These pieces of street art by Jonny McKerr (Tw | Fb) and DMC (Dermot McConaghy) are at the Hearth (formerly the Stoker’s Halt) in east Belfast.
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Belfast
Funny Things Are Everywhere
A tiger on the telephone? “From here to there/And there to here/Funny things are everywhere” – a doctrine of Dr. Seuss, from One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. Painted by Lucas Antics (tw | web) in the style of South Asian truck art.
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Take These Seeds
A Ukrainian woman in Heniches’k (just north of Crimea) (tw | with subtitles) became famous for berating an invading Russian soldier with the words “Take these seeds and put them in your pockets so at least sunflowers will grow here when you all die here.” Ukraine is the world’s largest producer of sunflower oil (WP) and since the Russian invasion began on February 24th, prices have increased – so far – by about 70% (Money Control), sending countries (especially India – Reuters | Bloomberg) and companies around the globe scrambling for alternatives, such as the replacement of sunflower oil by rapeseed oil in the making of crisps in Ireland (The Journal). The sunflower has become a symbol of solidarity with Ukraine, along with the Ukrainian flag. This giant sunflower was painted by emic (web | tw | ig) in Harrow Street.
Update: added to the side wall “Ar scáth a chéıle a mhaıreann na daoıne”, here translated as “People live in each other’s shadows.”
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Copyright © 2022 Paddy Duffy
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Belfast, City Of Industry
The industrial high-point of Belfast, according to this mural, would seem to be when people travelled on trams, cloth was woven by hand, and Titanic sat in dry dock. Only the Shorts-Bombardier aircraft confuses the nostalgia.
Connswater shopping centre, Bloomfield Avenue, east Belfast
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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The Blots On The Page Are So Black
In a letter in 1859 to Dr Richard Madden, a fellow abolitionist (and historian of the United Irishmen), Mary Ann McCracken wrote, “America, considered the land of the great, the brave, may more properly be styled the land of the tyrant and the Slave.” (McNeill)
Also given an abolitionist bent are some lines from section 16 of Louis MacNeice’s Autumn Journal, describing Belfast as “A city built on mud; / A culture built upon profit; / Free speech nipped in the bud, / The minority always guilty. [Why should I want to go back / To you, Ireland, my Ireland? / The blots on the page are so black / They cannot be covered with shamrock. / I hate your grandiose airs / Your sob-stuff, your laugh and your swagger, / Your assumption that everyone cares / Who is the king of your castle. / Castles are out of date, / The tide flows round the children’s sandy-fancy; / Put up what flag you like, it’s too late / To save your soul with bunting.]
The illustrations are by Peter Strain (web) in Joy’s Entry and Wilson’s Court. See also by Strain Handsome, Easy-Going, And Utterly Untrustworthy and Trust Women.
On McCracken, see The World Affords No Enjoyment Equal To That Of Promoting The Happiness Of Others.
On abolitionism in Belfast, see Olaudah Equiano and If There Is No Struggle, There Is No Progress.
See also the Visual History page on The Belfast Entries.
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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At Madden’s Bar
On the left: “Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam. #AchtAnoıs”. The quote (“a country with language [is] a country without a soul”) is widely attributed to Patrick Pearse. For the campaign to pass an Irish-language act, see An Lá Dearg.
On the right: “Enjoy Paddy Irish whiskey at Madden’s Bar, inspired by the man himself, Paddy Flaherty. Craıc agus ceol.”
Berry Street, Belfast city centre
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Manny’s
“At the heart of a changing Belfast.” The old Bank Street (looking towards St Mary’s, Chapel Lane) is recreated in a new mural outside Manny’s fish and chips, though with some liberties taken. (Here is the street in 1915 and in 1924.) Kelly’s Cellars, for example, should be off to the left, rather than hovering over St Mary’s Chapel Lane and below City Hall.
Landmarks such as the Titanic Centre, the H&W cranes, and An Chultúrlann can be seen in the wide shot.
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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King Without A Crown
This skull is in Crown Entry, around the upstairs windows of the Paddy Power office. It is not clearly a part of the artistic renovation of the Belfast Entries (Visual History).
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Kelly’s Cellars
These three pieces are along the front of Kelly’s Cellars in Bank Square in Belfast city centre. The Jameson piece is by Alana McDowell (ig).
There is a Connolly Trail plaque to the left of the Guinness painting; there is also a ‘blue plaque’ about the United Irishmen – see the Peter Moloney Collection.
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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The Farset Voice
These two fake newspapers allude to the fact that the river Farset, after which Belfast is named, still runs below the city, invisible since it was covered over in 1804. (You can read George Benn’s A History Of The Town Of Belfast at archive.org.)
Wilson’s Court; presumably by Leo Boyd (compare with New Weird Order).
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Paddy Duffy Collection 