My Life In A Bag

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Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services.” A new mural in (lower) North Street aims to raise awareness of homelessness and encourage resource investment and policy development.

“148 people registered as homeless in Northern Ireland died while waiting for social housing between Oct 2017/Aug 2018.” “11,877 presenters deemed legally homeless in 2017/2018. At March 31 2018 36,198 households were on the waiting list for social housing…” “Top 3 reasons for homelessness are breakdown/family dispute, accommodation not reasonable, loss of rent accommodation.” #stillsomebody

The mural was developed by Leonard Cheshire’s Can Do Project (web), Westcourt Centre (web), and Blaze FX (Fb), with residents from Rose Mount House (Fb) and young people from Belfast Met. (BBC)

North Street, Belfast city centre

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Our Wee Country

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The Irish Football Association (web) is the governing body for Northern Irish soccer, overseeing both domestic and international events. The original Our Wee Country (fan organisation web) mural was in Carnforth Street, east Belfast. For another and one of the emblem with Ulster banner and Union flags, see Irish Football Association and Our Wee Country.

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Another Brick In The Wall

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The IRPWA/Saoradh/éıstıgí office on the Antrim Road is courting controversy (Irish News | BelTel) with its the holiday images in its front windows. On the right, a Grinch in PSNI uniform (in front of a bleeding poppy with swastika) harasses the child of a Soaradh member. (“Hey, peelers! Leave our kids alone” is a play on the Pink Floyd song ‘Another Brick In The Wall‘). On the left, Santa takes aim with a home-made RPG (modelled on the image included in Resistance).

The Derry IRPWA office also received a Grinch cartoon in which he is battering down a door.

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The Conlan Revolution

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Michael Conlan (tw | ig) won his first title and tenth professional bout on Saturday night (December 22nd), in Manchester, by defeating Englishman Jason Cunningham (BBC). He features here in one of the new murals on the Fáılte Feırste Thıar offices alongside the traditional Gaelic games of hurling, camogie, football, and handball.

Previously: Conlan’s 2012 Olympics mural. Also: Soccer, boxing, and football in Glen Bawn.

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You’ve Got The Key Of The Street

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Plans to redevelop Castle Arcade were published in July (NewsLetter). The arcade runs between Castle Lane and Castle Place. The castle of Belfast originally stood at the top of High Street, built by the Normans in the late 12th century and then rebuilt by Arthur Chichester in 1611 but destroyed by fire in 1708 after which the area became commercialised (Belfast Entries | Belfast Castle). If you know the art’s creator, please comment or get in touch.

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Future Belfast

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Planning permission has been granted for a 16-storey residential building at the junction of Academy Street and Exchange Street, currently the site of street art by Dan Kitchener (The Dream), Friz (Thy Fearful Symmetry), Visual Waste (Harley Quinn), and Marca Mix (Keyboard Wizard). Work begins in “early 2019”.

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Join Saoradh

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This space on Ardoyne Avenue was used for “cultural” murals from 1997 to 2015, when Staır Na Gaeılge was replaced by Resistance. In its latest incarnation, Saoradh (web – the organisation’s Facebook page is currently blocked) have made a small addition to the side-wall in the centre of the image above.

For the larger pieces, see Homes!!! and Lidl On Equality.

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In The Footsteps Of Heroes

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The 8th battalion of the RIR was drawn from east Belfast’s Ulster Volunteers in 1914. The board shown above, on the practice hall of Rising Sons Flute Band (Fb), shows the Thiepval Memorial to the missing of the Somme – the heroes that in whose footsteps the band claim to march.

The board replaces the tarp saying “Loyalists welcome“.

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Eddie’s Remains

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As recorded earlier (in Digital Eddie), the 2016 Eddie The Trooper laminate in Ebrington Terrace, Londonderry, began disintegrating as soon as it went up. Today’s images (from late 2018) show that he has completely gone, exposing scraps of the former Eddie. A few Eddies still stalk the land, most notably in Carrickfergus – see the Visual History page for Eddie.

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