Month: February 2025

Remember The Hunger Strikers

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In a classic image from the period, a blanketman/hunger striker looks down over the towers of Long Kesh. The image has appeared in a number of murals, going back at least to the mid-1980s in Ardoyne (Belfast); see also New Lodge (Belfast) in 1993 | Letterkenny in 1996 | Derry in 1998 | Springfield (Belfast) in 2004 | Divis St (Belfast) in 2006 | a portable board in Bellaghy in 2010 | this same spot in 2012.

Melvin Road, Strabane, close to the giant Proclamation.

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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Poblacht Na hÉıreann

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On April 24th, 1916, Patrick Pearse stood on the steps of Dublin’s General Post Office and read out a proclamation declaring an Irish republic; the proclamation had been prepared by the military council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood – Thomas Clarke, Seán Mac Dıarmada, Patrick Pearse, James Connolly, Thomas MacDonagh, Eamonn Ceannt, Joseph Plunkett – and their (printed) signatures were included at its end.

Copies of the proclamation were handed out on O’Connell Street and perhaps as many as 2,500 were printed in total (NMI) but now only about fifty copies remain (Irish Central). This giant copy of the proclamation was mounted in Melvin Road, Strabane, for the centenary of the Rising, reproducing (as the note at the bottom says) “a reproduction of the poster”. (For a discussion of attempts to recreate the Proclamation, as well as images of originals, see Type Foundry.)

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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Inár gCroí Go Deo

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“West Tyrone Brigade, Óglaıgh Na hÉıreann. Vol. Charles Breslin, Vol, David Devine, Vol. Michael Devine”. The three were killed on February 23rd, 1985, in a hail of 100-200 SAS bullets, as they returned arms for an aborted mission to a dump near the Fountain area of Strabane; their families were later (2002) awarded compensation. (An Phoblacht | WP | UTv)

The board shown above is in the Fountain Street memorial garden, which centrally features a stone-wall enclosure to the trio. Individual stones have also been added to the garden, to Danny McCauley (TPQ | An Phoblacht), Tobias Molloy (An Phoblacht), and Eugene Devlin (An Phoblacht) (shown below). The local SF cumann is named after Molloy/Devlin/McCauley (Fb).

For the gravestones of many of the volunteers, see Strabane’s Republican Graves.

Fountain Street, Strabane

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Anocht a théam sa Bhearna Bhaoıl

End The Siege Of Gaza

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This is a 2014 mural in Strabane that is still is decent shape and still/again relevant, as there are now more than 62,000 deaths in Gaza (Al Jazeera) and aid into the territory has once again been blocked and electricity cut off by Israel (AP | Standard). The mural reproduces a Carlos Latuff (ig) image of an Israeli Apache helicopter firing a “hellfire” missile at a Palestinian child. It was painted by John Carlin and friends (Highland Radio). (It was also reproduced in Springhill, west Belfast, by Mo Chara Kelly.)

See the Peter Moloney Collection for the mural shortly after its launch.

Springhill Park, Strabane

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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District Of Hope

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This sunflower was painted by Peaball (web) outside the Old Library Trust’s Healthy Living Centre (web) in Creggan, Derry, as part of Derry & Strabane’s ‘District Of Hope’ initiative (NWMF | Derry Now).

The wall was previously used for a COVID-era mural: Someone To Watch Over Me.

Another sunflower in Derry: We Carry On.

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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A Stitch In Time

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In the 1920s, there were 44 shirt-making factories in Derry employing almost 20% of the city’s population (IAR). (Derry Of The Past has a Fb gallery of historical images of factories.) One of those factories was – and the building still stands – in the Rosemount area, a stone’s throw away from this 2021 artwork by Peaball (web), alongside boards with vintage photographs. Supported by iPrint (ig), Glen Development Initiative (Fb), and CRAFT (Cultural Renewal [and] Arts For Tomorrow).

See also: The Factory Girls

Rosemount Gardens, Derry

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How To Cope

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“How to cope” is a podcast from the Springhill Park Area Residents And Youth Association (SPARYA) (ig | Strabane Weekly News) which is (probably) responsible for this new piece in Springhill Park.

It has been added alongside the COVID-era “Stay strong – together” piece by UVArts (web) which has been repaired after some vandalism to the two faces in the middle.

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