This republican mural in Glenwood shows a funeral party firing a volley of shots over a tricolour-draped coffin containing one of the ten hunger-strikers of 1981: Bobby Sands, Francis Hughes, Raymond McCreesh, Patsy O’Hara, Joe McDonnell, Martin Hurson, Kevin Lynch, Kieran Doherty, Tom McElwee, Mickey Devine. The H-blocks of Long Kesh are in the background.
2015 repainting of a 2001 mural.
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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Last Saturday (2014-11-08) saw the launch of a new mural in Ballymurphy Crescent, celebrating local IRA volunteers and community workers.
The doves at the top of the mural are in the style of Robert Ballagh’s “Legacy Of The Hunger Strikes” though there are 12 doves here rather than 10. Marty Lyons holds a copy of Ballagh’s piece in an image below, along with an image on which the halberd and pistol around the beret and gloves in the bottom of the mural are based – the rifles of the original are absent. (Possibly by Patrick Magee, the Brighton bomber (WP) – please confirm by e-mail or comment.)
Left-hand portraits (counter-clockwise from top): Eileen Gray, Margaret Campbell, Annie Adams, Kathleen Moore, Lizzie McGivern, Joe Reid, Rosaleen Russell, Mary Armstrong, Agnes Robinson, Eileen Reid.
Standing (l-r): Fra Toner, Gerry Campbell, Liam Mulholland, Paddy Tier, Sean Connolly, Michael Kane, Liam McParland, Sean Doyle, Cllr. Sean Keenan, Pat McGeown.
Squatting/Kneeling (l-r): Jim McGrillen, Francis Toner, Jr., Jimmy Duffy, Tony McAlister, Billy Carson, Cormac McArt.
The main figure is (and remains from the previous mural) Tommy “Toddler” Tolan, who escaped from the Maidstone in 1972 and served time in the cages at Long Kesh. (See Lost Lives entry #1956 and An Phoblacht.) In the original (2001) version of the ‘Safe House’ mural, he was dressed in fatigues (image at CAIN), but this was changed within 18 months to a brown suit (Safe House | CAIN), similar to the way he is portrayed here.
The mural took some time to complete — the fifth image, below, shows one of the artists on a scaffold with #stoptorycuts on Slıabh Dubh in mid-October — partly because more and more figures were added.
Update 2014-11-26: In an unusual move, the launch of the mural was advertised by a board (rather than flyers), in this case at Dorothy Maguire Corner on the Whiterock Road – see the final image, below.
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X02348 X02401 X02349 X02290 X02287 X02288 X02289 X02403 the mural was unveiled by johnny doc 8th november 2014 remember our volunteers committee an trá ghearr abú
Approximately 10 million military personnel and 7 million civilians died in WWI, with massive losses coming in August-September-October of 1914, as German forces invaded Belgium and northern France, before being stopped at the Marne and entrenching at the Aisne; both sides then attempted to out-flank one another in a “race to the sea” (WP – Invasion | WP – Casualties). The dead of those first months – including German forces (see third image, below) – are commemorated in a new monument, a granite stone with six sides, like a rock from the Giant’s Causeway, in Woodvale Park (BelTel | NewsLetter). A searchable database of 10,000 Irish soldiers who died in Belgium is now available at the In Flanders Fields Project.
Video of the launch on 2014-10-17
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X02337 X02338 X02339 the great war we shall not see them lit again in our time sir edward grey british expeditionary force 1914 lost generation armée française generation perdue mons 23 august le cateau 26 august marne 5 september aisne 13 spetember yser 17 october ypres 19 october kaiserliche deutsche armee gott mit uns verlorene generation belgish leger verloren generatie angel of mons belfast city coat of arms
Yesterday’s symbolic vote on Catalonian independence (for more background see Votes About Votes) showed 81% in favour of separation from Spain. Here are three shots of the encouragement on Slıabh Dubh (Black Mountain), the second with the Ballymurphy Easter Rising mural in the foreground, the third with the wall of superheroes in Slıabh Dubh estate (see Wallbusters | The Walls, Unbroken | Red-Eye | Cartoon World).
Previous messages on the mountain can be seen on its Visual History page.
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This new piece in Tiger’s Bay illustrates various kinds of ‘Wartime Work’.
The central image of soldiers at the battle of the Somme is surrounded by images of various occupations: shipyard workers and miners perhaps, along with women welding, carrying coke and nursing. It’s not clear what the “fair wartime wage” refers to: there was a general strike at the shipyards in 1919 (The Great Unrest | Workers’ Liberty). The original Somme photograph is widely known – it was also reproduced in the Bangor mural to Sir Edward Bingham; the nurse is apparently the Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia – WP. The woman carrying a sack of coke is from the Imperial War Museum’s collection.
