Belfast

Hands Off Venezuela

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“Hands off Venezuela – Dlúthpháırtíocht le muınt[ı]r Veınıséala [Solidarity with the people of Venezuela]” Commentary from Ógra Shınn Féın (web) on the recent US actions against Venezuela, which have included attacks on small boats beginning in September 2025 (WP), an embargo on oil leaving the country announced in December 2025 (Guardian), and most recently (January 2nd) air-strikes on targets in and around Caracas and the capture of Nicolás Meduro and Cilia Flores (BBC). After the removal of Meduro, US President Donald Trump said that the US would run Venezuela and that between 30 and 50 million barrels-worth of Venezuelan oil would be shipped to the US, sold, and the proceeds disbursed by Trump himself “to ensure it used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States” (AP).

For a history of the image, which shows a Venezuelan hand grabbing a US hand, see England, Get Out Of Ireland.

Falls Road, west Belfast

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Band Width

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This entry updates 2025’s C’Mon On In, which showed the low wall with local landmarks. The new pieces on the adjacent wall, the six bollards and three pillars, have a musical theme. The wall to the side depicts a sea-horse and a wolf (from the Belfast coat of arms – see The Sea Walls) among soccer-playing lions against a backdrop of flax flowers.

As before, Carla Hodgson (ig) worked with local children to produce the art (Belfast Live).

Maryville Street, south Belfast

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Gino Gallagher, Chief Of Staff

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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

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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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Don’t Look Up

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Smile … you’re on CCTV. A “peace line” or “war wall” divides the CNR Newington and PUL Tiger’s Bay along the top of Hallidays Road, and ends with an abandoned building at the junction with the Limestone Road. In 2002, in response to persistent rioting, rather than closing off the road, five cameras were installed on the Limestone Road at the point where the two areas meet (BBC | Community Relations pdf). Once installed, the range and power of the cameras were pre-emptively demonstrated to local youths (Guardian).

According to Forss 2018 (p. 53), the concrete bases were painted by a local youth-group (pdf) circa 2015. These jaunty images, and the mural in the background of the fifth image (When Young People Are United), attempt to present a different vision of the interface to young children going to Currie Primary and the Sunshine play-group.

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North Belfast Supports The Hunger Strikers

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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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I’ve Been All Around This World

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The Face was last seen on the Cupar Way war-wall in 2019 (see Please Respect Artwork). It was taken down (for reasons unknown) and put into storage in a works yard off Lanark Way, from where it was stolen it by thieves (perhaps thinking it might be valuable for its metal); it was found abandoned near the Slıabh Dubh car park (Belfast Live).

It has now found a home in a new coffee- and souvenir-shop (called Bean Around The World) that has been punched into the fencing at the top of Cupar Way in the shadow of a business park.

Next to The Face is a map of Ireland and Britain divided into regions, and a montage of black-and-white photographs from the Troubles (at least some of which come from the Belfast Archive Project).

The Face was created by Kevin Killen (web) and “the Students from Impact Training (NI) Ltd, Belfast To celebrate and commemorate the Industrial History and Heritage of Belfast City.”

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Remembering Is Not So Easy

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On the anniversary of David Ervine’s death, January 8th, a new board was launched in his memory, with images of Ervine “yearning for peace” in the cages of Long Kesh, where he met Gusty Spence (the pair can be seen together in the middle of the first column of photographs).

After his release, Ervine turned to politics, running unsuccessfully as a PUP candidate for Pottinger in the Belfast City Council elections of 1985 (WP); he would eventually be successful in 1997. In 1998 he was returned by Belfast East in the Assembly election (ARK). He helped bring about the loyalist ceasefire in 1994 – which was read aloud by Spence (youtube) – and was pro-Agreement in 1998 (DIB | Guardian | Slugger).

The information about the Memory Chair sculpture makes mention of Ervine’s boots but it seems they have not survived the mothballing of the sculpture which was last seen on site – boots included – in 2014.

Montrose Street South, replacing the various pieces seen in late 2024’s Today, Everyday, And Always.

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