CNR – Page 50 – Paddy Duffy Collection

Hill Or High Water

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The Community Rescue Service (web | Fb | tw) respond to calls about missing persons on both land and water. They were involved in the search for Noah Donohoe and in distributing PPE during the pandemic.

The mural was painted by Mickey Doherty and reproduces a Philip Magowan photograph and a photo of founder Sean McCarry (Belfast Live) from the CRS web site. It is sponsored by Cab Tours Belfast (web). It was launched on November 27th, 2021. It replaced the Fidel Castro memorial mural.

On the right: The Irish Republican Prisoners Committee (IRPC) is currently without any web or social-media presence. As with all post-Agreement boards for republican prisoners, it uses only barbed wire and not the lark. For Liam Campbell, see Don’t Hand Him Over.

Northumberland Street, west Belfast

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Tamil Eelam

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“Eelam” is the ancient Tamil name for Sri Lanka and “Tamil Eelam” is the name of a proposed Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka (shown on the right of the mural) that the Tigers were fighting for. After 26 years of war, the Tamil Tigers were defeated in 2009 but independence (from the majority Sinhalese) is “inevitable” according to this new mural. For an account of commemorations in both Belfast and Derry, see this TamilNet article.

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Don’t Hand Him Over

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“Don’t hand him over. Don’t play England’s game. Stop the extradition of Liam Campbell now.” Liam Campbell is wanted, for a second time, in Lithuania on charges of running guns to the Real IRA in 2006-2007. He was arrested in Dundalk in December 2016 and appealed his extradition in January 2021 (Irish Times).

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Join The IRNC

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Irish Republican National Congress (Fb | web) board in Northumberland Street. This one features assault rifles and some nasty barbed wire; the one in Beechmount featured a Maid Of Erin harp.

With a small “Support the Palestinians” tarp below.

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Fallen Comrades Of The INLA

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This is an INLA board to deceased volunteers Danny Loughran and Matt McLarnan, Paul (“Bonanza”) McCann, Martin McElkerney, and Gino Gallagher. The new addition here is Martin McElkerney, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in March 2019 (Guardian). Shots were fired over McElkerney’s coffin (tw). He was released under the terms of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement after serving 12 years for his part in a booby-trap bombing of two British soldiers, one of whom died, in which two children also died.

For basic information on the deaths of the other four, see this IRSP page on the previous mural.

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RNU Stands With Palestine

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The Republican Network For Unity (RNU) affirm their solidarity with Palestine over the recent deaths during the March Of Return (see also His Land, His Legs, His Life) with a board showing an Israeli hand smothering a Palestinian face. Here is the RNU’s statement on the deaths in Gaza at the time.

Our Struggle Continues

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Óglach Charlie Hughes was O.C. of PIRA D Company (“the dogs”) in west Belfast. He was killed in March 1971 as part of the feud between the OIRA and the Provisionals. PIRA volunteers, including Charlie and cousin Brendan Hughes (“The Dark”), had burned down OIRA drinking den The Burning Embers, across from Charlie’s house on Balkan Street, and were moving on to The Cracked Cup on Leeson Street, but were met with gunfire. Hughes was killed later that night, after a ceasefire had been agreed, by a single shot (WP | a 2002 account by The Dark). The mural replaces the small ‘1921’ tarp (see Do Not Touch).

The other figure shown (on the right) is Palestinian skyjacker Leila Khaled (see also Oppression Breeds Resistance).

Below is James Connolly in a Lasaır Dhearg stencil: “Empires and tyranny perish. We will rise again.”

They Were Faithful And They Fought

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This is the first spot on the International Wall, Divis Street. Brendan Hughes has been included since the 2008 version (compare 2005 with 2008) but Crumlin Road hunger-striker Billy McKee is included for the first time. McKee was the first OC of the PIRA’s Belfast Brigade and arrested for possession of a handgun. The hunger strike was to secure political status for prisoners who had been convicted of crimes (WP).

“This mural is dedicated to the lives of: Billy McKee, Hunger-striker, Crumlin Road Gaol, achieved political status, 1972; Kieran Nugent, Blanketman, H-Blocks Long Kesh, fought the loss of political status, 1976; Brendan Hughes, Blanketman, Hunger-striker, H-Blocks Long Kesh, 1980.”