Hold Your Head Up High

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03417 2016-04-27 96 Hillsborough+

On April 15th, 1989, 96 Liverpool football fans were crushed to death against steel fencing around the pitch at Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield. On Tuesday (April 26th), an inquest found the police “grossly negligent” and that the fans were “unlawfully killed”. It also refuted allegations that fans had entered the ground illegally, and were drunk and unruly, and a variety of other claims made in The Sun and The Times about bad behaviour during the event. (Guardian | WP)

According to the Irish News, the simple tribute on Black Mountain of the number 96 is a collaboration by West Against Racism Network (WARN) and the West Belfast Liverpool Supporters Club. The materials were borrowed from Gael Force Art.

See also the Slıabh Dubh Visual History page.

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Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03417

Loose-Talk Costs Lives

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03387 2016-04-26 Loose Talk+

After a larger version of the poster on boards (Belfast Live | Belfast Telegraph) was taken down, the wall beneath  — a mural to (now-released) Basque activist Arnaldo Otegi, featured previously in Free Otegi — has been plastered with these flyer-sized versions of an old (possibly 1970s) Provisional IRA poster warning the republican community about information-gathering by the security forces: “Loose-talk costs lives. In taxis, on the phone, at footbal[l] matches, at home with friends, anywhere! Whatever you say – say nothing.”

For a link to the 1975 Seamus Heaney poem “Whatever you say, say nothing” and a video of Colum Sands singing his song of the same name, see You Know Where.

Update: the flyers were removed on Wednesday 27th around lunchtime.

03386 2016-04-26 Loose Talk Wall+

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Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03387 X03386 divis st Thompson submachine-gun balaclava IRA the pathway to peace pake bidean spanish french jails

No More, Again

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03412 2016-04-25 No More d+

A boy in blue and girl in green, from opposite communities in east Belfast, shake hands against the backdrop of the Harland & Wolff cranes. The poem “No More” in the middle of the mural is by community worker Jim Wilson, whose grandson Dylan is shown on the left. A smaller version of this mural, without the poem, is in Short Strand’s Edgar Street – see No More.

No more bombing, no more murder
No more killing of our sons
No more standing at the grave side
Having to bury our loved ones

No more waking up every hour
Hoping our children, they come home
No more maimed or wounded people
Who have suffered all alone

No more minutes to leave a building
No more fear of just parked cars
No more looking over our shoulders
No more killing in our bars

No more hatred from our children
No more. No more. No more!

03411 2016-04-25 No More+

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Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03412 X03411 kenilworth pl dove peace

The Artist Formerly Known As Prince

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03385 2016-04-24 Prince Symbol+

Prince Rogers Nelson, better to the world as “Prince” and from 1993 to 2000 as the “love symbol” shown above, died last Thursday (April 21) in his home town of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Previously: Belfast street artists pay tribute to David Bowie, who died in January: Stardust | Oh You Pretty Thing

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Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03385 garfield st purple rain

I Could Hardly Wait To Keep Our Date

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03384 2016-04-23 People's Parade+

Two competing posters for two competing dates for two (competing?) Easter Rising parades: the People’s Parade (above) was held today, April 24th, the date of the Rising in 1916; the other was held on this year’s Easter Sunday, March 27th, as the parade is annually held on Easter Sunday.

03383 2016-04-08 Easter Parade+

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Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03384 X03385 beechmount ave glen rd easter parade 1916 2016 assemble divis tower 11.30 am parade leaves 12.00 pm sharp speaker gerry adams TD honour ireland’s patriot dead wear an easter lily cumann uaigheann na laochra gael national graves assocition easter commemoration committee belfast leaving barrack street for milltown at 12 noon