In quick succession to the Easter Rising centenary mural in the same spot, there comes this 32 County Sovereignty Movement mural, with the island of Ireland in green, white, and orange, and (representing prisoners) barbed wire and a candle.
If you’re downtown early in the morning, you might bump into the gents who “clean the streets”, not in the sense of picking up litter but rather in the sense of graffiti (and chewing-gum) removal. They are shown here wiping out “Abortion rights now!” and “Jail the bankers” in Library Street (perhaps from the Workers Solidarity Movement – see the third image, below)
For more information on the removal process, see the first Now You See It.
At the bottom of Divis tower: a wheel of hands from children of different races exhorts residents to overlook differences in skin-tone (“one race, one love, one world”) while the letterbox has been repainted green instead of red.
In preparation for the upcoming marching season, the Young Conquerors Flute Band (Fb) is looking for new members to fill to roles of “drummers, fluters, bass drummers, colour party”. Three posters on the Shankill Road.
“Richard Mussen joined the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (27th foot) at the age of 15. At the outbreak of the Zulu wars he volunteered for active service and was transferred to the Second Battalion The South Wales Borderers (24th foot). At the outbreak of the Great War he joined the 9th Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles and with him went his 4 sons and 2 sons-in-law. His son Richard (junior) was killed at the Somme on Thursday 21st March, 1918 and is remembered at Pozieres Memorial. Richard Mussen was buried from 22 Dundee Street [which was just above Agnes Street] on 29/12/1936 and was accorded full Military Honours. He was laid to rest in Belfast City Cemetery.” (From the plaque shown in image #3, below.)
Here is a short NVTv documentary about Mussen, including (at 12m25s) the image on which the mural shown here is based. The mural was done with spray paint by artist Sam Bates a.k.a. SMUG. It was unveiled on June 24th, 2011.
Three more images from the recent electoral season. Political parties were putting up hoardings and posters everywhere, such as Sınn Féın’s “Vote” ad (next to one for the rock-band Busted on their ‘Pigs Can Fly’ tour) and the DUP’s use of the spectre of a nationalist first minister as a reason to “keep” Arlene Foster and colleagues. Above, however, the watch-word is “stop”: “Want change? Stop vot[i]ng”.
Here is the Hindu goddess Kali, her hair loose, nose pierced, tongue out, a kharga in one hand and the head of a defeated demon in the other. In the corner: “She who is the dark goddess, the immaculate desire. 12/12”. To the right are the hieroglyphic signatures of local writers and TMN crew.
The Northern Ireland football team will be taking part in Euro 2016, which runs from June 10th to July 10th and so includes the centenary of the Battle Of The Somme on July 1st. You can pick up shirts for both events in this Shankill Road store.
As can be seen above and in the two detail shots, below, the words “hope” and “life” are painted into the two sides of the waterfall that runs down the gable wall in the Clandeboye Street community garden in east Belfast beneath swallows and cherry trees. Painted by Friz (Web | Fb | Tw) in 2015. The final shot shows the similar palette of colours in the railings along the Newtownards Road.