Work by emic (web) at the Vault Artists’ Studios (web) (previously the Met College) in east Belfast.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Sabine Troendle (web | Fb)
X07198
Not All Heroes Wear Capes
“Go raıbh maıth agaıbh/Thank you – Ardoyne + The Bone applaud NHS and all essential keyworkers”, “Stay home, stay safe”. The keyworkers (including shop servers and hospital janitors) all wear masks and gloves.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07185 X07186 X07183 X07184
Political Police State
“Political police state” graffiti on the abandoned Carnegie Oldpark library.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07187
Shiner
“Keep the diamond shinning [sic] bright”. The ‘Diamond Project’ is an initiative from Belfast City Council to re-image Lord Street, east Belfast (Belfast Media). Diamonds also feature in Always Keep A Diamond In Your Mind and Shine Bright Diamond Alley
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07191
Girls’ Club
“Miss McMinn (BEM) created a haven for “Her Girls” in Thorndyke Street Club. It was a home from home where you were encouraged to be yourself. ‘Her girls’ were here life: Her 27 years of service brought joy to the lives of young girls in an area of Belfast that had been devastated by the Blitz. Miss Margaret (Greta) McMinn (we never used Christian names) never married but devoted her life to ‘her girls’. So great was her dedication that during ‘The Troubles’, unable to get to her home in north Belfast, she slept on the premises. With her guidance we learned many arts and crafts which we shared with our family and friends on ‘display night’. We also entered many sports competitively in our own area and the Shankill Road. Many outings to the pantomime, circus, etc. and the annual holidays to Shimna House, Newcastle, County Down, were a real treat for children who had little or nothing in the way of luxury. Wonderful memories of a beautiful lady. – Peggy Bowden”.
Part of the “East Side Lives Heritage Trail” which “celebrates the unsung people who built community in east Belfast. Other entries include The Godfather Of Legal Betting | No Ordinary Woman | Two Smart Alecs | Desano’s. For a list of all fourteen, see the Trail’s pamphlet (pdf).
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07188 X07189 [X07190]
It’s Over In Europe
“VE Day” in large letters composed of images, portraits of servicemen, and newspaper front pages (“It’s Over In Europe”, “Germany Quits” and so on) from the period at the end of WWII in Europe, installed along the Shore Road, Belfast, for the 75th anniversary of the event.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07170 X07173
Support Keyworkers
This is the pro-NHS mural in Newbuildings, south of London-/Derry. The “S” of NHS has been turned into the “S” of superman (see also Prepared For Work, Ready For Coronavirus). The rainbow (7-stripe rather than the gay pride 6-stripe) has become a symbol of positivity in the time of the coronavirus pandemic (see e.g. NHS Forever | Thank You, Postmen).
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
X07147 X07148 X07146 [X07149]
Newbuildings Victoria
The garden of remembrance in Newbuildings was opened in November, 2018, and has grown to include several boards (second image), including “Newbuildings Victoria LOL 1087 remembers our murdered brethren.” (for “Orange Victims” day in September, 2019), troops going over the top at the Somme, and a Celtic Cross with Irish-based British Army regiments (and their battles): Royal Irish Rifles, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Royal Irish Rangers, and Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. On the front railings are now tarps related to the pandemic (“Thank you to all our NHS staff and essential workers from the local Orange family. Together fighting Covid-19”) and the 75th anniversary of VE Day.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
X07155 X07150 X07152 [X07151] [X07153] [X07154] Duncastle Road
The Smiling Daughter Of The Storm
The Derry Girls, and the wee fella, James, are now a tourist attraction, thanks to the success of the television show.
It is reported that they have been given masks in support of NHS and essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic (Derry Now).
In Orchard St, London-/Derry, by UVArts (ig).
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
[X07143] X07144 [X07145]
Lockdown Is Killing Thousands
Commentary on the coronavirus pandemic Great James Street, London-/Derry: “Lockdown is killing thousands. Covid = Flu”. The coronavirus ‘shelter in place’ orders in the UK and Ireland have various negative health consequences, including poverty from unemployment, an increase in alcohol consumption and domestic violence, and an unwillingness to seek medical attention for non-Covid-related ailments. But it’s far from clear that “thousands” have died. Nonetheless, the continued isolation and disruption to normal living is proving difficult to bear.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
X07141
Seosamh Mac Coille Collection 