(Click here to jump to images. Click here to jump to the end.)

Introduction

The International Wall on Divis Street is the southern perimeter of Andrews Flour (marked by a red line to the right of the image below) and this wall continues up Northumberland Street (western perimeter) and around into Beverley Street (northern perimeter) where it is finally interrupted by a gate into the plant; the main gate is on Percy Street, to the east. As can be seen in this image, the Northumberland Street wall is, at 212m compared to 68m, almost three times as long as the Divis Street wall.

Northumberland Street runs between Divis Street and Shankill Road, one of several streets connecting republican and loyalist west Belfast. Before the Troubles, there were many more such streets but they were permanently divided into two by the exceptionally long “peace” line that divides Divis from the lower Shankill and Peter’s Hill, Clonard from the middle Shankill, and Springfield from Woodvale.

On Northumberland Street there are two sets of security gates, built in the 1970s. These gates close in the evening (and – until 2012 – were closed entirely on Sundays) temporarily separating the two areas at night. The increasing use of the street by both local traffic and tourists moving between the Falls and the Shankill explains the increased presence of the murals on the wall, especially in the 2010s.

Despite a few early pieces of cultural or political graffiti (1998, 2002) – fortunately preserved by Tony Crowley at CCDL – and a UFF mural (see below) in Beverley Street which served as a territorial marking, the wall doesn’t develop as a site for murals until 2007, well after the Good Friday Agreement. At the corner with Divis Street there were two large advertising hoardings and a small plastic board for a door company further up Northumberland Street.

Political pieces began appearing just above/to the left of these and eventually the political use of the wall would mean that the door company’s ad disappears (in late 2013 or early 2014) and the large hoardings would be commandeered in 2017. (Several of the images below juxtapose the commercial advertisements with the political mural.)

Like the International Wall, the CNR works on Northumberland Street are a mix of international and local concerns. In addition to international themes, there have typically been spots for the IRSP/INLA and for latter-day republican groups such as éırígí and RNU (as well as, in 2017, IRA Belfast Brigade 2nd battalion D company).

On the PUL side (above the upper gates), a UFF mural on Beverley Street was painted over with street art in 2005, and a ‘Welcome To The Shankill Road’ mural was painted in 2011. Since then, pieces to the British and Israeli armies have been added. At the very top of Northumberland Street, at the junction with the Shankill, there were Protestant Boys flute band murals on both sides of the road; the western corner later became a memorial to painter William Conor.

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Please note: The ordering used in the entries below moves from right to left, that is, from the junction with Divis Street north towards and into Beverley Street.

For individual histories of each part of the wall, please see the map.

References to mural collections in parentheses:
C = Tony Crowley collection at CCDL
D = squire93@hotmail.com collection
J = Jonathan McCormick collection at CAIN
M = Peter Moloney Collection – Murals
T = Paddy Duffy collection
X = Extramural Activity collection

Bold indicates the first listing of a mural.

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1998: Celtic Champions 1998 (C01266) (later RIC Murder Gang)

1998: Free The Loyalist Prisoners Now UVF (X09224) (later Hidden Treasures sigs)

2002: Johnny Adair Your Next (C01265) (later RIC Murder Gang)
Roll Of Shame Scum (C01264) (later IRSP George Dubya Bush War Criminal)

2004: A long UFF 2nd batt C coy mural on Beverley Street probably dating back to the Johnny Adair days (see Visual History 10 and Adair-Era Murals).

2005: The UFF mural is replaced by a piece of street art. (For more, see State Art Vs. Graffiti On The West Belfast “Peace” Line.) The very wide shot (below) shows the street art and artists’ signatures to the left (for a close-up see Google Maps), then a blank space, then the words “Hidden Treasures” with kids’ signatures on the angled wall (for a close-up see Google Maps). “Hidden Treasure” (no plural “s”) is the name of the street art, and the piece was presumably a collaboration between street artists listed (including RASK) and the local kids listed on the angled wall. 

Note that the street sign reads “Beverly Street”; the Ordnance Survey spelling has been “Beverley” for as long as the street has existed.

