This junction box painted by Wee Nuls (web) during Fleadh Cheoıl Na hÉıreann is a tribute to céılí dancing and in particular to queer set dancing in the MAC.
Berry Street, just off Royal Avenue, Belfast city centre
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“Ní saoırse gan óglaıgh ar son na saoırse [there is no freedom without warriors for freedom] – End internment!”, “Conradh Na Saoırse Náısıúnta – National Liberation League [ig charter]. CSN/NLL is an off-shoot of the Connolly Youth Movement.
In the background is an image of solidarity between Irish and Palestinian political prisoners by Carlos Latuff, which has been a mural on Northumberland Street (Visual History) since 2012.
Falls Road, west Belfast
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Dual-language (Irish and English) traffic signs and road-markings have been mounted/painted on the Falls Road in the Gaeltacht Quarter (specifically, between Springfield Road and Whiterock Road) by the Department Of Infrastructure/An Roinn Bonneagaır.
For other signs and markings – “Lána bus”, “Glanbhealach uırbeach, Luan go hAoıne [agus] ın am ar bıth ar an chosán”, “Deıreadh an lána bhus”, “Coınnıgh saor”, “Ceamaraí lána bus” – see the Paddy Duffy Collection.
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“Seamus Heaney 1929-2013.” Seamus Heaney was raised in Bellaghy and is buried in Bellaghy. Between these bookends, he attended boarding school in Derry and Queen’s in Belfast, and held academic positions in Belfast, California, Dublin, and Massachusetts. His poetry won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995 and made him a household name. Although he largely pre-dates the social-media era, this new mural in Derry suggests that he is – or could be – an influencer.
“Beneath Irish Skies (Inspired by Seamus Heaney) The grass is green when I step outside the door. The air is fresh like mint. The sun shines off the water like your eyes. The wind whistling like a flute. – by Jude Shiels, aged 12″
“Féile brought together young people from Bishop Street and Newbuildings youth clubs to work creatively alongside one another as part of a cross-community project. The young people worked with artists from Peaball [web] street art collective, helping to shape and influence the design of this mural. Through creative workshops and discussions the group explored the life of Seamus Heaney and how the landscape and the people within it influenced his work. What role in society does the modern influencer play … This project has been sponsored by PeacePlus, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes body.”
Westland Street, Bogside, Derry
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These headlines from two Belfast newspapers were enlarged and attached to poles in Newtownabbey, between Rathcoole and Rathfern, in order to reinforce the anti-immigrant narrative that was the foundation of the riots in June – see McMaster Street Remembers.
There are two from Belfast Live and one from the News Letter: “Three men charged with rape after ‘serious sexual assault’ in Belfast” (from Feb 25th, 2026), “Asylum seeker to stand trial on charges of raping teenage boy at derelict Belfast nightclub” (from Feb 14th, 2026), “Somali man extradited to NI after absconding while charged with rape is denied bail” (from Feb 24th, 2026).
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“1914 West Belfast regiment, Ulster Volunteer Force – 36th (Ulster) division, Royal Irish Rifles.” Men from the West Belfast Ulster Volunteers – which included the Shankill and Woodvale areas – joined the 9th battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles, which became part of the 107th brigade of the 36th division.
The main part of this new gable-sized board places two colourised photographs on top of each other. The first (upper) photo shows shows the first and second battalions of the West Down regiment being presented with their colours in May, 1914 (CyberProd). The second (lower) photo shows the first and second battalions of the West Belfast regiment receiving the Kings colours in May, 1914 (CyberProd).
In the bottom left corner is a poem called “Sons of Ulster” written on a scroll: “Muster round me Sons of Ulster,/And pay heed to what I speak,/Of the war to end all wars,/In the place where hell is deep.//Go and help to save the Empire,/Glorious deeds shall Ulster reap./Go and fight for King and Country,/In the place where hell is deep.//The order goes out – “Fix Bayonets!”/As Zero Hour does creep,/Ulster’s prime stands tall in line,/In the place where hell is deep.//No-Man’s Land hears a whistling band,/From Thiepval Wood they sweep./The crosses grow where the Ancre flows,/In the place where hell is deep.//With bomb and gun they repelled the Hun,/The Redoubt they die to keep./They fought as one did Ulster’s Sons,/In the place where hell is deep.//To the Glory of God on this sacred sod,/Where Ulster’s Blood does seep,/Yours and mine slaughtered like swine,/In the place where hell is deep.//Death patiently waits in this stalemate,/For Ulster’s love will weep,/The poppies grow where the Ancre flows,/In the place where hell is deep.”
