Above is the second of three 2013 murals sponsored by Australian groups outside the Republican Museum in Conway Street. This one shows members of the main sponsoring group, Caırde Sınn Féın (Fb).
Previously: Australian Aid
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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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This New Lodge mural shows people on the coast, near abandoned buildings, trying to grow crops during the period of the Great Hunger 1845-1852.
“An tOcras Mór” (a literal translation of “the great hunger/famine”) is usually (in Irish) “An Gorta Mór” or “An Drochshaol”.
The left-most and right-most figures are from Searching For Potatoes In A Stubble Field in the Illustrated London News. ILN images are a staple of Belfast muraling on the Great Hunger: see the Visual History page on the Great Hunger. (Here is a list, with links, of all of the illustrations of Ireland in ILN from the period 1845-1852.)
The two central figures, and the composition of the three women together, come from Millet’s The Gleaners. (Thanks to Jeryn Mayer for this pointer.)
There is a Visual History page on the Hunger in murals.
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A fake shopfront in The Square in Portaferry. There are doors behind the doors and a window behind the array of sweet jars.
Previously: Fake shopfronts Yes, We Are Closed (Dungiven) | Down The Shops (Newtownards Rd) | Semiotics (Newtownards Rd)
Previously: Closed stores Recession in Fivemiletown | Sew What (Crossmaglen)
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Like some of the residents of the Divis area in which this cathedral that bears his name now stands, (Saint) Peter found himself in prison. But the night before his trial, there comes an angel who magically releases his shackles and opens all the doors (Acts 12:3-19). James, on the other hand, is not so fortunate. As a scholar on the WP page notes, why James should die while Peter escapes is a “mystery of divine providence”. Wide shot and info board below.
Another previously-featured scriptural conundrum: Occupy Til I Come (Luke 19:13)
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X01693 X01692 X01694 down & connor catholic gothic french medieval two great towers spires jeremiah ryan mcauley barney hughes scrabo sandstone 1866 sunday 14 october organ in 1883 1885 spires added mortimer thompson total cost 35,900
There are two new pieces on the International Wall on Divis Street. The first is the “Free Leonard Peltier” bookmark-sized piece shown in progress, above, and completed, below. (The second is a 40th anniversary piece concerning the burning of Long Kesh. We will have the finished version of that tomorrow. The two together take the place of the 2007 Guernica mural, which was in bad shape after six and a half years.) The text reads, “An honourable man who has spent 10yrs longer in jail than Nelson Mandela”. Peltier has been in jail since 1977, convicted of killing two FBI agents (WP).
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Maıgh Ard/Moyard and New Barnsley are at no risk of flooding, but this mural clearly shows the locals long to be paddling down the slopes of Black Mountain/Slıabh Dubh in canoes and kayaks .
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A new board has gone up at the junction of the Falls and Glen roads (on the site of the former Andersonstown RUC station) commemorating the death of Pat Finucane (on February 12th, 1989), alleging collusion between the MI5, the UDA, the UDR, and the RUC, and asking for an inquiry.
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X01675 X01674 why no public inquiry time for justice truth MI5 force research unit ulster defence regiment UDA 25 years on collusion cover-up state murder 21st march 1949
“Our youth, out culture, our community, our future”. Above is a new Ross Road mural celebrating gaelic games (football, hurling, and handball) and in particular Michael Davitt’s (green, white, and gold strip) and Sean MacDermott’s (yellow with green stripe) GAA/CLG clubs. The banner on the low wall is bookended by images of St. Peter’s cathedral and the fountain in Dunville Park, which are detailed below.
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X01669 X01665 X01666 óıge na bhfal Falls youth est. 1932 aontroım
A seven-year old Setanta become Cú Chulaınn (Culann’s Hound) after killing the beast by driving a sliotar (the ball used in hurling) down its throat. Detail from a mural in Roumania Rise, off Ross Road. Wide shot of the whole below. The lettering reads “Mol na nóıge agus tıocfaıdh sí [sic]” [as written: praise the young and it [sic] will flourish; usually the phrase is “Mol an óıge …” “praise youth …”]
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Geordie Bell was caretaker at the Short Strand community centre, on the other side of this mural, as well as a trade unionist and republican. A piece of art in the Skainos centre is dedicated to his memory (East Belfast Mission).
On the same wall: Tree-Teapot-Street
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Seosamh Mac Coille Collection 