By Wednesday night, the death toll in the “Israel-Hamas War” stood at 1,200 Israelis and 1,100 Palestinians (WP). Israel has been bombing Gaza for the last four days by rocket and from the air and is gathering forces on the border for a possible land invasion (Guardian). Support among Irish republicans is in favour of the Palestinians. In addition to the changes to Free Derry Corner, these “Victory to Hamas” (between Operation Motorman and The Runner) and “Victory to Gaza” graffiti have been painted in the Bogside, Derry.
A rally at Free Derry Corner took place on Tuesday evening to express solidarity with the Palestinians (Derry Now). The wall has been decorated with support for Palestinians. On the left a boy in a tricoloured t-shirt waves a Palestinian flag although at his feet are the words of Bobby Sands: “Our revenge will be the laughter of our children”. On the right, a lark in barbed wire (symbol of political prisoners) sports the colours of Palestine, above “RSYM” [Republican Socialist Youth Movement (Fb)]. The text in the centre draws an analogy between Palestine and Ukraine: “Ukraine vs Russia = Self-defense. Palestine vs. Israel = Terrorism??”
More solidarity rallies are planned in towns around Ireland throughout the week (IPSC) including a white-line picket in Derry on Saturday.
On Saturday morning at about 6:30 local time, Hamas launched thousands of rockets against Israeli targets and then followed this up by breaking out of Gaza by land, air, and sea, and attacking two-dozen or more locations, killing about 700 (including 270 at a music festival near Re’im) and abducting about 100 people. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu declared, “We are at war” and retaliatory air-strikes against Gaza killed more than 400 people. (WP | BBC | France 24 | WaPo)
Gael Force Art took to Slıabh Dubh (Visual History) to place a large Palestinian flag on the mountain (seen in The United Nations and UN 194), and posted a statement in support of the Palestinians on Facebook.
Here is Carrickfergus castle by Dan Kitcherner (ig), painted on a wall in the town centre that had a piece of “RIP GFA protocol” graffiti on it (Street View). The mural is based on the actual scene, though the shopfront marked “castle” is actually Mayur Indian restaurant.
Funded by the International Fund for Ireland’s Peace Impact Programme (BelTel).
The Inniskilling Fusiliers were recruited from the four Ulster counties of Fermanagh, Tyrone, Derry, and Donegal. In WWI, battalions also served in the 4th, 29th, and 10th Divisions, as well as the 109 Brigade of the 36th Division. In WWII (represented here by the Spitfire in pursuit of the Messerschmitt) the Fusiliers served in France, India, and Italy. (Ciroca | Long Trail | WP)
(For a broader history, from the Williamite campaign to modern Afghanistan, see Inniskilling.)
This Tyndale mural appears to have be painted without fanfare in 2022.
According to Housing Executive figures, only 405 social houses were built in 2022-2023, compared to a projected a need of more than 24,000 homes (ITV). Belfast City Council’s ‘Local Development Plan’ has set a quota of 20% social and affordable housing for developers (Inside Housing).
The replacement board – the word “believe” among flowers – is innocuous, but the replacing itself is remarkable, for a number of reasons.
The “Final Salute” board/mural at the top of the Rock (that ‘Believe’ replaces) depicted an iconic scene from the hunger strike period, of the funeral volley being fired over the Sands’s coffin on May 7th (reproducing the photograph seen previously in IRA Final Salute). More than 100,000 people came out onto the streets of west Belfast for the procession and images of the event were beamed to scores of countries by news crews from all corners of the globe which had flocked to west Belfast.
Further, the board has been in place since 2011, put in place for the 30 anniversary of the strike and Sands’s death on May 5th, and it was painted by Lucas Quigley, an IRA volunteer and brother of Jimmy Quigley (see M08864), who died on September 25th, last year (youtube). Being 12 years old, the board was not in good condition. It has been removed and is going to the Ulster Museum for its ‘Troubles And Beyond’ collection.
Finally, as far as its replacement goes, we would not have expected a non-sectarian replacement. This wall has had a CNR mural on it since Beıdh An Bua Agaınn in 1989. Even the USDT piece from 1996 onward featured an Irish dancer and an Irish inscription: “mol an óıge agus tıocfaıdh sí”. In general, we are not aware of any murals or boards depicting the 1981 hunger strike that have been re-imaged.
In this case, the new piece came from the children of John Paul II primary school, using the same style of ‘flower bed’ as at the entrance to the Felons’ Club. The work was funded by a grant from the Housing Executive to the Falls Community Council (Belfast Media) with support from the Resource Centre and USDT.
The task of repainting the wall, including the (painted) green head and orange foot for the previous board — and thus of removing Bobby Sands’s name from the wall — has been delegated to the owner of the building (News Letter). It is possible that something sectarian could be added to the lower space after that.
“Is your private or social landlord failing to finish repairs in your home? Don’t stand alone, stand together – join the Tenants’ Union in Ardoyne. CATU Belfast. beflast@catuireland.org”
CATU – “community action tenants’ union” – was formed in 2019 and its slogan – “we only want the earth” – comes from James Connolly’s poem of the same name.
Extramural Activity 