2007: blank – [electrical box] – blank – ‘Doorways’ ad – End Political Policing – RIC Murder Gang –Belfast Dockers & Carters Strike 1907 – blank – Beatles Liverpool? (C02023) – blank – [lower gates] – blank – [upper gates] – blank

2008-07 (Google Maps): blank – [electrical box] – blank – ‘doorways’ ad – Bill Of Rights (replaces End Political Policing) – RIC Murder Gang – Belfast Dockers & Carters Strike 1907 – IRSP George Dubya Bush War Criminal – blank – Beatles Liverpool? (CCDL) – blank – Belfast Banksy – blank – [lower gates] – blank – [upper gates] – blank

Bill Of Rights

IRSP George Dubya Bush War Criminal

Belfast Banksy (by itself, way up towards the security gates)

2009-09: Peace Day added between the gates (C02020)

2010: blank – [electrical box] – blank – RNU crossed spears + RNU Barry quote + Jef Aérosol Boy (C02031) (below ‘Doorways’ ad) – Bill Of Rights – RIC Murder Gang – Belfast Dockers & Carters Strike 1907 – IRSP plough in stars – IRSP Human Rights – Suicide Sweep Under Carpet – blank – blank – Beatles Liverpool? (C02023) – Have A Party For Peace – blank – blank – Stop The Extradition Of Sean Garland – blank – blank – Belfast Banksy – blank – [lower gates] – Peace Day (C02020) – [upper gates] – blank

Tom Barry quote

IRSP plough in stars

IRSP Human Rights

Suicide Sweep Under Carpet (based on Banksy’s 2006 piece, “Sweep It Under The Carpet”)

Have A Party For Peace

Stop The Extradition Of Sean Garland

2011-03/04 (Google Maps): blank – [electrical box] – RNU Sunburst – End The Maghaberry Strip Searches (below ‘doorways’) – blank (Bill Of Rights frame only) – RIC Murder Gang – Belfast Dockers & Carters Strike 1907 – IRSP plough in stars – IRSP Human Rights – Suicide Sweep Under Carpet – Amnesty/Oil/Amnesty – Pobal (replaces Have A Party For Peace) – Sands Family – Stop The Extradition Of Sean Garland – blank – Belfast Banksy – blank – [lower gates] – Peace Day (C02020) – [upper gates] – blank – Welcome To The Shankill Road – Demand Dignity

RNU Sunburst

End The Maghaberry Strip Searches

2010 Amnesty/Oil/Amnesty

Pobal

Tommy Sands and children

2011 early Welcome to the Shankill Road (there is a separate panel of kids’ signatures out of view to the right)

Demand Dignity (takes the place of the Hidden Treasures kids’ signatures; the artists’ signatures and street continue to exist in Beverley St)

2011-09 (Google Maps; before 09-21 when Imagine was launched, replacing Peace Day): blank – [electrical box] – RNU Sunburst – End The Maghaberry Strip Searches (below ‘doorways’) – blank (“reserved for Maghaberry POWs”) – RIC Murder Gang – Hughes/faces (previously Belfast Dockers & Carters Strike 1907) – IRSP plough in stars – IRSP Human Rights – Suicide Sweep Under Carpet (half gone) – Amnesty/Oil/Amnesty – Pobal – Sands Family – Stop The Extradition Of Sean Garland – blank – Soccer & Hurling – Belfast Banksy – blank – Douglass – [lower gates] – Peace Day (C02020) – [upper gates] – blank – Welcome To The Shankill Road – Demand Dignity

Hughes/faces

Soccer & Hurling

Douglass

2012-05: Political Status For Republican Prisoners – Honour Our Patriot Dead – [electrical box] – … – Climate Change Affects Everyone But Not Equally – …

Honour Our Patriot Dead

Political Status For Republican Prisoners (there was also a small board ‘No PSNI’ to the right of this)

Climate Change Affects Everyone But Not Equally (new space, just above the space for Belfast Banksy/Palestinian-Irish POWs)

2012-09 (Google Maps): No PSNI (no image but see M08768) – Political Status For Republican Prisoners – Britain Out – [electrical box] – RNU Sunburst – End The Maghaberry Strip Searches (below ‘doorways’) – Cogus POWs/Alan Ryan – RIC Murder Gang – Hughes/faces – IRSP plough in stars – IRSP Human Rights – Suicide Under Rug Swept (half gone) – Amnesty/Oil/Amnesty – Pobal – Sands Family – Stop The Extradition Of Sean Garland – blank – Soccer & Hurling (C05532) – Irish-Palestinian POWs (previously Belfast Banksy) – Climate Change Affects Everyone But Not Equally – Douglass – [lower gates] – Imagine – [upper gates] – blank – Welcome To The Shankill Road – Demand Dignity 

