“You are the future” is the message from Long Tower Youth & Community Centre (Fb) to young people in the Brandywell. Sporting heroes of the past, especially boxing and soccer (for a mural of local clubs, see I Don’t Like Mondays) are featured in black and white. (Derry Journal article on the mural and its sponsors.)
Verz‘s doberman has its ears fully erect and paying attention to the passers-by in Union Street. This is one of his ‘Dogs On The Street’ series – see previously: Full-Bodied | Psychedelic Dog
The long wall on Newtownards Road, “Freedom Corner”, has been repainted over the past nine months — apparently the protective coating that had been applied to the murals in fact caused the paint to peel; alternatively, police water cannon caused the peeling (Tele) — and the murals were launched with a parade on Easter Saturday (March 26th, 2016). Above is shown the Young Newton UYM mural at the extreme right-hand side of the wall.
Here is an update to a mural featured previously in London-/Derry: The Trooper. British WWI Field-Marshall Douglas Haig’s “backs to the wall” quote originally stood above the image of Iron Maiden’s “Eddie” but this was replaced (when the mural was repainted in 2013 – see M10234) by the red fist and six-pointed star of the UFF on a black border.
A socially-themed mural in east Belfast: On the dark, down, side: (peer-)pressure, crime, consequence, death, illness, breakdown, suicide. On the up, bright, side; education, work, successful, “enable, empower, equip” (the motto of CharterNI)
Arrayed against the forces of the British Army (which are shown in armoured cars and in sniping positions in the foreground of the mural, along the whole length of the wall) are various symbols of Irish nationalism: Oliver Sheppard‘s 1911 statue of Cú Chulaınn dying; the pikemen of the 1798 Rebellion (featured yesterday: Éırí Amach 1798); the four provinces of Ireland; Érıu the mythological queen of Ireland/Éıre as designed by Richard J King/Rísteard Ó Cíonga; Easter lilies; the emblems of Na Fıanna Évreann and Cumann Na mBan on either side of a quote from (The Mainspring) Sean MacDiarmada “We bleed that the nation may live; I die that the nation may live. Damn your concessions, England: we want our country”; a phoenix rising from the flames of the burning Dublin GPO (inspired by Norman Teeling’s 1998 painting The GPO Burns In Dublin); the GPO flying an ‘Irish Republic’ flag; portraits of signatories and other rebels — (left) Padraig H. Pearse, Thomas J Clarke, Eamonn Ceannt, Thomas MacDonagh, (right) Countess Markievicz, James Connolly, Sean MacDiarmada, Thomas Plunkett; the declaration of independence, placed over the advertising box of AA Accountants – see the in-progress shot below. For more work-in-progess images, see yesterday’s post, Éırí Amach 1798. At the very bottom is a quote from the mother of Gerard ‘Mo Chara’ Kelly, Harriet Kelly: “We want the freedom of our country and your soldiers out.”
The pikemen of 1798 go into battle under the flag of the United Irishmen in a detail from a new mural on the Falls Road for the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising. Below are work-in-progress images showing artists Gerard ‘Mo Chara’ Kelly and Bill Bradley.
Immaculata amateur boxing club (Fb) (or simply “The Mac”) in the Lower Falls will celebrate its 70th birthday in May this year. This long mural, painted in 2015 and featuring boxing past and present, is in Servia Street, near the club’s Albert Street home.
Artist emic (Eoin McGinn) left this parting piece on the shutters of LOFT (Belfast Art Studio & Collective web | Fb) which had to leave its 99 North St address in January due to the impending development of the area. Below is the Sonic The Hedgehog piece it replaces (which itself is on top of the re:Store couch.
The Manor Street “peace” line dividing north Belfast’s Lower Oldpark and Cliftonville areas got a facelift in January — the beige was painted over with a sky blue colour. The wide shot, (third image, below,) gives an impression of its height and extent (and this is only the north-south part of the line.) The fourth image is of an old European Union “Urban” mural showing the north Belfast skyline, including Cave Hill (and Napoleon’s Nose) and Belfast Lough. (For more info on Urban II and the mural, see minute 17 onward in this NVTv documentary).
Extramural Activity 