Saoırse Go Deo

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Saturday will be the 51st anniversary of Michael Devine’s death, the last of the ten strikers to die in the 1981 strike. This mural was painted last year during lockdown for the 50th anniversary.

“Vol Mickey Devine, Derry Brigade, INLA. In memory of Michael Devine “Red Micky” H-Block martyr, died 20th August 1981 after 60 days without food. Remembered with pride by his family, friends and comrades. ‘They have served their British masters, the poor pathetic fools, they think that inhumanity and cruelty can break us, haven’t they learnt anything? It strengthens us, it drives us on for then more than ever we know that our cause is just’ – Micky Devine”

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In Glorious Memory Of Our Fallen

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For a long time (at least 2016-2018) there was an unfinished mural on this wall along Drumhirk Drive in Kilcooley, Bangor. It has been replaced by this UDA North Down Battalion board.

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And In The Blue Corner …

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This is the completed version of the Sunak-Truss mural – including Larry The Cat (ig) – in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter. The two candidates fighting to get through the door to No 10 Downing Street are, in the ‘Leave’ corner, wearing gold gloves, and sponsored by Prada, which is where his expensive loafers came from (Yahoo News) Rishi Sunak, and in the ‘Remain’ corner, wearing Euro gloves, and sponsored by Claire’s, which is where her 4.50 earrings come from (Nadine Dorries’s twitter), Lizz Truss.

“Round 8” above the ring indicates that the Belfast hustings (in the Culloden on Wednesday 17th) for Conservative leader were the eighth in a series of twelve. The News Letter has a blow-by-blow account of the meeting. In classic journalistic style, ITV reported on the hustings from in front of the mural (video).

Painted by Ciaran Gallagher (web) with funding by Willie Jack of the Duke Of York and Harp Bar (Today Post).

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Shared History

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New panels – dubbed the ‘Wall History Project’ – have been added to the previous row of vintage images of the area (the “Peace” Wall Reimaging Project), telling personal stories of life during the Troubles including positive interactions with British soldiers and RUC officers. The “peace” wall in question runs along the top of the Fountain in Londonderry along Bishop Street WIthout. (The street was also “settled’ by the construction of senior citizens’ home, Alexander House.)

“The spoken words scattered across this peace wall are those of local women who have endured the Troubles in the City and continue to live in the shadow of its legacy. It gives a platform to all too long silenced voices, to share real real life experiences, memories and hopes for the future in a divided society. During lockdown, a group of women who have transcended division for years through the Bogside & Brandywell Initiative’s Peace Barriers Programme continued to connect on Thursday evenings via Zoom. The craic was 90, there was laughter, tears, words of encouragement, banter and good old Derry/Londonderry slagging.”

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“This Shared History Panel Initiative was officially launched by Mayor of Derry & Strabane, Councillor Elisha McCallion and Dr Adrian Johnston, Chairman, International Fund for Ireland, 12-12-2015. … This initiative is a symbolic display of what can be achieved when community groups and residents work together.”

For The Fallen

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“They fought together as brothers in arms, they died together and now sleep side by side. To them we owe a solemn obligation. They died that we might live. The Great Wars 1914-1918, 1939-1945 – Admiral Chester W Nimitz”. The central image of this Newtownards homage to the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division and the Australian ‘Rats Of Tobruk’ who held that city against Rommel’s forces in north Africa during WWII is the Tyne-Cot cemetery near Passchendaele, Belgium, the biggest Commonwealth cemetery in the world but named ofter the “Tynside cottages” that the German pill-boxes in the area resembled (WP).

New for the NI centenary are three emblems on the side wall, with (on the left) the Red Hand Comrades Association and (on the right) the Strain-Lightbody Memorial flute band (Fb).

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Incendiary Device

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Irish-language rap group Kneecap (web) played in Falls Park on Friday night, sharing the stage with Imelda May and Damien Dempsey in a concert that Féıle entitled “Irish Voices“, but before that they revealed a mural in Hawthorn Street showing a PSNI land-rover on fire next to the phrase “Níl fáılte roımh an RUC [The RUC is not welcome]”.

Outraged responses to the mural have come from all quarters. The line comes from their song C.E.A.R.T.A. (youtube), about making sure the police don’t find the satirically enormous array of drugs – “cóc, speed, Es, agus moll marıjuana” to name only a few – they hope to take at a party: “Seans ar bıth go bhfaıghıdh sıad mo mhála MD/Mar tá cóısır ann anocht ‘s níl fáılte roımh an RUC”.

The Kneecap party and the middle Falls are the latest in a long line of places where the PSNI is not welcome, not just Ardoyne, Divis, and the Bogside (Derry) but also the Village, the Shankill, Carrickfergus, Millbrook (Larne), the Caw (Londonderry), and Tullyally (Londonderry).

The sticker shows a vintage republican image: see e.g. England Get Out Of Ireland and Stad Maggie Anoıs.

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Stronger Together

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“Suicide awareness and mental health initiative – Larne, stronger together.” With contact information for Extern (web), Lifeline (web), Childline (web), Samaritans (web). Possibly connected to Stronger Together NI (Fb).

For the drugs-awareness board on the left, see Stop Mephedrone Before It Stops You. For the sectarian boards, see The Flax And The Lily and The Loyalty Of Northern Ireland. For the women’s board, see Women Are A Whole Community.

See also the Stronger Together shutters on the Shankill.

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We May Encounter Many Defeats

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“… but we must not be defeated.” Racists graffiti was added to the Maya Angelou mural in Dundela Avenue shortly after it was painted last July (Belfast Live). The repairs got rid of the graffiti and restored the lettering but the face was not restored to its original condition. The mural has remained intact since then and the yellow background provides an ideal surface for the Ukrainian flag and words of support: “We stand with you, Ukraine!” and “Slava Ukraïni – heroyam slava! [Glory to Ukraine – to the heroes, glory!]”

The quote is attributed solely to Angelou and appears to come from her personal writings (Order Out Of Chaos); she died in 2014 (Independent).

Commissioned by David Holmes, designed by Jody Hackett and painted by Glenn Molloy in 2021.

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Bond’s Field

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Although only Bond’s Place now retains the apostrophe, all of the “Bond” placenames in the Waterside (Bond’s Place, Bonds/Bond’s Street and Bonds/Bond’s Hill) are named after the Bond family, one of whom – William – was a United Irishman (Derry Journal). Bond’s Field is the site of the former Ebrington factory – home to Young & Rochesters shirt factory (Smart Tour) – and now part of the Ebrington complex (Scrivener). Four other Ebrington institutions are included in this Ebrington Street mural: Ebrington Primary school (web) which was originally at the end of Roulston Avenue, Ebrington Presbyterian (web), the Waterside branch of the Royal British Legion (Fb), and (in the centre) Pages bakery, which is now the Ebrington Bake House (Fb).

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Fellowship

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“Fuck the IRA” on the wall of Mustardseed Christian Fellowship in Crimea Street, Belfast.

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