Cogus POWs/Alan Ryan

Irish-Palestinian POWs

Imagine

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[We now switch to more precise updating by each mural added across time, with occasional summaries and wide shots]

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2012-10 Workers Party End Sectarianism (previously Sean Garland stencil; the wall is now full all the way up to Climate Change, just short of the bend in the road)

2012-11 Unemployment Poverty Stormont

2012-12: Phoenix b&w (below ‘doorways’, previously End The Maghaberry Strip Searches) and Christmas POWs/Nollaıg Shona (replaces Cogus POWs/Alan Ryan)

2013-02? Union flag stencils above the gates

2013-03 Mandela 95th (previously RIC Murder Gang)

2013-05 Anti-fascism Bodenstown

2013-06: éırígí/Stephen Murney/Larkin – [ONH stencil on electrical box] – RNU sunburst repaint

2013-08-08: éırígí/blank/Larkin – [ONH stencil on electrical box] – RNU sunburst repaint – Phoenix b&w – When The War Is Over Óglaıgh quote (replaces Christmas POWs/Nollaıg Shona) – Mandela 95th – Hughes/faces – IRSP plough in stars – Anti-fascism Bodenstown – Amnesty/oil/Amnesty – Pobal – Sands family – blank (bookmark) – Workers Party End Sectarianism – Soccer & Hurling (C05532) – Irish-Palestinian POWs – Climate Change Affects Everyone But Not Equally – blank – O’Neill/Beattie bookmark plaque – Douglass – [lower gates] – Imagine – [upper gates] – blank – Union flag stencils – signatures/Welcome to the Shankill Road – Demand Dignity

“When The War Is Over” Óglaıgh quote

O’Neill/Beattie bookmark plaque

There is now only one significant blank space remaining below the gates, above Climate Change. The two images directly below show the wall from Divis St and from the bend.

2013-12-28: éırígí/Free Stephen Murney on white/Larkin – [electrical box] – RNU sunburst repaint – Phoenix b&w + McKevitt – When The War Is Over Óglaıgh quote – Mandela 95th – Hughes/faces – IRSP plough in stars – Anti-fascism Bodenstown – Amnesty/La Historia Es Nuestra/Amnesty – Pobal – Sands family – blank (bookmark) – Workers Party – Unite For Jobs – Irish-Palestinian POWs – Climate Change Affects Everyone But Not Equally – “Reserved”  – O’Neill/Beattie bookmark plaque – Douglass – [lower gates] – Imagine – [upper gates] – blank – Union flag stencils – signatures/Welcome to the Shankill – Demand Dignity

Free Stephen Murney on white
(no image?)

‘Doorways’ board is removed and replaced initially with a Michael McKevitt tarp.

La Historia Es Nuestra replaces Oil in Amnesty/Oil/Amnesty

Unite For Jobs replaces Soccer & Hurling

“Reserved”

The three images below show Northumberland Street up as far as the Douglass mural at the turn before the lower security gate.

2014-04? Three changes here, compared to 2013-12: The upper space (previously McKevitt tarp) has been painted over and ‘The only secure community …’ painted;  the Óglaıgh quote in the bottom left has been replaced with a box that will be changed frequently – its first instantiation is for RNU candidate Tommy Doherty, standing “in the forthcoming elections in May”; the phoenix has been coloured in.)

2014-04 Douglass/John Lewis (added over Rosie The Riveter in bottom left corner

2014-06? Fallen INLA Comrades (replaces what the middle of Support RS Prisoners, with the final third eventually becoming Gaza/IRSP, below)

2014-06? Freedom For Öcalan

2014-06-28 Here is a shot of the lower/right-hand portion of Northumberland Street (but not the corner with Divis St) in late June, showing the three recent changes listed just above: just inside the vanishing point is the Öcalan mural, centre-left is the INLA ‘fallen comrades’ mural, and extreme-right is the Tommy Doherty election mural and coloured phoenix. The ‘Tommy Doherty’ space within the larger RNU panel will be changed frequently

