We travel through time with these three images of Grant’s shop on Bishop Street, Derry. The first above, is labelled “circa 1972” and shows Henry Grant; the second shows children playing marbles in the street in front of Patrick Grant’s shop “circa 1918”, while the third, with a horse and cart, is dated to 1932.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03579 X03580 X03581 X03582
The figure in the centre of the mural above is Peggy O’Hara, mother of INLA hunger striker Patsy O’Hara, who remained active in socialist and republican circles and stood in the assembly elections in 2007 as an independent. She died in 2015 and was given a paramilitary funeral, including a volley of shots fired over the coffin. (For a description, and video, see this Derry Journal article.) The female above Mickey Devine (in the bottom right) is his sister Margaret, from whose house his coffin processed after his death in 1981. (See the plaque in Breaking The Chains.) The girl on the left is pointing towards another mural, a dove of peace. (See Network.)
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2016 Extramural Activity
X03644 X03643 rossville st
Snooker player Alex “Hurricane” Higgins died on this day, July 24th, in 2010. He was inducted into the Snooker Hall of Fame in 2011 as (twice) winner of the World Snooker Championship, UK Championship, and (twice) Masters. Upon winning the 1982 World Championship, an emotional Higgins was joined on the floor by his wife Lynn Avison and (shown above) daughter Lauren.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03538
The ‘over the top’ mural in Ballyclare has been refreshed, compared to the faded lettering of 2014: the list of battles has been restored (in the bottom right) but the large scroll in the centre has been painted over.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03680
The board above, on the Frank Gillen Centre, which is in the nationalist Divis area of the lower Falls, shows the emblems not only of Cliftonville and local team Immaculata, but also the Protestand-supported Glentoran and Linfield. The flags on the building (shown below), for the Euro 2016 championships, likewise include the Northern Ireland banner along with the Irish Tricolour and the flags of the other nations.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03577 X03578 cullingtree rd our divis our youth our future painted by sonnie boyce pierce atherton robert mcateer fra tairnan mcgreevy declan o’neill ricky quinn
A border of Celtic knot-work and the shields of the four provinces has been added to the Ard Eoın Kickhams mural at the top of Havana Way. (For the previous version, see The Heart Of Our Community.)
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03557
In a throw-back to earlier times (the RUC changed to the PSNI in 2001), a volunteer armed with a Kalashnikov greets visitors to the area: “Welcome to the Bogside. IRA. RUC beware.”
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03585 barrack st
“Free Tony Taylor”, “End internment” – identical to the mural in Ardoyne, though without the “Cogús”. On the RNU “notice-board” on Northumberland Street.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X04889
“Cú Chulaınn” is Irish for “Culann’s Hound” after the boy Setanta killed the smith’s hound and promised to take its place until another one was raised. In one version of the legend, Setanta kills the original hound by driving a slıotar (hurley ball) down its throat – hence the hero is shown here holding a camán (hurley stick) rather than a sword. In the original picture on which this mural is based, the hero is not Cú Chulaınn but Jim Fitzpatrick’s vision of Nuada Silverarm and he carries a sword.
On the right hand side, Tuan the hawk/eagle/sea-raven bears witness to all of Irish history.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03632 central drive
Three images of a new mural in the Creggan area of Derry preaching continued “Resistance!” on account of the “unfinished business” of raising the Irish Tricolour and trampling on Britain’s Union Flag and the “unfinished revolution” of 1916’s Easter Rising (reproducing a postcard of the era).
For the modern-day figure on the left, see also 2015’s Resistance board in Ardoyne.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03574 X03573 X03610 central drive
Extramural Activity 