The image above is from after the main wall was completed; the second image, below, shows the lower wall also. The lower wall is intended to be full, but painting has ceased indefinitely. The third image below shows the red, white, and blue kerb-stones, with the H&W cranes in the distance. The artist Jonny McKerr is shown at work. Another in-progress shot can be found at Arts For All. Last year McKerr did a similarly-styled piece on The Belfast Blitz.
Update: The low wall was completed and an information-board added for the official launched on 2015-06-25 – see Aftermath.
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1912 1914 1916 strike shipyard H&W bugle bugler JMK Piece officially launched 2015-06-25
“He had the courage to climb out of the traditional trenches, meet the enemy in no man’s land and play ball with him.” David Ervine was a UVF member, arrested in 1974 and served six years in the Maze before turning to politics. He first ran for office in 1985 and represented East Belfast in the NI Assembly from 1998 until his death in 2007. The new board, above, shows Ervine’s silhouette in a wreath of poppies along with pictures of and information about his life; the image below of the lower left-hand side includes a photograph of Ervine with Gusty Spence.
Video of the launch (on 2014-11-01) is available at U.tv
The info plaque on the right describes the Memory Chair sculpture in front of the first Ervine board.
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21st july 1953 8th january 2007 red hand comrades association progressive unionist party of northern ireland
“David Ervine was born in nearby Chamberlain Street, the youngest of five children. A lifelong supporter of Glentoran Football Club he was a true son of East Belfast. David attended Avoniel Primary School and Orangefield Boys High School. Leaving school before his fifteenth birthday he began his working life in an atmosphere of tension and violent confrontation. At nineteen he joined the UF. He was arrested in 1974 and served five years in Long Kesh, a wasteland that he and other prisoners transformed into a place of personal and political growth and development. A founding member of the Progressive Unionist Party and its most articulate spokesperson, he was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum, Belfast City Council and the Northern Ireland Assembly. David Ervine was a truly inspirational leader. With vision and courage he led his community from violence to peace, winning the respect of friend and foe alike. He gave voice to the common man and woman acting always in the interest of peace and his beloved Ulster.”
At the same time that the new David Ervine board was put in place, the existing board next to it, which dates to 2008, was spruced up. The image above is a wide shot of both boards, while the image below shows the commemorative casting in front. For the original board, see David Ervine; for explanations of the sculpture, including its pipe, prayer-book, ticket, and boots, see Memory Chair.
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As reported at the time, after the Nugent/Hughes mural at the corner of Divis and Northumberland Streets (see Belfast’s Infamous Prison) was painted out to make way for a pro-Catalonia vote mural (see Votes About Votes), Kieran Nugent was added to the hunger-strikers mural further down the international wall, along with Mairéad Farrell, who was the second person, after Nugent, to refuse to wear a prison uniform. A blanketed Brendan Hughes has also been added, above the declaration of independence.
Below is a progress shot (previously posted in Votes About Votes); the original version of the hunger-strikers mural is in Peace With Justice.
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X02321 X02319 12 doves frank stagg michael gaughan no greater love smash h-block poblacht na heireann irish republic long kesh maze celtic cross shield
Street art in North Street – oranges on a wire looking none too steady or healthy. The one on the right has gone a bit pear-shaped and appears to holding an ice-pack to its face. Or is it a mobile phone for oranges? Artist unknown (send e-mail or leave a comment). Next to a tag by Inkie.
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The 7.5 million people of the Spanish region of Catalonia will go to the polls on November 9th for a vote on independence, though it will no longer be a referendum but a non-binding ‘consultation of the citizens’. Indeed, the Spanish government in the last 24 hours has begun taking steps to block even that vote (Reuters). The “Catalan Countries” are Catalonia, Valenicia, and the Balearic Islands, along with Andorra and the French region of Rousillon – see the WP page on Països Catalans for greater detail.
The Catalan mural was painted on top of the mural to blanketman Kieran Nugent (and Brendan Hughes) (seen here in Belfast’s Infamous Prison) which caused some consternation. As can be seen below, Nugent is now being painted into the hunger-strikers mural (Peace With Justice) along with Maıréad Farrell, who led the protest in Armagh Women’s Prison.
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X02310 X02319 yes to the referendum for independence for catalan countries catalans want to vote
Seosamh Mac Coille Collection 