Business As Usual

03351 Easter Rising Centenary Parade Shirt crop+

While taking part in the Easter Rising centenary parade, members of the James Connolly 1st Republican Flute Band from Glasgow (tw) pause on the Falls Road during a squall. Embroidered on the rear of their shirts are the words “We serve neither king nor kaiser, but Ireland”, the slogan which hung outside the ITGWU’s Liberty Hall during the first world war. Image courtesy of Bronagh Bowerman.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2016 Bronagh Bowerman
03351 tricolour plough stars

McAuley’s

03348 2016-03-18 McAuley's Diner+

The shutters are down on the Mill Diner on the upper Crumlin Road. Proprietor Tommy McAuley was shot by the UVF in 1987 in retaliation for the Enniskillen bombing. His case was examined by the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) who reported (in 2011) that the police did not question suspects identified by witnesses and the family lobbied the ombudsman to reopen the case (U.tv). In 2014 they did not have any success (North Belfast News) but the case was reopened in 2015 (BMG).

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03348 luncheon club lost lives 2895

Going Aloft

03349 2016-03-18 Emic Loft+

Artist emic (Eoin McGinn) left this parting piece on the shutters of LOFT (Belfast Art Studio & Collective web | Fb) which had to leave its 99 North St address in January due to the impending development of the area. Below is the Sonic The Hedgehog piece it replaces (which itself is on top of the re:Store couch.

03209 2015-12-04 Sonic+

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03349 X03209

We Bleed That The Nation May Live

03345 2016-03-17 McQuillan St wr+

Arrayed against the forces of the British Army (which are shown laying siege to the Dublin GPO during the Easter Rising in armoured cars and in sniping positions in the foreground of the mural, along the whole length of the wall) are various symbols of Irish nationalism: 

Oliver Sheppard‘s 1911 statue of Cú Chulaınn dying (see the Visual History page);
the pikemen of the 1798 Rebellion (featured in Éırí Amach 1798);
the four provinces of Ireland;
Érıu the mythological queen of Ireland/Éıre as designed by Richard J King/Rísteard Ó Cíonga; Easter lilies;
the emblems of Na Fıanna Éıreann and Cumann Na mBan on either side of a quote from (The Mainspring) Sean MacDiarmada, “We bleed that the nation may live; I die that the nation may live. Damn your concessions, England: we want our country”; 
a phoenix rising from the flames of the burning Dublin GPO (inspired by Norman Teeling’s 1998 painting The GPO Burns In Dublin);
the GPO flying an ‘Irish Republic’ flag and a Tricolour;
portraits of signatories and other rebels — (left) Padraig H. Pearse, Thomas J Clarke, Eamonn Ceannt, Thomas MacDonagh, (right) Countess Markievicz, James Connolly, Sean MacDiarmada, Thomas Plunkett; 
the declaration of independence, placed over the advertising box of AA Accountants – see the in-progress shot below.

For more work-in-progess images, see Éırí Amach 1798. At the very bottom is a quote from the mother of Gerard ‘Mo Chara’ Kelly, Harriet Kelly: “We want the freedom of our country and your soldiers out.”

03346 2016-03-17 McQuillan St wl+

03136 2015-06-25 GPOInProgress1+

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03345 X03346 X03136 mcquillan st Cú Chulaınn Cróga who fears to speak

Home Of Champions

03342 2016-03-17 LFalls Boxing ABC+

Immaculata amateur boxing club (Fb) (or simply “The Mac”) in the Lower Falls will celebrate its 70th birthday in May this year. This long mural, painted in 2015 and featuring boxing past and present, is in Servia Street, near the club’s Albert Street home.

Previously: Come On The Mac

03341 2016-03-17 LFalls Boxing MAC+

03343 2016-03-17 LFalls Boxing w+

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03342 X03341 X03343

In The Community

03336 2016-03-15 SBelfast Community+

A socially-themed mural in east Belfast: On the dark, down, side: (peer-)pressure, crime, consequence, death, illness, breakdown, suicide. On the up, bright, side; education, work, successful, “enable, empower, equip” (the motto of CharterNI)

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03336 donegall rd drugs drinking computer wash car playing children youth fasa unite