A tiger on the telephone? “From here to there/And there to here/Funny things are everywhere” – a doctrine of Dr. Seuss, from One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. Painted by Lucas Antics (web) in the style of South Asian truck art that was seen at Belfast Mela at the end of August (2021).
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The orange lily began appearing in murals with some frequency in the mid-2000s (with one earlier appearance in Londonderry; compare this to posts with orange lilies at Peter Moloney – Murals and in this collection).
It became part of the logo of the Orange Order in 2007 – see Design Research Group – and there was an attempt to re-brand the Twelfth as “Orangefest” (Irish Times). It is used in this centenary celebration board to make it clear that Northern Ireland was created as a Protestant and unionist state.
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“Talents have been robbed by addiction, suicide, mental illness” – the shoes of the dead form part of an installation on Stewart Street, around the perimeter of the Markets. The RNU banner off to the right contains the numbers for Pieta House, PIPS, Samaritans, Teen Line, Lifeline, and Breathing Space.
“I am here – a son, daughter, father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, partner, lover, cousin, friend, grandfather, family. Why, why, why??? Are you okay? Our love[d] ones. Every day in some small way memories of you come our way. Through [sic] absent you are ever near, still missed, still loved, and ever dear.”
“The families[‘] pain continues!! They continue to struggle in silence: each loss has had a ripple effect throughout our community! Through the travel of time the pain remains the same!!!”
“It’s OK not to be OK – mental health illness is an invisible illness – breathing space – open up when you’re feeling down”
Below the shoes: “Dream big – smile – be thoughtful – respect – caring – love – be you – support – family”
The final image is from the nearby Friendly Street: Believe in yourself – Be kind – Something inside so strong – Positive mental well-being
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Ashling Murphy, the County Offaly schoolteacher who was killed while jogging, was a member of Ceoltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, playing fiddle and concertina (Ceoltas). Her death provoked an outpouring of grief and anger across the island, and beyond, including in the Markets, where she was remembered as a fellow Gael. The verse is a popular one from cards and social media – A silent grief that’s in our hearts, no human eye can trace. For many a broken heart is hidden beneath a smiling face – modified slightly to read “hidden and alone“.
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Ballynafeigh is the neighborhood just across Ormeau bridge, containing Annadale flats and surrounding streets – home to Ormeau Road UDA/UFF and Ballynafeigh Apprentice Boys flute band (Fb). The mural shown above was painted by Daniela Balmaverde (web) with help from local volunteers and presents imagery from non-Western cultures along with slogans on tree-trunks: “Cultural dialogue”, “Celebrate identities”, Shared neighbourhood”, “Community development”, “Tolerance”, and “Respect cultural diversity”. Welcome to Ballynafeigh.
The mural is at the southern Ormeau Road entrance to Ormeau park opposite Candahar Street. The Brigada Ramona Para mural was previously in this spot.
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‘Peace Players’ is an organisation that runs cross-community sporting events, including the basketball “interface league” that Noah Donohoe took part in – he is pictured here wearing his Peace Players shirt. It renamed one of its annual awards as the ‘Noah Donohoe Spirit Award’ (tw). He also played U-14 basketball at Belfast Phoenix (Fb) and the club created a scholarship in his name (Belfast Media).
The mural is at the Shaftesbury rec centre in lower Ormeau.
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Martin O’Neill took Celtic – and about 80,000 fans (ESPN) – to the UEFA Cup in 2003, losing in extra time to FC Porto of Portugal. This mural off Friendly Street in the Markets – which shows the Champions Cup rather than the UEFA Cup – is still rolling in 2022. Peter Moloney took a picture of it in 2006.
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Albion Star (Fb) is a soccer club founded in 2003. It fields youth teams for players ages 5 to 17.
The plaque in the top right corner is to Phil McDonnell of the OIRA and INLA, who died in 2017; Anthony MacIntyre has a profile.
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Carling last sponsored Celtic FC in the 2009-2010 season, which means that the heroes shown in this 2009 mural are another decade in the past. In the apex are Charlie Tully (of Belfast and Glasgow Celtic), Willie Maley (the first manager), Br. Walfrid (founder of the club in 1888), Billy McNeil lifting the European Cup in 1967, Jock Stein (player 1951-1957 and manager 1965-1978), while on the field are former players Henrik Larsson (1997-2004) and Jimmy Johnstone (1962-1965).
In the centre of the image, the team is “doing the huddle”, which is also practiced by Cliftonville.
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“South Belfast – time for truth – exposing collusion – Ormeau Road – ‘Bullets do not only travel distance but also through time'” [Based on a quote by James Kennedy’s father: “The bullets that killed James didn’t just travel in distance, they travelled in time. Some of those bullets never stop travelling.” (Irish Times)]
Police Ombudsman Marie Andersons’s report into various murders and attempted murders in south Belfast was released yesterday (February 7th, 2022) and presented a list of “collusive behaviours” between the RUC and loyalist paramilitaries. Among the incidents investigated was the killing of five people “murdered for their faith” at the Sean Graham bookies’ office on the Ormeau Road in February 5th, 1992; the report found that one of the two UDA gunmen was a Special Branch informant and that a Browning pistol used in the attack had been supplied by the RUC (as had previously been revealed in the 2010 HET Inquiry report) and that records relating to the weapon had been withheld from investigators (Irish Times | Belfast Live). For the 30th anniversary, relatives of the five men killed and of five more who were injured displayed their portraits next to the small memorial garden, which itself was updated to mark the third decade since their deaths: “1992-2022” (Belfast Live).
The plaque on the far left is to Charles Joseph McGrillen, shot by the UDA/UFF in 1988 at his work in Dunne’s on the Annadale embankment (Sutton). Next to the bookies’ parlour is a plaque to Fian Jim Templeton.
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