Red Heads

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Here, in sequence, are the HTN22 pieces on the west side of Kent Street, above the gates into the construction site: unicorns from Zurdie (ig), Not Pop (ig), ‘Hope Never Dies’ from Glen Molloy (ig), sushi from Zippy (ig), FGB (ig), ‘The Belle Of Belfast City’ from Alana McDowell (ig), Leo Boyd (ig), Codo (ig).

The Lyra McKee tribute (If You Listen Very Carefully, You Can Hear Her Breathe) completes this side of the wall.

For other walls painted during this year’s HTN, see Vagabonds Of The Western World | The Children Of Gear | A Burning World | Evoke | Love, Loss, And Beyond.

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Vagabonds Of The Western World

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Hit The North (organised by Seedhead Arts and sponsored by Hennessy) brings street artists from around the world to Belfast. All of today’s images – which show the lower west side of Kent Street – are by artists from Ireland, north and south – with work by KloWi (ig), Conor McClure (ig) who has painted Phil Lynott, NRMN (Gerry Norman ig), HM Constance (ig), Kilian (ig) who has painted UK chancellor Rishi Sunak saying “Give me all your money, punk”, Liam Gillick‘s quote “How can quantum gravity explain the origin of the universe?” (previously in lower Ormeau) by Laura Nelson (ig), Kerrie Hanna (ig), and All The Doodz (ig).

For other walls painted during this year’s HTN, see Red Heads | The Children Of Gear | Evoke | A Burning World | Love, Loss, And Beyond.

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Diu Regnare

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The celebrations for Queen Elizabeth’s platinum (70th) jubilee officially began yesterday with the “trooping of the colour” (Guardian) (a birthday parade – which has been notable here for a BBC commentator’s description of the Irish Guards as “micks” (BelTel)) and the lighting of 1,500 beacons (Sky). Today’s church service at St. Paul’s Cathedral in the Queen’s honor will take place without her after she (again) experienced “mobility issues” on Thursday (Guardian). Today’s images are of jubilee merchandise for sale in Shankill shops.

See previously: On The Occasion Of Her Platinum Jubilee.

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Competing In Europe

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There was plenty of support in Belfast for Scottish club Glasgow Rangers as they travelled to Seville last week to compete in the Europa League (previously the “UEFA Cup”) final – the initial images in today’s post show a huge number of banners outside the Berlin Bar on the Shankill (see previously Inter City Regiment), a scarf in the West Kirk Presbyterian (Fb) graveyard (see Who Went To War And Never Returned), and – on the Shore Road in north Belfast – the flag of the Netherlands pressed into service for its red, white, and blue.

Rangers lost on penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt and attention now turns to Liverpool’s match against Real Madrid this Saturday in the Champions League final in the Stade De France in Paris. There is already some support for Liverpool on display in Belfast, as illustrated by the West Kirk graveyard (again) and a flag of the manger and stars à la Abbey Road in the Village (south Belfast) – the “Fab Four” are manager Jürgen Klopp of Germany, and players Virgil Van Dijk of The Netherlands, Sadio Mané of Senegal, and Mo Salah of Egypt. Here is a list of all the Liverpool supporters clubs in NI.

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We Will Never Stop

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A rally is planned for 1 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday 13th) at Belfast City Hall in support of the family of Noah Donohoe and in protest at a request by the police to use PII (Public Interest Immunity) certificates to redact portions of three police files. (The primary source is a paywalled article in the Sunday Independent, which both the Irish News and Belfast Telegraph reported on.) Visual reminders of the case are all over the city and many have been featured on this site previously. Today’s post collects those not previously featured. In order, they are from Beechmount; University St; Duncairn Gardens (replacing the board seen in Between The Lines); Rossville St, Derry; the Markets.

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The Liverpool Bar

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“IRA 2, Liverpool 0, and one hit the bar.” This is 35-year-old graffiti that seems to be more durable than the paint that was used to white it out.

In 1987 IRA gunmen burst into the Liverpool Bar & Lounge on Donegall Quay – named for the nearby ferry terminal to Liverpool (Belfast Forum) – and killed two off-duty RUC detectives – Michael Malone and Ernest (Stanley) Carson – and injured two others (AP). The case came back into the public eye In 2016 when a man was arrested in connection with the shooting (RTÉ | News Letter); he was later released (BBC).

Islandbawn Drive, west Belfast

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Mother’s Pride

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This is a new mural by Peaball (Fb) and emic (Fb) in Glenview Street, Derry, inspired by the chat on the Golden Years club at the Glenview Community Centre (tw).

The Nissen huts that form the background are perhaps a reference to the US WWII camp in nearby Springtown that was used to house Catholic families from the end of the war until the 1960s (Gavin Patton documentary | WP).

The referents of the central portrait and of the title are unknown.

Also in Glenview: Stag With A Bag

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#JusticeForShireen

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“End Israeli apartheid”. Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by a shot to the head during a raid by Israeli forces on the refugee camp in Jenin in the West Bank; her producer, Ali Samoudi, was also shot but survived. The Palestinian Authority blamed the Israeli military, who initially tweeted that Palestinian militants in the area might have been responsible. Video footage from other sources (B’Tselem) casts doubt on this claim. (NYTimes | BelTel) The Israeli Defence Forces does not plan to investigate the death; the Palestinian Authority has retained the bullet fragments from Abu Akleh’s body and has said it will conduct its own investigation, though it will not be able to match the bullet to any Israeli weapon (Al Jazeera | NYTimes).

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