2014-07? Free Gaza/Éırígí

2014-08? Gaza/IRSP

2014-08? The Popular Front (was Tommy Doherty)

2014-10-27: Free Gaza/éırígí – Cuts/Larkin – [electrical box] – RNU (just the letters, no sunburst) – Phoenix colour + The Only Secure Community Is An Organised One (‘doorways’ is gone by 2014-05) +  The Popular Front – Mandela 95th – Hughes/faces – Gaza/IRSP – Fallen INLA Comrades – Anti-fascism Bodenstown – Amnesty/La Historia Es Nuestra/Amnesty – Pobal – Freedom For Öcalan – Workers Party End Sectarianism – Unite For Jobs – Irish-Palestinian POWs – Climate Change Affects Everyone But Not Equally – Bytes Project – O’Neill/Beattie bookmark plaque – Douglass (John Lewis) – [lower gates] – Imagine – [upper gates] – blank – Union flag stencils – signatures/Welcome to the Shankill – Demand Dignity

Cuts

Bytes Project

2014-10 Three images (going up only as far as the lower security gate).

Right …

… middle …

… and top.

2015-03? No War But The Class War (was Gaza/IRSP)

2015-04 Free Leonard Peltier in the RNU Phoenix/Organised Community (was The Popular Front)

2015-05? Patterson Godfather Of The Israeli Army replaces Demand Dignity

2015-07 Britain’s Torture In Prisons in the RNU Phoenix/Organised Community (was Peltier)

2015-09? Battle Of Britain is added to the blank spot on Beverley St (the Hidden Treasures artists’ signatures and street continue to exist in Beverley St)

2015-09 Free Stephen Kaczynski (was Torture In Prisons)

2015-10 They Haven’t Gone Away

2015-12? Reclaim The Republic/éırígí/Poblacht na hÉıreann

2016-03? To Protect And Serve (was No War But The Class War)

2016-03? End Forced Isolation (was Kaczynski)

2016-06: Reclaim The Republic/éırígí – Poblacht na hÉıreann [electrical box] – RNU (just the letters, no sunburst) – Phoenix colour + The Only Secure Community Is An Organised One + End Forced Isolation – Mandela 95th – Hughes/faces – To Protect And Serve – Fallen INLA Comrades – Anti-fascism Bodenstown – Amnesty/La Historia Es Nuestra/Amnesty – Pobal – Freedom For Öcalan – Workers Party End Sectarianism – Build Homes Now – remains of Unite For Jobs – Irish-Palestinian POWs – Climate Change Affects Everyone But Not Equally – Bytes Project – O’Neill/Beattie bookmark plaque – Douglass – [lower gates] – Imagine – [upper gates] – blank – Union flag stencils – signatures/Welcome to the Shankill Road – Demand Dignity – They Haven’t Gone Away (bookmark) – Patterson Godfather Of The Israeli Army

2016-06 Build Homes Now

2016-06 Orlando replaces RNU

2016-10? Free Tony Taylor (same as the one in Ardoyne) is placed left of the phoenix (was End Forced Isolation) and Organised Community is removed.

2016-12 Fidel Castro replaces Demand (Dignity)

2017-03 XXXVI replaces They Haven’t Gone Away + (part of) Welcome To The Shankill Road

2017-05 part of Unite For Jobs is marked ‘Reserved – Official Republican Movement’ …

… and then (in 06?) becomes Battle Of The Falls

2017-06 Tamil Eelam replaces Dignity (Amnesty)

2017-06 Kitchener’s Own replaces lower part of Welcome To The Shankill Road

2017-08? Embrace Change Together replaces part of the oil mural between the Amnesty panels

2017-08 Patterson is burnt and a board appears above asking Where Is The Reconciliation? The damaged panels would soon be reprinted (by 2018-05).

2017-08 and 09: The advertising hoarding on the Fall corner is painted out and “Do not touch” written; later a smallish banner of D Coy in 1921 is added

2017-09 and 10 Chuckle Babies added below Imagine …

… then covered over in posters for ‘No Walls’, then posters (partly) torn off

2017-10 Aung San Suu Kui is Xed out in the Douglass mural

2017-11 Free The Innocent above the Phoenix

2017-11 IRNC

Image from early December, 2017 of Divis Street and part of Northumberland Street. The Orlando mural is left of the electrical box and the small D Coy tarp acts as a placeholder for things to come on the advertising hoarding.

