If I Send Pestilence

Some communities, because of their previous piety, have the ear of the Lord, and need only pray when the Lord sends drought or locusts or pestilence in order to be granted relief (2 Chronicles 7: 14). This mural suggests that the people of Tiger’s Bay are one such people, but that they need to start praying if they want to be freed from the Coronavirus.

Biblical reference on the wall: Rev 18:4 | John 15:13 | Gen 38:28 | Luke 1:31-33 & 2 Sam 7:16

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Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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No One Left Behind

“In this together. No one left behind. Ireland thanks you.” Essential workers – “NHS – Store Workers – Call Centre Workers – Transport Workers – Factory Workers” – have carried on working for the last seven weeks despite the lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Next to The Great Hunger.

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Copyright © 2020 Sabine Troendle (web | Fb)
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Prepared For Work, Ready For Coronavirus

Coronavirus places ordinary people such as health-care workers and employees of essential businesses in extraordinary times. This new Mount Vernon mural thanks NHS staff by depicting them as supermen and -women in disguise.

In the background is Prepared For Peace, Ready For War.

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Location, Location, Location

The lower part of Hogarth Street (in Tiger’s Bay) was demolished almost a decade ago and the 20 new houses are almost completed. The homes are being built by Apex Housing Association, which says that “The houses will be modern, functional and attractive; and with public transport links, community and shopping facilities all on your doorstep, the location of Hogarth Street is ideal.” Not so ideal for taigs, though: In case the painted kerb-stones and Ulster Banners weren’t sufficient to get the message across to any Catholics who were thinking of moving in, the graffiti on the left of the street makes it clear that the area is solidly loyalist. It was washed over in reddish paint a few days later.

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Uniting Catholic, Protestant, and Dissenter

Murals and street art in support of the NHS have been painted on walls all over the province in neighbourhoods on both sides of the religious divide. The chalk drawing above (“NHS Forever”) is in Oceanic Avenue in CNR north Belfast, next to the United Irishmen mural.

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Fish 4 The Bone

The streets in the Bone (or Marrowbone) area were built around the turn of the 20th century but before that the area was on the way to the ‘old park’. The name perhaps comes from the Irish “machaire botháin”, the “cabin field”, possibly in reference to a shepherd’s hut, and certainly nothing to do with punning fish-and-chip shops. Above the shops are pictures of local children, continuing from the Marrowbone Community Association which is out of picture to the left.

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Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Spud U Dislike

“Vote Dodds [Nigel Dodds of the DUP] – Vote Mr. Potato Head – Spud U dislike”. Poster on the Antrim Road from the recent electoral campaign. Dodds lost his Belfast North seat to Sınn Féın’s John Finucane. Jacket potato restaurant Spudulike closed all of its stores in August 2019 (Guardian) but opened again under new ownership in eight locations in October (iNews).

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Copyright © 2019 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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