Tourists from various countries – shown above are Brazil, Canada, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, New Zealand, German, the United States – can now sign the Cupar Way war-wall in a specially-designated panel for their country; guests from other nations will have to continue defacing the wall wherever they can find a spot, whether or not it is covered in art.
The panels extend to the right of image and replace Only A Fool Would Fight, which already has various place-names of divided areas above it – Israel/Palestine, Shankill/Falls, Nicosia, Baghdad, Berlin.
Féıle An Phobaıl (web) is now headquartered in the renovated (BCC) St Comgall’s on Divis Street in Ionad Eileen Howell, and during this year’s (2025) festival is home to an exhibition called “Vibrant Colours, Violent Past”, the centrepiece of which is a 20-foot-long panoramic history of republicanism, with Wolfe Tone, James Connolly, and Martin McGuinness as pivotal figures.
A leaflet distributed at the launch (on August 1st) explained the genesis of the project, as follows:
“A few years ago I met a great friend of Ireland and art collector Darius Anderson from California who was here on a trip with his wife Wendy and hoping to see some new work by Irish artists, not only work destined for gallery walls but having been fortunate to be included on one of local guide Dee Morgan’s tours he developed a love for and focus on our world-recognised mural art tradition.
“Then last year on another trip here I was able to introduce Darius to my life-long friends and probably the most prolific contributors to our local landscape.
“From a casual meeting alongside Marty and Micky at work repainting the Vol. Kieran Doherty mural in Andersonstown came an inspired suggestion that we accept a challenge from him to tell our story graphically on a canvas rather than the usual brick wall, not just on canvas to hang on a wall in his gallery in L.A. but a canvas to cover the entire wall 20ft x 7ft!
“Excited by our positive response Darius wondered could we invite some loyalist artist/activist to contribute a similar large canvas celebrating the history of the British, Unionist, Loyalist community here.
“That was last July. This exhibition is a result of that meeting but also a chance for the public to remind themselves of our often colourful and unfortunately violent past. – Danny D, Muralist/Activist”
“History is like a rearview mirror! You must always check back but you must keep focused on the road ahead, otherwise you are going to crash!” (Similar wording was used in a piece – Painting From The Same Palette – painted by Danny D and Mark Ervine in 2008.)
The exhibition was launched on August 1st and also included four display boards featuring murals by Danny D (CNR) and Dee Craig (PUL) (Fb).
Jim McCabe, “life-long campaigner for truth and justice” after his wife Norah was killed by a plastic bullet in 1981, returns to the “International Wall” (Visual History) on Divis Street. The original mural – from a few months after his death in January 2023 – was replaced by A Window To A Free Country, one of the Palestinian-inspired murals. This new version replaces The Land Is Ours.
“In memory of all the innocent victims murdered and seriously injured by British Crown forces.”
The image above is from August 2nd; the images below are from July.
“Óglach Kevin Hannaway, Irish Republican Army, hooded man. Unbowed & unbroken. Ar dheıs Dé go raıbh a anam.”
Kevin Hannaway died in January (2025), aged 77. In 1971 he was interned (Belfast Media) and subjected, along with thirteen others, to the “five techniques” – deprivation of food/drink and of sleep, subjection to noise, prolonged stress positions, and hooding (WP) – as well as being beaten and dropped out of a helicopter (Irish Times). The ‘five techniques’ were found to constitute torture in 2021 (RTÉ) and the PSNI apologised to the victims in 2023 (BBC | Irish Legal News).
Hannaway remained a republican throughout his life and was anti-Agreement in recent years (BBC). The board in Hannaway’s honour was launched on Sunday July 13th (Fb video). The panels of the board were siezed by the PSNI during a drug raid on a home in St James’s on the 11th but returned the next day (BelTel).
“IRPWA [web]. Republican prisoners still exist! Unfinished revolution. Unbowed, unbroken.”
Hugo Street, west Belfast. For a close-up of the Pearse Jordan plaque on the left, see the Peter Moloney Collection.
