Belfast south

Dreams Can Come True

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“The world’s best.” A new board has been mounted in Sandy Row to pay tribute to Lewis ‘The Croc’ Crocker, Sandy Row’s very own world champion, who “honed his craft at Cairn Lodge boxing club” on the West Circular and became “IBF world welterweight champion” at “Windsor Park, Belfast, 13th September 2025.” Crocker lost the title in June 2026, to the Australian Liam Paro.

On the right is soccer-player George Best, who grew up in Cregagh and debuted for Manchester United at the age of 17. “George Best at the age of 22 was awarded the prestigious Ballon d’Or on the 24th December 1968.”

The new board was unveiled by Crocker himself on Thursday, September 10th (BBC). There is also a small board to Crocker on Donegall Road.

Blythe Street, Sandy Row, south Belfast, replacing the previous George Best mural. For the Robert Dougan mural, see T01100.

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Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
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Village Bonfire

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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 Park Of The Dead

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“The Park” is the name of the new beer garden/courtyard at the Hatfield on Ormeau Road in south Belfast. “Mex” (web) is a brand of flavoured tequila-based cream liqueurs, which had its Belfast launch in Thompson’s last week (Aug 8th) (ig). Mex’s symbol is the skull-painted face worn for the Day Of The Dead, on November 1st/2nd – see La Calavera Catrina.

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Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
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We’ve Got Crisps At Home

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Here are some newly-painted junction boxes along Stranmillis Road, by NoodleStuudio (ig) (above and immediately below) and ChippyDraws (ig).

Both artists contributed to this year’s (2026) Hit The North: in Library Street and Kent Street.

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Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
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Shadow Of A Gunman

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A crude stencil pays tribute to IRA volunteer Sean Clinton, who died in April (2026) (Pensive Quill).

The stencil re-creates a famous photograph (CAIN), taken by Brendan Murphy of the Irish News (November 2025 BBC obituary), showing Clinton firing from this spot at an RUC checkpoint on Ormeau bridge. Clinton/the photo is also known as “The Last Gunman”, as the ceasefire was renewed a few days later, on July 19th, 1997.

Artana Street, lower Ormeau, south Belfast

For the Parades Protest mural, see Stand Off, Trade Off, which gives links back to its original appearance in 1998.

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Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
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King Billy’s On The Wall

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The “Roden Street Bonfire And Cultural Festival 2026” has events every day this week, leading up fireworks and the lighting of the bonfire on the Eleventh (Fb). This new board, at the Donegall Road end of Roden Street, was unveiled on June 28th (Fb video).

“William III and II, also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 1672, and King of England, Ireland, and Scotland from 1689 until his death in 1702.”

“Historical Significance. The Glorious Revolution: William was invited by English Protestant leaders to invade England depose his Catholic father-in-law, King James II. Battle of the Boyne (1690): He secured his rule in Ireland by defeating James II’s forces at this pivotal battle. Constitutional Monarchy: His reign with his wide, Mary II, marked a shift toward parliamentary power through the 1689 Bill of Rights.
Cultural Legacy. The Orange Order: A Protestant fraternal organisation named in his honour, which celebrates his victory at the Boyne annually on The Twelfth (July 12). Iconography: He is famoulsy depicted on murals in Northern Ireland, often riding a white horse and wearing an orange sash. Place Names: He is the namesake of Williamsburg, Virginia, and the College of William and Mary. ‘Remember 1690 – King Billy’s on the Wall [youtube]'”

The portrait of William on the left is by Godfrey Kneller and part of the collection in the National Gallery Of Scotland.

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Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
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Pass Loning

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Donegall Pass began life in the late 1600s as a lane-way (loning, loney, loanen) made by one of the early earls of Donegall (the first three of whom were all called Arthur Chichester) through what was then Cromack Woods (Library Ireland). The woods are remembered in local street-names such as Walnut Street, Elm, Street, Pine Way (which are all included in the mural), as well as Cromac Street itself.

Clara Copley was born in Rotherham, moved to Liverpool, and then to Belfast c. 1900, where she lived for about fifty years. Her career was a colourful one that included running a fish-and-chip stall, an amusement arcade, a waxworks, a theatre, and a boxing ring, which was initially unlicensed but made official in 1936, when Copley was aged 70. She retired to a house in Donegall Pass where she died in 1949; there is a ‘blue plaque’ at the site (with an incorrect date of birth, faithfully reproduced here) in her memory. (DIB)

Apsley Street, south Belfast, opposite In Harmony With Nature.

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Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
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Linfield’s Glorious Dead

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“1st south Belfast LSC [Fb] remembers. Lest we forget.” “To the glory of God and in honourable memory of the former players from Linfield Football Club who laid down the glory of their youth upon the altar of freedom during the Great War of 1914 – 1918.

The main part of this new board in the Village shows the Linfield memorial at Bertrancourt, France. The memorial was unveiled in 2022 (BBC). The BBC article explains the reference to “Rifleman Walker” in the poem by Johnny Jamison at the centre of the memorial: Walker had been a Linfield player before joining the Royal Irish Rifles and dying on May 6th, 1916. Jamison recites his poem in this Fb video. In the background is the familiar Ulster Tower.

Broadway, the Village, south Belfast. For the small boards above, see Village Team On Tour and I Would Rather Be An Ulsterman.

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