Belfast city centre

Under The Cherry Blossoms

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Work to the windows has been undertaken since this art was originally painted (in 2023) by Friz (web) and Gerry Norman (ig); two windows have been bricked up with multi-coloured bricks (best seen in the image immediately below), while others have been extended and narrowed, resulting in patches of black bricks (see the third and fourth images).

The piece is inspired by the seventeenth-century Belfast Castle. Castle Arcade is so-called because it is the site the original castle of Belfast, built by the Normans in the late 12th century and then rebuilt by Arthur Chichester in 1611. Chichester’s castle had “spacious gardens which extended from the river along to Cromac Woods and near Stranmillis” with “orchards, bowling greens and cherry gardens … fish ponds,” for “hunting, hawking, and other sports”. It was destroyed by fire in 1708, after which the area became commercialised as a market (ArchiSeek | Mary Lowry | BBC | Belfast Entries).

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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M-Space

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“I am … strong, focused, love, hope, caring, beautiful, body & mind.” M-Space is a project from Springboard Opportunities (web) providing intensive mental-health services for 115 young people.

This pair of utility boxes is on Royal Avenue, Belfast city centre. The backgrounds on the rear were perhaps painted during Culture Night.

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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UNESCO City Of Music

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Belfast was designated a UNESCO “city of music” four years ago, in November, 2021. To mark the anniversary, Friz (web) and NRMN (ig) have painted this large piece of street-art in the guise of a VU indicator (with seven segments, nine levels, four colours). The city’s efforts to encourage music are outlined in the ‘Music Matters’ plan.

The other pieces in the wide shot can be seen in (l-r) Broken Promises, Glide, neo-pop face by Bust, Beastie Boys, Andrew Weatherall, two from the Subset collective, one of two faces from Woskerski.

on the side of the Telegraph offices in Donegall Street

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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The Eye Of Providence

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The Society Of United Irishmen – who hoped for French support for a rebellion in Ireland – could not meet openly while France and Britain were at war. In Belfast, meetings were held at Dr [Benjamin] Franklin’s tavern in Sugarhouse Entry, also called “Peggy Barclay’s” after its owner, under the guise of a social group called the Muddlers’ Club.

There is today a restaurant called The Muddlers’ Club, named after the society, in Warehouse Lane. The piece above shows a skull, a scythe, a pair of wings, and the Square & Compasses of the Freemasons (with a “G” for “God” or “geometry”). The second piece includes a skull, an eight-pointed star/compass, and an Eye Of Horus (familiar from Freemasons, the 1 dollar bill in US currency, and the Illuminati).

The piece on the left was painted by Visual Waste (web) in June, 2017; the one on the right was added later.

Two earlier pieces with similar imagery on the other side of the entry disappeared with the wall they were painted on: see God Approves Our Undertakings and The Wider Conspiracy.

See also the Visual History page on the Belfast Entries.

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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The Morning Star

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The Morning Star (web) is a bar in Pottinger’s Entry that dates back – as a coach halt – all the way to 1810. (For a full history, see Lord Belmont.) This new mural, by Graffic Belfast (ig), features Guinness toucans flying over a variety of local landmarks.

See also: the Visual History page on the Belfast Entries.

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