Paddy Duffy Collection

1916

Demolition of Rathmoyne House and Coolmoyne House – the tower blocks at Seymour Hill – began in July (NIWorld | Belfast Media). Their rubble can be seen in the background of a new trio of boards on the railings, with freshly repainted Union Flag and Ulster Banner, and a new arched memorial to the dead of the Battle Of Albert on the first day of the Somme. The central poster reads, “1st July morning 1916 the brave men of the 36th (Ulster) division went over the top.” and the Maid Of Erin emblem of the Royal Irish Rifles appears on the left and the Red (right) Hand of the 36th (Ulster) Division on the right.

Kingsway (facing Rowan Drive), Dunmurry

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Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
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Welcome/Galleries

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Thank you visiting the Paddy Duffy Collection!

The galleries below provide a quick way to view the more than 7,800 images added to Paddy’s collection so far. Write-ups with descriptions and background information for many individual images are also available – click on each image in the galleries for individual entries or use the search tools in the side-bar on the right (or simply keep scrolling).

Village Bonfire

2026-09-062026-09-11Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The Village Bonfire (Fb) proved controversial last year because of asbestos in an old factory roof lying near the site. The Council recommended that the bonfire be removed but the police refused to intervene; instead, the owners of the land secured the hazardous materials (BBC | BBC). This year, organisers were selling badges showing a person at the bonfire in a haz-mat suit (Reddit | image at Irish News Fb).

This writing is by Art With Park (ig), Alex Reed (ig), and Owen Watts (ig) in Maldon Street, Village, south Belfast

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Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
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The Influencer

2026-08-312026-09-13Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“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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Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
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By The Gas Works Wall

2026-08-312026-09-13Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The gas-works in Derry moved to the Bogside in 1865 (CAIN) and the site operated for more than a decade, burning coal to generate gas, and producing the smell and pollution that led Ewan McColl to write ‘Dirty Old Town’ (about the Salford gas-works), later covered by The Dubliners and The Pogues (among many others). There are images of the Derry gas-works on community Fb pages: black & white | colour | black & white. The refurbished site is now home to the Gasyard Development Trust (web) (and the Baby Jake mural).

This new street-art was painted by Peaball (web) just a little way further down Lecky Road, at the junction with St Columb’s Walk.

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Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
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Por Vuestra Libertad Y La Nuestra

2026-08-312026-09-09Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“I ndíl [sic] chuımhne ar Eamon McGrotty 1911-1927, republican, socialist, anti-fascist. Killed fighting fascism in the Jarama Valley. Eamon attended the Brow Of The Hill school. ¡No Pasarán!” Derry man Eamon McGrotty was honoured with a plaque and a tree-planting during this year’s (2026) féıle (Derry Journal). McGrotty was one of about 320 Irishmen who fought with the International Brigades – specifically the Connolly Column of the XV brigade (DIB) – against Franco during the Spanish Civil War; there were also about 700 Irishmen fighting on Franco’s side during the war, in a brigade led by Eoin O’Duffy.

The new plaque is next to the memorials to “An Chéad Chathlán/1st Battalion Óglaıgh Na hÉıreann – Bogside, Brandywell, Bishop Street”.

Lecky Road, Brandywell, Derry

Life Hack

2026-08-312026-09-08Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

This street-art is by/for Life Hack (Fb) and Peaball (web) near the Rath Mór offices of the former, on Bligh’s Lane, Derry.

An Uncompromised Republican

2026-08-312026-09-06Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

This entry updates An Attitude Of Revolt from 2022, which showed the same four plaques as in the image below – to Tommy Roberts, Stevie Mellon, Veronica Taylor, Ruaırí (Roddy) Carlin – but a different board featuring Roberts and Mellon and an oak leaf with crossed rifles. In addition to the generic IRPWA board, the entire wall was been painted grey and a knotwork surround added, with the Saoradh (web) sunburst in the corners.

Westland Street, Derry

You Have No Power To Make Me A Criminal

2026-08-312026-09-05Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“”You have the power to send me to gaol but you have no power to make me a criminal” – Seán Milroy, IRB” The words were reportedly (ig) spoken by Milroy in June, 1915, as he was being sentenced to three months hard labour for an inflammatory speech. He fought in the Easter Rising (see p. 27 ff of his testimony in the Military Archives) but voted in favour of the Treaty, believing that Northern Ireland could not survive politically or economically (DIB | RTÉ).

This is the latest work by Saoradh (web) and Éıstıgí Dhoıre on the wall of the Lecky Road flyover, adding on to the pieces seen in Our Present Fight.