Right Of Return

DUP leader Gavin Robinson posed in front of the original graffiti reading “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” outside the Royal (see Stop Israeli Terror, from October 2023) in order to draw attention to its continued presence, despite a complaint had been made that it was anti-Semitic (BBC). Immediately upon its obliteration this past week (November 2024), a condemnation of the DUP appeared (above and below), and shortly afterward the slogan was restored, though without the Palestinian flag (see wide shot below).

“LD” is (presumably) Lasair Dhearg (web)

Falls Road, west Belfast

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Copyright © 2024 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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The Memory Of Our Dead

“Beır bua – It is the responsibility of the living to keep alive the memory of the dead.” This is the second ‘Working Class Heroes’ piece in Ballymurphy. The other, from 2014, features Tommy “Toddler” Tolan, who appears here to the left of the phoenix.

The plaque on the right reads “This mural was unveiled by Johnny Doc and Maureen Tolan, 5th November, 2023.” There is video of the launch on Facebook, which contains a reading of the names of all the people pictured from the 1m 57s mark onwards.

Glenalina Crescent, Ballymurphy, west Belfast

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Saoırse Don Phalaıstín

Saoırse don Phalaıstín [Freedom for Palestine]. On August 9th, 2024, Irish-language rappers Kneecap launched a third mural in Hawthorn Street/Sráıd Na Sceıthe, (joining Incendiary Device and England Get Out Of Ireland,) which blows up a sticker seen on a nearby street-sign (seen previously in Land Grab) into a mural and which imitates the version from England Get Out Of Ireland which shows Britain grabbing a piece of Ireland.

For images from the launch, see the Paddy Duffy collection.

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Free As A Bird

The Guinness toucans – invented in the 1930s by John Gilroy (Collectors’ Weekly | Guinness Project) – balance pints of “Guinness 0.0” on their beaks as they fly over Clonard Monastery and the houses and shops along the Springfield Road, including (in white) Dan’s Bar (Fb), which is the site of this large poster (on its Cupar Street side).

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Dark Dreamer

The info plaque next to this new piece of street art in north Belfast reads: “The Dark Dreamer – The Silkie mural by Loretta Lizzio is a recreation of the oil painting “Dark Dreamer” by world-famous Irish artist Patrick Jones who lived here in the family home.”

Patrick J. Jones (web) grew up in Belfast before leaving for London, England, in 1984 and Brisbane, Australia, in 1997. Lizzio, (web), who is also from Australia, reproduced Jones’s original (Fb) on the side of the Stax coffee-shop on the Cliftonville Road, renaming it ‘The Silkie’, though it depicts a mermaid rather than one of the seal-folk; compare with KMG’s interpretation of the Selkie myth in the city centre.

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The INLA

Commemorations of the INLA’s fiftieth anniversary have so far been limited to graffiti – see Saoırse Go Deo in Derry and Let The Fight Go On in Belfast – but here we have two deliberately painted panels in the Bogside (specifically Meenan Square) (one replacing The Way We Were).

“Irish National Liberation Army, Derry brigade. This mural is dedicated to the women and men who gave their lives in the struggle for national liberation and socialism. Erected by the James Connolly Memorial flute band.”

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Copyright © 2024 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
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