in Always Keep A Diamond In Your Mind and Shine Bright Diamond Alley

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Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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The Smiling Daughter Of The Storm

The Derry Girls, and the wee fella, James, are now a tourist attraction, thanks to the success of the television show.

It is reported that they have been given masks in support of NHS and essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic (Derry Now).

In Orchard St, London-/Derry, by UVArts (ig).

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Copyright © 2020 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
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Uniting Catholic, Protestant, and Dissenter

Murals and street art in support of the NHS have been painted on walls all over the province in neighbourhoods on both sides of the religious divide. The chalk drawing above (“NHS Forever”) is in Oceanic Avenue in CNR north Belfast, next to the United Irishmen mural.

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Copyright © 2020 Sabine Troendle (web | Fb)
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The Relief Of Derry

The Siege Of Derry began in June 1689 when King James II was rebuffed with cries of “No surrender!” It lasted 105 days, during which about half of the townspeople died. Part of the siege equipment was a boom placed across the River Foyle about halfway between Derry and Culmore. Five ships took part in ending the siege. Shown in this new Tullyally mural (by Glen Molloy) is the Dartmouth, which attacked the shoreline besiegers at Culmore so that three small ships could bring in provisions – the Mountjoy and Phoenix approaching the boom and the Jerusalem hanging back until success was assured. They were accompanied by a longboat from the Swallow, filled with sailors who with “hatchets and cutlasses” were “hewing and hacking away at the boom” (Witherow at Library Ireland) so that it could be broken by Mountjoy.

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Copyright © 2020 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
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Someone To Watch Over Me

The outside of Creggan community centre (managed by the Old Library Trust) has been decorated (by UVArts) with a big “thank you” to “all our workers” – particularly nurses, binmen, and postmen – who have continued providing public services during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Copyright © 2020 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
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Valerie Hobson

Valerie Hobson, star of movies, television, and theatre in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, was born in Larne in 1917 but grew up in and around London. Here she is as (the adult) Estella in the 1946 adaptation of Great Expectations (youtube). Her second marriage was to John Profumo (he of the Profumo Affair) but chose to stay with him. She died in 1998 (Independent obit).

The mural of Hobson is in Point Street, Larne, by Visual Waste (tw | ig).

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Copyright © 2020 Sabine Troendle (web | Fb)
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You’ll Never Walk Alone

The civic spirit of Bedfordshire’s Captain Tom Moore has been celebrated in murals across the UK, including this one by Blaze FX in Clonduff. Moore attempted to raise funds for the NHS by doing laps around his garden with his walker in advance of his hundredth birthday. He originally aimed at raising 1,000 pounds but ended up raising 30 million after the effort went viral.

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Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Thank You NHS

This is Glen Molloy’s (Fb) contribution to the public support for NHS staff during the coronavirus pandemic. The mural is in the Tullyally area of Londonderry, near Altnagelvin hospital.

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Copyright © 2020 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
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The Bullet Catcher’s Apprentice

DJ and remixer Andrew Weatherall died in February. He was most famous for his work on Primal Scream’s Screamadelica album in 1991. The mural above is by Glen Molloy (Fb), who also recently did Prince Of Peace Line. Another mural to Weatherall was painted in Edinburgh by Shona Hardie.

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Copyright © 2020 Sabine Troendle (web | Fb)
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Prepared For Work, Ready For Coronavirus

Coronavirus places ordinary people such as health-care workers and employees of essential businesses in extraordinary times. This new Mount Vernon mural thanks NHS staff by depicting them as supermen and -women in disguise.

In the background is Prepared For Peace, Ready For War.

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Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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