“What good are wings without the courage to fly[?]” Inpsirational art aimed at young people at the entrance to Holy Family Youth Centre (Fb) on the Limestone Road, north Belfast. The upper piece includes the flags of India (upside down), Ireland, England, Turkey, Poland (with crest), and the Philippines.
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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The new ‘Listening Ear’ murals on the interior garden wall of the Dunanney Centre, Rathcoole, were launched at the start of November by David Healy and Roy McGivern of Linfield FC (Fb). The mental-health messages – “be kind to your mind”, “we are here to listen”, “mental health is a priority”, “#youmattertous” – join the existing ‘community garden’ mural (above) and there’s also a panel of blackboard paint for kids to write and draw on.
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Thrive Newtownabbey (Fb) Ace Spray Works NI
“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” Work to clean up and beautify Devlin’s Lane in Whiteabbey began in 2020, with the large butterfly mural shown above (Belfast Live); 15 (16?) boards showing local history were put in place in August 2021 (NIWorld | Belfast Live). The text on the ‘White Abbey’ panel comes directly from WP.
The project was organised by Whiteabbey Residents’ Association, with funding from Translink – the alley (official name, Abbeyville Place) runs to Whiteabbey train station.
The ‘Justice4Noah’ and ‘Your best is good enough’ panels seem to have a different origin.
The panels are presented here from north to south, beginning with the western side:
The wall then switches to the eastern side of the alley:
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Part of the long community mural at the end of Blythe Street next to Blythefield primary has been repainted with these images children at play.
The tinkerbell wall and the final image is from the earlier mural – for which see Each One Teach One.
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This is the new Glen Molloy mural in Carrickfergus, showing a boy practicing his baton-twirling and marching. It’s in the same style as the Little Drummer Boy in the Shankill.
The mural is in Agnes Street, at the far end of Marine Highway, heading towards Eden. The in-progress images below show Glen at work and the mural at different stages of development.
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Castlemara Community Centre (Fb) got some new artwork to go with their signage from 2021 (Housing Executive). It’s mostly what you would expect for a kids’ centre – Mario and SpongeBob with anti-drugs and anti-bullying messages — but then there’s also the unfortunate black-and-orange logo on the right, suggesting a very different kind of hub – PornHub – “and chill”.
Initially discussed by r/nothernireland.
Prince Andrew Way, Carrickfergus.
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Which direction will you go in? To the negative west of the compass of “choice” lie “Alcohol, paramilitaries, drugs”; to the positive east are “Education, employment, life. On the side panel, youngsters are encouraged to study English, math(s), social media and Google.
And further down Brooklands Drive, “Ballybeen makes winners” in sports: soccer, boxing, and motorcycle racing. The boxer is John Lowey, who represented Ireland at the 1988 Olympics; he is also featured in Boxing Through The Generations and Ballybeen Dream which last also includes three local footballers.
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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There is a memorial garden to the history of Irish resistance at the entrance to the Athletic Grounds in Armagh. From left to right, the images presented here show:
“More than 800 years of Irish resistence” – a sword for the Norman invasion under Strongbow, a pike for the 1798 and 1803 rebellions, a bolt-action rifle for the Easter Rising of 1916, and an assault rifle for the Troubles;
Cumann Na mBan, Mairéad Farrell and republican women who made “the supreme sacrifice”;
The Proclamation, Provisional IRA and Na Fianna;
The dying Cú Chulainn and a plaque “in proud and loving memory of all republican volunteers, ex-POWs and the unsung heroes from this area who fought, suffered and died in the cause of Ireland’s freedom, with a quote from James Connolly: ‘If you strike at, imprison or kill us, out of prisons or graves will still evoke a spirit that will thwart you and perhaps raise a force that will destroy you! We defy you England! Do your worst!”;
“Remember Ireland’s hunger strikers – 22 men” – the ten 1981 hunger strikers and Thomas Ashe, Terence MacSwiney, Michael Fitzgerald, Joe Murphy, Joseph Whitty, Andy O’Sullivan, Denny Barry, Tony D’Arcy, Jack McNeela, Seán McCaughey, Michael Gaughan, Frank Stagg;
A stone “in loving memory of men, women and children murdered by British forces in Ireland.”
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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“Marching into the future”. The 35th anniversary board – and the Pride Of The Bann flute band (Fb) itself – is still going over a decade after it was mounted in Harpur’s Hill, Coleraine; here is the board in 2012. It has now been joined by a board aimed at young people, designed by members of Sunlea Youth Club.
Tullyarton Road, Coleraine.
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Tomorrow (August 30th, at 12:30) there will be a family fun-day and the launch of a new mural of a colourful drummer boy. The mural is on Peter’s Hill; it takes the place of the “Original Belfast” murals (2009 and 2020) and before that a UDA emblem (M02480).
Painted by Glen Molloy (ig) with support from SAFE Shankill (see Woodvale OK), Alternatives (web), Executive Office, Communities In Transition.
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Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
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Paddy Duffy Collection 