In the bottom right, the Ulster Tower is dedicated: “‘Field Marshall Sir Henry Hughes Wilson, 1st Baronet, GCB, DSO, MP, Colonel Commandant, Rifle Brigade, Chief Of The Imperial General Staff. Field Marshall Sir Henry Hughes Wilson of County Longford, was one of the most senior British Staff Officers to serve int he First World War. On 18th November 1921, in the stead of Sir Edward Carson and Sir James Craig, who were both ill at the time, Sir Henry undertook the solemn duty of dedicating the newly constructed Ulster Memorial Tower, on the site of the Somme battlefield. Tragically, on 22nd June 1922, Sir Henry, who also served as a Unionist politician, was assassinated outside his London home.”
Conway Street, Shankill, west Belfast, replacing Ulster Tower.
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The official dedication of a new Siege Of Derry arch on the Shankill took place on July 11th (Shankill Mirror Fb | Youtube videos of the arch being lifted into place | the parade on the 11th, which reaches the new arch c. 15m25s).
The line “The gates we’ll close against our foes on the 18th of December” comes from the song ‘The Crimson Banner’ (lyrics | youtube).
The panels on either side depict …
“Closing the gates against King James’ rebel hordes”, “the Memorial Hall, Londonderry”, Saint Columb’s Cathedral”, “famine and sickness”, “the burning of Lundy”
… and …
“Colonel John Mitchelburne”, “Walker’s column”, “Colonel Henry Baker”, “the Mountjoy breaks the boom”, “Governor George Walker”, “Roaring Meg”, “Ada Murray – the cry was “No surrender””
Shankill Road at Mountjoy Street, upper Shankill, west Belfast
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This entry updates A New Evil to show the addition of three tarps on the fence. These are an Ulster Banner, a ‘stop’ sign reading “Stop uncontrolled illegal mass immigration” on a Union Flag, and a “Concerned Parents Newtownabbey” banner reading “Stop uncontrolled migration – Illegal migrants not welcome – Protect our children”.
See also Sorry It Was All For Nothing.
O’Neill Road, Newtownabbey
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The German Reichskriegsflagge of 1935 to 1945 placed the Nazi swastika in the circle of the imperial German war flag, replacing the Prussian eagle which stood at the circular junction of a black Nordic (St Olaf’s) Cross (Pete Loeser). The flag is illegal to fly in Germany. The flag shown above changes the swastika to a Star Of David and the background colour to blue (and removes the Iron Cross from the canton).
Seen in Northern Ireland, we might at first suppose it to be a criticism of Israel but in fact – flying in loyalist Rathcoole – it appears to be an unabashed (though bizarre) endorsement of Israel’s invasion of Gaza. More typical is the scene in the second image – though without the Elvis statue – the Israeli national flag flying alongside Union Flags. (To be clear, Elvis did not cover “Singing The Blues”; it was a hit for Guy Mitchell.) (For Israeli and Christian flags together, see Sorry It Was All For Nothing.)
The third image shows the flag of the United States flying below an Ulster Banner. Until now, whenever the United States has been placed along side the UK or Israeli flags, is has been in the form of some sort of Confederate Flag (2014 | 2016 | 2025). This has indicated that the contemporary USA as a whole has not been perceived as a supporter of (Northern Irish) loyalism or in a similar position to loyalists, but that the spirit of the Confederate South is akin to that of loyalism: a once-dominant ethnos, which held its position by institutionalised violence, besieged by the forces of expanded suffrage and mediocrity (as they would see it). (See the Visual History page on Ulster-Scots murals.)
Donald Trump’s rhetoric and agenda has found favour with Northern Irish loyalists, and a few Trump flags and graffiti were seen previously – see Take America Back for an example and further references. Trump’s victory in November, 2024, gave him a second term as President of the United States Of America. Freeing himself from anyone associated with the conservative/neoliberal Republican party that restrained him in his first term and instead installing (Trump) loyalists in the cabinet and other key positions, Trump has been able to erode the USA’s character as a liberal democracy and move it instead towards authoritarianism (Guardian | Varieties Of Democracy). The shift has been sufficiently profound that the USA is now seen as simpatico with (NI) loyalism, and the Flag Of The United States – not a Trump flag or a Confederate flag – now flies alongside the flags of the United Kingdom and Israel.
For the US and Israeli flags flying together, see Old Glory in the Paddy Duffy Collection. For ‘Jesus’ flags, see What Would Jesus Do?
(first and third) Belmore Gardens/Barna Square, Rathcoole, Newtownabbey, and (second) O’Neill Road, Rathfern, Newtownabbey
See previously: a reichskreigflagge in Ardoyne
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“Celebrating our heritage, inspiring tomorrow.” This year’s Greater Shankill Community Festival began on June 30th with the launch of Ulster’s American Connection and will end with a Siege Of Derry re-enactment on July 11th – the full programme can be found on Fb. One event included in the festival is the “Long Kesh Inside Out” exhibition in the Shankill ACT, which opened on June 1st.
Shankill Road at Iceland, replacing the Stewart’s Yard sign.
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Seosamh Mac Coille Collection 