“We stand with Kneecap” – Kneecap yesterday announced a ten-date November tour of Scotland, Wales, and England, adding on to a jam-packed schedule of upcoming gigs that includes a string of European festivals and a tour of the United States. (The trio’s full schedule can be found at their web-site.) In between the France and Belgium dates, on August 20th, Lıam Óg Ó hAnnaıdh will make a different kind of appearance, in court, to face terrorism charges stemming from his display of a Hezbollah flag at a gig.
This tarp is on the Felons’ Club/Cumann Na Méırleach Poblachtach Éıreannach, replacing Seas Leıs An Phalaıstín. See also Seas Le Kneecap on the Falls Road.
CNR west Belfast has taken up the practice of painting electrical boxes (see the Visual History page) but the majority of them are painted with ‘community’ themes – in this case, St Agnes ABC on the Andersonstown Road – rather than with street art.
The Denmark Street arch (at the top of the lower Shankill estate and next to the Clifton Street Orange Hall) returns for the 2025 marching season.
For each of the 12 panels, see Upward. Each side of the arch features a quote from scripture: on the outside, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel – Psalm 41 v. 13”, and on the estate side “Love the brotherhood, fear God, and honour the King – [1st] Peter 2 v. 17”
The previous tribute to Duke Elliott was installed in 2013 as the houses in Columbia Street were being rebuilt. Ernie “Duke” Elliott came from the Woodvale area (Leopold Street) and was a founder member of the Woodvale Defence Association in 1971, which was later folded into the UDA. He was also a Marxist. He was killed at age 28 in a pub brawl in December 1972 in a dispute over weapons (WP | Tele | Watching The Door).
The plaque “dedicated to the officers and members of ‘B’ Company WDA (UFF)” has been retained. Also included is an image of the plaque that was added (c. 2022) to the main mural, commemorating Jackie Parsons.
Ohio Street, Woodvale, west Belfast
Buster Adams, Noel Clements, Tommy Aiken, Allistair Cousins, Billy Andrews, Irene Craig, Davy Armstrong, Drew Crawford, Fred Bailie, John Crossett, Wilbur Barnes, Tommy Dinsmore, Mark Barr, Jimmy Dowie, Sam Black, Tony Duff, Tommy Black, Ray Dummigan, Tommy Boyd, Tom Edgar, Davy Bryson, Ernie Elliot, Jimmy Carberry, Brian Faulkner // Billy Fenton, Tommy Hill, Hedgie Ferguson, Trevor Hill, Billy Gardner, Keek Holmes, Lewis Gilbert, Tommy Howells, Billy Graham, Bertie Howells, Travis Grey, Jim Hutchinson, Dennis Grey, Geordie Johnston, Geordie Hall, Tom Johnston, Jimmy Hall, Maurice Kavanagh, Stephen Hamilton, John Kennedy, Bobby Harvey, John Kiltie, Billy Higginson
Geordie King, Lee McKeag, Hugh Linton, Betty McMillan, Billy Little, Bob McMillan, Harry Lockhart, Robert McMillan, Rab Lockhart, Norman McMillan, Drew McAllister, George McMurray, William McBride, Jimmy Millar, Bobby McCade, Archie Millar, Tommy McCormick, Victor Moody, Joe McCann, Wesley Morrison, John McCrea, Graham Murdock // Jonny Nelson, Tommy Totten, Freddie Parkinson, Billy Thompson, David Parker, Phillip Thompson, Jackie Parsons, Mark Turner, Bobby Patterson, Jimmy Welshman, Ned Pollock, Lou West, Charlie Quinn, Stanley West, Ray Riley, Cecil Williamson, Jackie Robinson, Silver Wilson, George Selby, Tucker Yates, Sammy Swain, Sandy Wright
“1st Shankill Somme Association [Fb] roll of honour. In memory of our esteemed past members. Lest we forget.” The Association celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in February of this year (2025) and celebrated with a march from the leisure centre up to the garden of reflection next to the Shankill graveyard (Fb). The new retrospective board above shows members of the Association at trips to various WWI landmarks across the years.
Also included is an image of the roll of honour to the left of the main memorial, which now has some new names and is topped by a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. For Joe Coggle see S Company, C Company.
