“I owe my allegiance [here “allegience”] to the working class” is a phrase associated with Seamus Costello (b. 1939), who fought for the IRA during the Border Campaign and was interned in the Curragh for two years. He stayed with the Officials during the split, but was driven out in 1974 and formed the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) and the INLA. He was shot in 1977 (WP). Nora Connolly, at Costello’s funeral, said, “He was the only one who truly understood what James Connolly meant when he spoke of his vision of the freedom of the Irish people.”
The United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Ireland was created in 1801, a reaction to the 1798 Rebellion, led by (amongst others) Wolfe Tone and Henry Joy McCracken, who were founding members of the Society Of United Irishmen in 1791 in Belfast.
In this mural, Tone and McCracken on the left gaze across the “centuries of resistance” from 1798 to 1916 Rising revolutionaries Countess Markievicz and James Connolly, and beyond to Troubles-era figures Maıréad Farrell, Bobby Sands, and Máıre Drumm.
Around the same time as this mural was painted, a Féıle exhibition called ‘Vibrant Colours, Violent Past’ included A Panorama Of Republicanism which contains dozens of figures but again chooses 1798/Tone, 1916/Connolly, and the Troubles/Martin McGuinness as the pivotal moments and figures.
“Comóradh Éırí Amach Na Cásca Bhéal Feırste/Belfast Easter Commemoration. This is the traditional place where on Easter Sunday Belfast republicans gather to honour Ireland’s patriot dead on their way to Milltown Cemetery.” “Honour Ireland’s patriot dead – wear an Easter lily.” “Unbowed, unbroken.”
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).
For Sunday’s parade (in Belfast) commemorating the Easter Rising of 1916, Sınn Féın lined the route with placards featuring quotations from republican heroes past and present: the first Dáıl, Wolfe Tone, Robert Emmet, James Fintan Lalor, Roger Casement, the Proclamation of 1916, William Allen, the Declaration Of Independence, James Larkin (as Gaeılge), Máıre Drumm, Rita O’Hare, Martin McGuinness, Mary Lou McDonald, Bobby Sands, O’Donovan Rossa, John O’Mahony, Seán Mac Dıarmada, James Connolly, Liam Lynch, Thomas Clarke, Pádraıg Mac Pıaraıs, Maıréad Farrell, the IRB, Michelle O’Neill, Gerry Adams, Constance Markievicz, Winifred Carney, Na Fíníní.
William Allen was one of the “Manchester Martyrs” – for a link to background and the photograph used on the placard see the Peter Moloney Collection.
The speaker in Belfast was Donegal Sınn Féın TD Pearse Doherty; party leader Mary Lou McDonald spoke in Carrickmore, Co Tyrone; Michelle O’Neill was in Coalisland and Dublin.
See also the new National Graves Association/Cumann Uaıgheann Na Laocradh Gaedheal mural in Beechmount: Cuımhnímıs.
Operation Motorman, the British Army’s retaking of ‘Free Derry’, took place on July 31st, 1972. This is a repainting; for the previous version, see T02079, and for the 2001 original, see M01426.
The source of James Connolly’s quote involving the phrase “from the plough to the stars” is unknown, on-line, at least. As a result, there is no definitive version of it. Here it is given as “The Irish people will only be free when they own everything from the plough to the stars” but more reliable sources – though still without citation – give it as “A free Ireland will control its own destiny from the plough to the stars” (RTÉ | People’s World). Whatever its exact nature, the remark might have been in the context of explaining the use of the plough in the stars, the Starry Plough, Ursa Major, for the flag of the Irish Citizen Army (History Ireland).
The Starry Plough currently serves as a symbol of the IRSP (web). The painting shown above is on an electrical box in St James’s Park (near the new Connolly centre); the other painting, below, which might still be in progress, is outside the IRSP’s Costello House on the Falls Road
Ahed Tamimi is a young Palestinian activist famous for slapping and pushing two Israeli soldiers in 2017, when she was 16 (footage at NBC News), after her cousin was hit in the head by an Israeli bullet. She was arrested soon after (USA Today) and served seven months (Al Jazeera | Guardian). She was also arrested last (2023) November (Al Jazeera) and released about three weeks later as part of a prisoners-for-hostages swap on November 29th (BBC).
The mural to Tamimi (above) is in Catherine Street, Newry. Also included (below) are an older mural with the cartoon character of resistance Handala (WP) in front of a Palestinian flag with the words “Let this child return home”, and a Connolly-Costello IRSP (Fb) board.
Here is an INLA/IRSP/RSYM pro-Palestine mural from Derry (see also يومنا قادم). “PFLP” stands for “Popular Front For The Liberation Of Palestine” (WP). A very similar PFLP-INLA board was seen in west Belfast: Peoples United. There was PFLP graffiti in Creggan: Victory To The PFLP.
The first two are from William Street and the Bogside; the small INLA nail-up in the final image is in Creggan.
“‘The day has passed for patching up the capitalist system; it must go. [… We reject the firebrand of capitalist warfare and offer you the olive leaf of brotherhood and justice to and for all.]’ – James Connolly” [in 1910’s Labour, Nationality And Religion, part 6]
Lasaır Dhearg (web) paste-up at the Grosvenor Road entrance to the Royal, to coincide with the general strike of January 18th that included dieticians, physiotherapists, radiographers, midwives, and nurses (BBC).
Paddy Duffy Collection 