Ian Jong-un

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2015-02-05 KimJongPaisley+

Here are two shots of the mash-up which has appeared in various city-centre locations, of Ian Paisley Jr’s visage superimposed on the bust of Kim Jong-Un. The first (above) is at the junction of Corporation St and Dunbar Link; the second (below) is in Hill Street, and is pasted over the torn remains of the previous generation of Paisley paste-up: Ian senior with a face filled in with the harp-side of pre-Euro Irish coins (see TLO’s “Doctored Paisley” web-site). For other versions of last year’s Paisley posters, see: Three Studies Of Ian Paisley | Demonizing Paisley

2015-02-09 KimJongPaisleyHill+

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Fifty Shades Of Belfast

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2015-02-07 UpstairsMidCrop+

Jamie Dornan (from Holywood) and Gillian Anderson are stars of the BBC series The Fall. He plays a serial-killer terrorizing Belfast and she the detective leading the investigation. Anderson is not shown here as she appears in The Fall, but in the style of Fifty Shades OfGrey, the BDSM-explicit novel by E. L. James, which has now been made into a movie, starring Dornan. It goes on general release tomorrow, Valentine’s Day, February 14th.

The panel above is one of a dozen from the new “upstairs” part of the Belfast Windows piece by Ciaran Gallagher (web) in the courtyard of the Dark Horse/Duke Of York. As Ciaran himself warns on his Facebook page, the “upstairs” material is adult and “not for the faint-hearted”. Below you can see the middle quartet: in the attic, a semi-nude woman behind bars with a menacing face in the background; on the left, Romper Room is on the TV and the skinhead sports a Mr. Do-Bee tattoo, but this is a UDA romper room, not kid’s playtime: two hoods take baseball bats to a victim; and in the middle, a pot-smoking policeman (in RUC/early-PSNI uniform) stands under the grow-lights of a cannabis factory.

For the “downstairs” part of the work, see Belfast, You’re Melting My Head | Belfast Stripped Bare.

2015-02-07 UpstairsMid+

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Glenfield Community Association

Extramural Activity1 Comment
2015-02-11 JoinTheUDAFull+

The 2010 work of Jade, Andi, Katie, Leigh, Ellen, Lyndsay, Shannon, and Hannah on the substation at the top of the Glenfield estate’s Oakfield Road has been replaced this week by a new UDA mural sporting a hooded gunman facing the viewer with a slogan borrowed from Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata: “Better to die on your feet than live on your knees in an Irish republic. Join the UDA.”. The two wide shots below allow you to compare the scene this week with last week.

The mural has been criticized by both DUP and Alliance councillors (Newsletter). The final words – Join the UDA – have drawn particular ire, as in other respects it is similar to other murals in featuring hooded gunmen, such as these two other Carrickfergus murals: Inclusion | Eternal Vigilance. 

Nolan Show discussion of the mural on 2015-02-11: Part 1 | Part 2

2015-02-11 JoinTheUDA+

2015-02-11 JoinTheUDAWide+

2015-02-06 GlenfieldBurglars+

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X02515 X02514 X02516 X02503 quis separabit uff burglars beware UDA

The Flag That’s Never Furled

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2014-08-25 BallyduffMemorial+

Translations of Psalm 60.4 vary, but it is something like “You (the Lord) have given those who fear you a banner so that they will not flee before your arrows”, which might work quite well alongside a Union jack. But in fact, only one source claims the poetic lines on the side of this Ballyduff electrical sub-station come from Psalm 60.4; they are rather the first stanza of a 1902 poem (earliest found mention), The Union Jack, by Edward Shirley, in Little Poems For Little People: 

‘Tis thy flag and my flag, the best of flags on earth;

Oh, cherish it my children, for ’tis yours by right of birth.

Your fathers fought, your fathers died, to rear it to the skies;

And we like them will never yield, but keep it flying high.