2018-03 Global Commodity is added just above Imagine, filling the space between the gates.

2018-04 The small D Coy tarp becomes the large Our Struggle Continues

2018-05 Beır Bua is added below the hoarding and left of the electrical box

It is soon replaced by a Cogús fist and barbed wire (see 2018-10 wide shot, below).

2018-06 LHS side of RNU spot becomes RNU Stands With Palestine

2018-09 Corner area below hoarding whitewashed plus RSYM and IRSP stencils. The small Cogús fist to the left of the lec box would be moved left under the RNU letters in 2020.

2018-05 and 10 An IRPC board (X04908) is added between Fidel and Embrace Change Together.
In October, a “Free Niall Lehd” board is added on top.

2018-10 Peace/Mental Health – a collage of children’s drawings on the theme of mental health
(replaces the very faded Union Flags)

2018-10 Wide shots (up to Douglass)

Hoarding: Our Struggle Continues Below: RSYM and IRSP stencils [electrical box] – small Cogús fist – Phoenix colour + Free The Innocent – RNU Stands With Palestine – Mandela 95th – Hughes/faces – To Protect And Serve – Fallen INLA Comrades – Anti-fascism Bodenstown – Tamil Eelam – IRNC – Embrace Change Together – IRPC/Niall Lehd – Fidel Castro – Pobal – Freedom For Öcalan – Workers Party End Sectarianism – Build Homes Now – Battle Of The Falls – Irish-Palestinian POWs – Climate Change Affects Everyone But Not Equally – Bytes Project – O’Neill/Beattie bookmark plaque – Douglass – [lower gates] – Chuckle Babies – Imagine – Global Commodity – [upper gates] – Peace/Mental Health – blank – Kitchener’s Own – XXXVI – Patterson Godfather Of The Israeli Army – Battle Of Britain – Hidden Treasure

2018-11 For the centenary of Armistice Day, Polish insignia were added to Battle Of Britain in Beverley Street (the Hidden Treasures artists’ signatures continue to exist to the left of this piece)

2019-05 up to Douglass

Hoardings: Our Struggle Continues – Below hoardings: Lasaır Dheag “Our mandate” – [electrical box] – small Cogús fist – Phoenix colour + Free The Innocent – RNU Stands With Palestine – Mandela 95th – Hughes/faces – To Protect And Serve – Fallen INLA Comrades – Anti-fascism Bodenstown – Tamil Eelam – IRNC – Embrace Change Together – IRPC/Niall Lehd – Fidel Castro – Pobal – Freedom For Öcalan – Workers Party End Sectarianism – Build Homes Now – Battle Of The Falls – Irish-Palestinian POWs – Climate Change Affects Everyone But Not Equally – Bytes Project – O’Neill/Beattie bookmark plaque – Douglass – [lower gates] …

2019-06 Trump Welcome below Imagine

2019-07 Victory To Isreal [sic] below Imagine

2019-07 Pinky And The Brain (replaces Chuckle Babies)

2019-10 Is This Our City? (replaces Build Homes Now)

2019-10 United’s Big Lily (replaces Pinky And The Brain)

2020-02 Mental Health Matters (replaces Workers Party End Sectarianism)

2020-02 Printed version of Fallen INLA Comrades (moved to the right, replaces To Protect And Serve)

2020-09 Stop The Extradition Of Liam Campbell next to Fallen INLA Comrades (takes old place of Fallen Comrades)

2020-09 We Will Rise Again below D Coy hoarding

2020-09 Extensions to Imagine block out Global Commodity, the space below for graffiti, and United’s Big Lily

2020-09
Hoardings: Our Struggle Continues – Below hoardings: Lasaır Dheag “We Will Rise” – [electrical box] – NHS – RNU + small Cogús fist – Phoenix colour + Free The Innocent – RNU Stands With Palestine – Mandela 95th – Hughes/faces – To Protect And Serve – Five Fallen INLA Comrades – Liam Campbell – Anti-fascism Bodenstown – Tamil Eelam – IRNC + Support The Palestinians – Embrace Change Together – IRPC/Liam Campbell – Fidel Castro – Pobal – Freedom For Öcalan – Mental Health Matters – Is This Our City? – Battle Of The Falls – Irish-Palestinian POWs – Climate Change Affects Everyone But Not Equally – Bytes Project – O’Neill/Beattie bookmark plaque – Douglass – [lower gates] Imagine extended – Peace/Mental Health – blank – Kitchener’s Own – XXXVI – Patterson Godfather Of The Israeli Army – Battle Of Britain – Hidden Treasure

