Various of the posters along the bottom of this Ardoyne Fleadh Cheoıl (tw | Fb) mural have themselves been murals: Cú Chulaınn on the 1999 poster to the left was painted in Ardoyne Avenue the same year; Fleadh Érıu on the 1995 poster, under the go-kart’s left wheel) was painted on this wall in 1994; the Ardoyne Fleadh Cheoıl emblem (on the go-karter’s t-shirt) was used in Maıreann An Spıorad.
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“Fáılte Go Dtí Ard Eoın. Ardoyne – a confident, colourful, creative community, and the people who made it so” particularly the local schools, whose insignia are shown on the left: “Thnx 2 all r teachers past and present.” The previous mural in this spot (M01783) is invoked by the banner across the top: “Everyone has the right to live free from sectarian harassment” and the inclusion of Holy Cross Girls among the schools.
Whitney Houston and Bobby Sands are invoked on the right “We believe the children are the future – value the laughter of our children“.
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Copyright © 2022 Paddy Duffy
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“Mol an óıge agus tıocfaıdh sÍ”. [Praise youth and it will flourish/Youth responds to praise] Above is the Joe Cahill mural in Beechview Park, next to the GAA pitch. The mural was unveiled on September 2nd, 2013. (Images of the unveiling from An Phoblacht.) Joe Cahill (WP) holds the cup aloft. The group in the bottom left corner (see the second image, below) are Pat O’Hare, Frank Cahill, Tom Cahill, (the three Cahills were featured in the previous mural) Ned Maguire, Jr., Ned Maguire, Sr., Alec Crowe, Paddy Meenan, Tommy Crowe, Dal Delaney, and Hugh Elliot. In the crook of Cahill’s arm are Rita McParland, Sean Wallace, Paddy Corrigan, John Pettigrew, and John Stone. None of these adults is still alive; all were from the local area.
The chalet bungalows in the background on the left are gone, but you can see images of them on the Belfast Forum.
The plaque on the left names others in addition: Billy Kelly, Alice Cush, Kate Campbell, John Mulligan, Mary Mulligan, David Mulhern, Margaret Mulhern, John Clarke, Margaret Farrelly, Marie Williams, Kevin Sullivan, Michael Rock, John McColgan, Bridget Maguire, Martin Maguire, Sally Corrigan, Sonny O’Reilly, Maggie McArdle, Jimmy McArdle, Kathleen Wallace, Maragret McGuinness, John Flanagan, Maisie McGuckian, Charlie McGuckian, Anthony Muldoon, Jim Logue, Ellen Weir, Liam Mackie, Oliver McParland, Sadie McMahon, Tommy Crowe, Maddie Holden, Sarah Doyle, Jimmy Doyle, Kathleen Pettigrew, Mary Cushnihan, Bell Cosgrove, Gerry Campbell.
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Copyright © 2022 Paddy Duffy
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Artist Raymond Henshaw produced a series of boards in 2008 and 2009, with support from the Arts Council, depicting the Markets area in the good old (i.e. pre-Troubles) days. Above are the bars of the Markets and below ‘industry’, ‘social’ and ‘social history.
Stewart St and Stanfield St, Belfast
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Here are two boards outside the north Belfast Orange hall in Alexandra Park Avenue, north Belfast.
Above: sporting heroes Joey Dunlop, Alan Campbell, Darren Clarke, Alex Higgins, George Best, and Carl Frampton.
Below: nineteen winners of the Victoria Cross: (left) Major Ernest Wright Alexander, Captain Eric Norman Frankland Bell, Commander Edward Barry Stewart Bingham, Private James Crichton, Second Lieutenant Edmund De Wind, Private James Duffy, Private William McFadzean, Private Robert Morrow, Sergeant David Nelson, (centre) Rifleman Robert Quigg, (right) Lieutenant James Anson Ortho Brooke, Lieutenant Geoffrey St. George Shillington Cather, Second Lieutenant Hugh Colvin, Second Lieutenant John Spencer Dunville, Sergeant-Majjor Robert Hill Hanna, Private Thomas Hughes, Captain John Alexander Sinton, Sergeant James Somers, Lieutenant-Colonel (Acting) Richard Annesley West.
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Copyright © 2022 Paddy Duffy
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“Fáılte go Cnoc na Foınse – Welcome to Springhill.” There are a dozen boards on either side of the Ballymurphy entrance to Springhill, highlighting positive aspects of the community, such as the work of Mother Teresa and four Missionary Sisters Of Charity from 1971-1973, the Upper Springfield Festival of 1973 (later revived in 1988 and years following as the Springhill Festival), Tara Stores and The Craft Centre, set up as a form of local enterprise in an area of mass unemployment, and the Springhill Community House, still in operation today but going back to Des Wilson and Noelle Ryan. There is no explicit mention of the 1972 Springhill-Westrock Massacre. The murals in the image above were in Divismore, Springmadden, and in the old Springhill.
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The wall at the top of Springhill Avenue was knocked down to great acclaim in 2017 (Guardian) but the impact was merely cosmetic as a wire fence and substantial shrubbery continued to block the way. The removal of the wall also meant the removal of the pro-Palestinian murals painted on it: Palestine Abú | Man Against Machine | Hellfire. In its place a large board was put in place celebrating the history of the area and especially the contribution made by Des Wilson and Noelle Ryan who worked in Springhill House for over forty years. Both Des and Noelle were interviewed by NVTv in 2012. Noelle died in 2014 (An Phoblacht) and Des in November 2019
The left hand side of the mural shows Mother Teresa, who lived and worked in the area with four nuns from 1971 to 1973 before being put out (allegedly) by the Catholic church (TripleVision documentary).
On the right, the old and new Springhills are contrasted, with images taken from the same spot approximately 30 years apart.
Springhill Avenue, west Belfast.
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The LPOW mural in Harvey Court dates back to 1997, to the release of political prisoners as part of the Good Friday Agreement. A recent (2015) version can be seen at Consolidate The Peace. The new mural features performers Jonny Jones, John Calvert, Tony Jones, and Sylvia Pavis. It was painted by Blaze FX with sponsorship from Charter NI and the Housing Executive.
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Copyright © 2022 Paddy Duffy
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Here are three shots of the new Blaze Fx (web | Fb) “Belfast Giants” mural in east Belfast’s Lord Street. The Giants have been Belfast’s ice-hockey team for the last fifteen years, beginning in 2000. The detail above shows mascot Finn MacCool and the image of the full mural, below, includes the team motto, the (a)politically-motivated “In the land of the giants, everyone is equal.” The mural takes the place of a UDA mural (see, Feriens Tego) and is one of three large murals and various small murals to be replaced or painted out. (This News Letter article puts the total at nine.)
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Copyright © 2022 Paddy Duffy
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Paddy Duffy Collection 