Fear Not

Frenchman Fréderíc Ozanam was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1997 for establishing the Society Of St Vincent De Paul in 1833, itself named after a French priest from the 1600s, who is quoted to the right of Ozanam’s portrait: “Fear not; calm will follow the storm, and perhaps soon.”

Painted by KVLR (web) in Mill Street, Newry, on the side-wall of the St Vincent’s charity shop.

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Gino Gallagher, Chief Of Staff

This memorial board to Gino Gallagher was mounted the day before the thirtieth anniversary of his death in 1996, possibly by former colleagues (Irish Times | Republican News). On the 31st, a colour party paraded to Gallagher’s grave in Milltown (youtube).

“Gino Gallagher, chief of staff, 30th anniversary, 30th January 1996. Irish National Liberation Army/INLA. “Finally, as we lay this volunteer and comrade into the soft green soil of his native land, remember him each time you gaze into the stars and see there etched across the sky the plough and the stars!””

There is an on-line archive of materials about Gallagher.

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Send In The Clowns

Here are some painted junction boxes in CNR west Belfast:

– a creepy jester on Grosvenor Road (for the memorial garden in the background, see A Democratic Secular Socialist Republic.)

– an ape on Broadway, by Kate Whiteman (web)

– “GRMA” [“go raıbh maıth agat”] on Rockdale Street

– a faded appreciation of “Our heroes” in Ballymurphy Road (seen in 2022 in better shape)

For an index of boxes in CNR west Belfast, see Respect Our Community.

For the whole city, see the Visual History page on painted utility boxes.

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Dunloy Cuchullains

Dunloy Cuchullains (Fb) is a “GA & CC” [Gaelic athletic & camogie club] in Dunloy [Dún Lathaí], County Antrim. The club was founded in 1908 by Andy Dooey, Bob Black, Dan Boyle and Paddy McCamphill (NI Archive | GAA oral history). Home games are played at Páırc Mhıc Phıaraıs on Bridge Road. The club was Antrim senior football champions in 2025 (RTÉ).

The mural was painted for the club’s centenary in 2008 on the gable of Lilac Terrace in Tullaghans Road in the centre of the village. The central figure is inspired by Jim Fitzpatrick ‘Hurling Match’ (Visual History).

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North Belfast Supports The Hunger Strikers

Many of the Palestine Action hunger strikers have called off their strikes, most recently Heba Muraisi, who resumed eating on the 14th (of January) after 72 days (BBC).

Umer Khalid stopped taking solids on January 9th (Al Jazeera) reduced has now begun refusing water. His life-expectancy is measured in days, if he does not reverse course (Guardian | Amnesty).

This washed-out banner is on the Antrim Road, north Belfast, on the railings of the Waterworks.

Update: Khalid ended his thirst-strike after two days (Al Jazeera).

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Armagh For Sam

“Ádh mór Ard Mhacha.”

The board below is from Armagh’s successful 2024 campaign in the senior football championship. The painted well-wishes in the image above might come from 2002, which is the year of Armagh’s only other All-Ireland win, but perhaps from one of the years in which Armagh were Ulster champions (2004, 2005, 2006 or 2008), as the earliest recorded image of it is from 2010.

Drumbreda Crescent and Culdee Drive, Armagh

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Macha

“Macha – máthaır, bandıa, banríon, gaıs[c]íoch/mother, goddess, queen, warrior.” Armagh is named after Macha, who is shown here pregnant against knot-work of three interwoven horses. In one story about Macha, she wins a race against the horses of Connor, the king of Ulster, even though she is pregnant. The race caused her to give birth and she cursed the men of the Red Branch for nine generations, which would leave them all – except for Cú Chulaınn – unable to fight to the forces of Medb (Visual History).

“Artist: Sheila McGaffin – Samhaın 2025”. McGaffin was profiled in Armagh Jobs.

Above the Cuchulainn Bar in Dobbin Street, Armagh

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Niall And Macha

This is a mural of King Niall (Nıall Caılle, Niall of the Callan) and Queen Macha. Niall was high king of Ireland (in competition with Fedelmıd of Munster WP) who held off the Vikings in the late 800s (WP) and died in 846 by drowning in the Callan river. Macha is a much earlier and mythological queen, and gives her name to the town: Ard Mhacha.

The central figures reproduce paintings by Jim Fitzpatrick (Visual History). The Niall figure comes from Nemed The Great but the Macha figure comes from a label Fitzpatrick produced in 1988 for Rosc “mead”, even though Macha (one of them, at least) was the wife of Nemed and there is a female figure in Nemed The Great.

Below the planets and stars, St Patrick’s (Catholic) Cathedral is on the left (WP) and St Patrick’s (CofI) Cathedral is on the right (WP).

In the border, clockwise from left to right, we see: the Tandragee Idol (WP), Naomh Bríd/St Brigid’s, St Patrick preaching the trinity, Irish dancing, Gaelic football, Armagh Harps, “Ard Mhacha”, the Armagh county crest in colour in the apex (Club & County), “Armagh”, Na Pıarsaıgh Óga, hurling/camogie, Cú Chulaınn’s, mummers (perhaps specifically the Armagh Rhymers), Jonathan Swift, a steam locomotive (perhaps representing the Armagh rail disaster of 1889, in which 80 people died WP); a vintage image of Callan Street is depicted along the bottom (History Armagh).

The side-wall features the word “welcome” in many languages, and Celtic knot-work surrounding an image of the Celtic Cross below St Patrick’s, perhaps inspired by this 1903 photograph (Flickr).

Painted by a crew of Belfast artists – Danny D and Mark Ervine, along with Lucas Quigley, Marty Lyons, Micky Doherty – and organised by the Callan Street Residents’ Association, with funding from the European Union’s Peace III initiative.

Culdee Crescent/Callan Street, Armagh

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Our Souls Cry Out

This entry updates 2023’s 800 Years Of Irish Resistance, showing images of the republican memorial garden in Drumarg, Armagh. The main change is the removal of Cú Chulaınn (Visual History) and the elevation of the James Connolly board into its place: “If you strike at, imprison, or kill us, out of our prisons or graves we will still evoke a spirit that will thwart you, and, mayhap, [here “perhaps”] raise a force that will destroy you. We defy you[, England]! Do your worst!” – James Connolly, Courtsmartial And Revolution, 1914.

There is also a new board in the ‘Women In Struggle’ gallery, next to a portrait of Maıréad Farrell and a “Republican Women’s Roll Of Honour”. It shows Colman Doyle’s famous ?1974? image (NLI | Treason Felony) of a female volunteer with assault rifle accompanied by the words, “This is not a man’s war but a people’s war, and very, very much suffering has been borne by the women, be they mothers, wives, political activists, or volunteers, and the men ought to remember that without the sacrifice of women there would be no struggle at all.” The words seem to come from a 1982 poster (CAIN) part of which was turned into a mural in Ballymurphy.

There is also a small plaque below the Connolly board to local woman Dympna McCague, who died in 2019 (Fb).

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