On the CNR part of the wall, three minor changes to note:

The small Cogús board moves left, under “RNU”, and its spot is taken by NHS (in the middle of this image)

A small ‘Support The Palestinians’ board is added below IRNC (on the right of this image) and a Liam Campbell tarp is added above IRPC (middle of this image)

And two images covering most of the PUL part of the wall:

Peace/Mental Health and “5G kills you” (X07581) graffiti in the blank spot where the signatures and right-most part of Welcome To The Shankill Road used to be.

Kitchener – XXXVI – Patterson – [Battle Of Britain – Hidden Treasure out of shot to the left]

2021-04 quote inserted in Build Homes Now

2021-06 Socialist, Secular, Anti-Sectarian (replaces Mental Health Matters)

Deserted! Well – We Can Stand Alone (in the only remaining blank space)

2021-08 John 3:16 quote added in no-man’s land

2021-09 on Beverley St: Faces Of Death (replaces part of Hidden Treasure)

2021-11 Community Rescue Service (replaces Fidel)

2022-01
Hoardings: Our Struggle Continues – Below hoardings: Lasaır Dheag “We Will Rise” – [electrical box] – NHS – RNU + small Cogús fist – Phoenix colour + Free The Innocent – RNU Stands With Palestine – Mandela 95th – Hughes/faces – Five Fallen INLA Comrades – Liam Campbell – Anti-fascism Bodenstown – Tamil Eelam – IRNC + Support The Palestinians – Embrace Change Together – IRPC/Liam Campbell – Community Rescue Service – Pobal – Freedom For Öcalan – Workers Party – Is This Our City? (with quote) – Battle Of The Falls – Irish-Palestinian POWs – Climate Change Affects Everyone But Not Equally – Bytes Project – O’Neill/Beattie bookmark plaque – Douglass – [lower gates] John 3:16 – Imagine extended – Peace/Mental Health – Deserted! Well, We Can Stand Alone – Kitchener’s Own – XXXVI – Patterson Godfather Of The Israeli Army – Battle Of Britain – WWI Faces

2022-11 Key48 Belfast (replaces IRNC)

2023-04 A trio of boards (Arthur Guinness – Gusty Spence – Welcome To The Shankill Road) cover over the “Deserted!” graffiti and mostly fill in the last spot on Northumberland Street.

2023-05 ICA-INLA (replaces Liam Campbell)

2023-06 Liam Campbell is removed from the top of the IRPC board.

2023-07 New JFTC2 added to RNU spot

2023-07-30 line-up
Hoardings: Our Struggle Continues – Below hoardings: Lasaır Dheag “We Will Rise” – [electrical box] – NHS – RNU + small Cogús fist – Phoenix colour + No Lie Big Enough – RNU Stands With Palestine – Mandela 95th – Hughes/faces – Five Fallen INLA Comrades – Liam Campbell – Anti-fascism Bodenstown – Tamil Eelam – IRNC + Support The Palestinians – Wings (in progress) – IRPC – Community Rescue Service – Pobal – Freedom For Öcalan – Workers Party – Is This Our City? (with quote) – Battle Of The Falls – Irish-Palestinian POWs – Climate Change Affects Everyone But Not Equally – Bytes Project – O’Neill/Beattie bookmark plaque – Douglass – [lower gates] John 3:16 – Imagine extended – Peace/Mental Health – Deserted! Well, We Can Stand Alone – Kitchener’s Own – XXXVI – Patterson Godfather Of The Israeli Army – Battle Of Britain – WWI Faces

2023-08 Wings (replaces Embrace Change)

2024-04 RNU Stands With Palestine

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Reference letters for mural collections.

M = Peter Moloney Collection – Murals
T = Paddy Duffy Collection
X = Extramural Activity

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Copyright © 2017-2024 Extramural Activity CIC. Images are copyright of their respective photographers.

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