For the other three sides of the structure see Absent Friends | The Ultimate Sacrifice. For the mural in the distance (of the wide shot, below), see 1st East Antrim Ballyduff

2014-08-25 BallyduffMemorialWide+

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X02110 X02113 at the going down of the sun 1914 1918 uvf ycv rir ulster volunteer force young citizen royal irish rifles so cherish it my children it’s yours by right of birth to raise it to the skies must never yield john stewart

Eternal Vigilance

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2015-01-23 EternalVigilenceFull+

“Audemus jura nostra defendere – We dare to defend our rights”. The UDA/UFF/UYM/LPA mural above shows hooded gunmen standing either side of a view of Carrickfergus castle. The phrase “The price of peace is eternal vigilance” is associated with British politician Leonard Courtney (who also said “Lies – damned lies – and statistics) though it probably goes further back. As can be seen from the second image, the mural watches over Woodlawn primary school. The third image shows the memorial garden off to the right-hand side; the plaque is shown fourth: “This memorial is dedicated to the memory of the officers and members of our organisation who were murdered by the enemies of Ulster and to those who paid the supreme sacrifice whilst on active service during the present conflict. Quis separabit.”

For the previous mural (Ulster’s Call 1893 – Boer War), see Murals Irlande du Nord.

2015-01-23 EternalVigilenceSchool+

2015-01-23 EternalVigilenceWide+

2015-01-23 EternalVigilencePlaque+

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X02481 X02483 X02484 X02482 the price of freedom south east antrim none shall divide us ulster defence association ulster freedom fighters feriens tego ulster young militants filius terrae

Alive & Well

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2015-01-31 RockmoreCogus+

“Attempted criminalisation of republican prisoners is alive and well”: Above is a new board erected 2015-01-23 by Republican Network For Unity (RNU)’s Cogús committee in support of “Republican prisoner welfare and support”: “End controlled movement, forced strip searches now.” On the opposite corner, the Rock Bar advertises the Celtic v Rangers League Cup match last Sunday February 1st.

2015-01-31 RockmoreCogusWide+

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X02491 X02492 attempted criminalisation of republican prisoners is alive and well bóthar na bhfál rebel sunday 1888 liam mcshane csc irish brigade bik mcfarlane gerry óg mairtin o’huigin damien quinn carling bud vodka energy walking dead

Maghaberry

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2014-10-09 StrandMaghaberryPOWs+

Maghaberry Prison’s Roe House, home to about 50 republican prisoners, was this past week the scene of a stand-off with prison guards, as 30 (BelTel) or 40 (BBC) inmates refused to enter their cells. There was also a protest outside the jail and a bomb-threat on Tuesday (U.tv).

The mural above is on the Mountpottinger Road wall in east Belfast’s Short Strand.

2014-10-15 MountpottingerWide+

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Strip Mining

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2014-12-25 CopperRemoved+

Vacant houses are targets for thieves stealing copper tanks, pipes, and wiring, which they sell to unscrupulous scrap-metal dealers. In one case, the theft caused a gas leak which resulted in houses being evacuated (BelTel). The Housing Executive now removes the copper from empty residences and replaces it when the resident moves in, at a cost of about £3,000 (BBC-NI).

“Warning: Copper tanks and pipes have been removed from this property. Keep out. This property is being monitored for unlawful activity.”

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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Art Is A Hammer With Which To Shape Reality

Extramural Activity1 Comment
2014-12-18 DMCJMKShoreRd+

Arts For All (Fb | Web) is a community arts organization in north Belfast, sponsoring workshops and events, giving space to artists-in-residence, and putting on exhibits in its John Luke Gallery. The image above is of the mural on the side of their own building on the York Road, painted in 2012 by JMK (Jonny McKerr) and DMC (Dermot McConaghy) – their signatures can be seen on the brickwork at the right. Arts For All were also one of the sponsors of the recent WWI mural by Jonny in Tigers Bay: The Undertaker | The Home Front.

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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Bytes

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2014-09-06 Bytes+

The final spot on Northumberland Street (see previously: Reserved) was taken in September by this mural for Youth In Motion’s ‘Bytes’ project, which seeks to build basic skills and assist job-seekers (Fb | Web (YIM) | Web (Bytes)).

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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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