Let’s Put A Smile On That Face

This is a piece of commercial street art painted at the corner of Marlborough Avenue and Lisburn Road on the wall of the Juice Jar (ig) by Visual Waste (ig). It uses the character of ‘the joker’ as played by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight (2008); his catch-phrase “Why so serious?” has become “Why so juicy?”

See previously: the joker and catwoman in the city centre.

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What We Have We Hold

“Ulster is ours”, says James Craig, first prime minister of Northern Ireland, in (a reproduction of) an election poster from c. 1940 (according to Whyte’s). If it is for his own seat in North Down, for Stormont – rather than a poster for the Ulster Unionist candidates in by-elections – it might be from 1938 (WP).

Rockview Street, Village, south Belfast. There are/have been other vintage posters reproduced in the Village – see previously: The Red Hand And The Winning Hand. Also from the Village is a current board employing the phrase “We have what we hold”.

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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Pride Of Whitehill

Here is a gallery of the smaller boards in the Whitehill area of Bangor – other specific pieces can be found in The Elite and Long To Reign Over Us.

The area is a UVF stronghold but split between the North Down and East Belfast battalions – see Welcome To Bowtown and North Down UVF. The very bottom of the estate is UDA – “RUFF touts” is on the border-line, Skipperstone Road.

Two flute bands are mentioned: Pride Of Whitehill (Fb) and Bangor Protestant Boys (Fb).

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The Elite

“Armed and ready – Protestant Action Force [PAF] – ‘The Elite'”. The PAF name was used to cover semi-independent sub-groups of the UVF, active in the 1970s and 1980s in mid-Ulster and Newtownabbey (WP). The name was given in connection with rioting in Newtownards in late 2021 (BelTel).

These new boards claiming that the PAF was an “elite” are in in the Whitehill area of Bangor. The second such board, shown below, is covering up a memorial to David Gordon Dalzell (for background see Pride Of Whitehill).

The Red Hand Commando – another UVF sub-group/cover-name – also claim to be “the elite”; see e.g. 99.9% Need Not Apply.

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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Woodstock Wader

The grey heron is common throughout Ireland (Ulster Wildlife) including the walls of the Cregagh Road (the side of Haus Of Hair, site of Glen Molloy’s tribute to Carrie Fisher).

The work is by Sheffield artist Peachzz (ig), organised by Cregagh-Woodstock Traders (Fb) with support from Belfast City Council (web).

Also in the Woodstock-Cregagh project: Down The Woodstock | Up The Cregagh | Back On The Streets

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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How About This For Art?

Here is a gallery of three waves of painting (24 pieces) from the Project 24 space (Spectator) on Queen’s Parade, Bangor. From top to bottom, the images are from late March, the bank holiday at the start of April, and mid April. (The wall was also painted in January – see Stop Ruining Art.)

Above is a self-portrait by artist Jossie Pops (Johnny Hamilton) (ig) who also painted the portrait of actor Gerard Butler immediately below. Shortly, after, RickyDrewAPiccy added a piece between these two – a robot with the words “Don’t drink flat whites. Don’t wear massive coats. Don’t be a robot.” (Fb) – but it was quickly replaced by the Codo heads (under ‘April 7th’, below).

Good Boys by Ana Fish (ig)

Seahorse by ?

Quest Love by Chop Suey (ig)

Utility box painted by Codo (ig)


April 7th

Bananas 4 You and How About This For Art by ?

Fish by HMConstance (ig)

Octopus by Cha Cha/Carla Hodgson (ig) (see previously her 2021 octopus in This Is Not The Same As Other Days)

Witch by Ana Fish (ig), replacing Jossie Pops’s self-portrait

Heads by Codo (ig)

[Gerard Butler remains untouched]

Sleeping Dog by Jo Pearson (ig) replaces Ana Fish’s Good Boys.

Groundskeeper Willie (from The Simpsons) by ?

Dandelions by Imogen Donegan (ig)

Surfer by Soaring Tides (ig)

“Love” by Benjomac (ig)

All-Seeing Eye by Dara Condon (ig)

The Caterpillar by ?

A utility box painted by Codo (ig)


April 21st

Orangutan by ?

Writing by ? replaces Dandelions

Captain Pikachu by ? replaces Surfer

Wide shot. The gable on the left is Ward Park 3 by Friz.

“Keyto 2024” Penguin and Luxo Jr by Keyto (ig).

Which Keyto then replaced with this piece:

Dory by Keyto

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Queen Of Angels

Queen Elizabeth II died, aged 96, on September 8th, 2022, and is now (according to this board) queen of the angels in heaven (Matthew 28:2), which perhaps allows her to send other angels to Earth (Matthew 24:31) to deliver messages to chosen people.

Also included (below) from the same street is a memorial tarp to British soldiers in the Great War and WWII, including Vickers machine guns, Spitfire aeroplanes, and a WWI tank (perhaps a Mark V (Tank Museum)).

Ballyree Drive in Bloomfield, Bangor.

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Gáıre Ár bPáıstí

Here are three pieces from the Drumcor Hill area of Enniskillen.

Above, “Enniskillen remembers the hunger strikers” – for the fortieth anniversary of the 1981 strike, against a background of sunburst and starry plough, in Loughview Drive.

Below, the emblem of Gaeıl Inıs Ceıthleann/Enniskillen Gaels (web) on the wall outside their home field of Brewster Park.

Finally, a memorial stone to Bobby Sands in Erne Drive. The inscription on the stone reads, “‘Is naofa ıad sıud sa fhulaıngíonn ocras ar son na córa.’ [= Holy are those who suffer hunger for the sake of justice/”Blessed are those who hunger for justice”] I ndíl [ndıl] chuımnhe ar Óglach Bobby Sands, feısıre [= M.P.] Fhearmanach-Thír Eoghaın Theas, a d’éag 5 Bealtaıne 1981 ın aoıs 27 ı ndıaıdh 66 lá ar staıle [staılc] ocraıs ar son stádas polaıtıúıl a chomhchımí agus saoırse na hÉıreann. I measc laochra na nGael go raıbh a anam uasal. ‘Is í gáıre ár bpáıstí an díoltas a bheas agaınn'”

For an alternative translation of Sands’s quote “Our revenge will be the laughter of our children”, see The Spirit Of Freedom in the Peter Moloney collection.

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