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Sister Clare’s Prayer

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This is the second mural in Derry to Sister Clare Crockett. The first was in her Brandywell home (see All Or Northing!!) while this one is in Shantallow. Crockett became a nun in 2001 and died at the age of 33 in an earthquake in Ecuador in 2016 – the mass for the seventh anniversary of her death was held last month (youtube).

A documentary film about Crockett’s life is available on youtube.

Painted by Razer (ig) in Racecourse Road, Shantallow, Derry.

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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We Carry On

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“This mural is one part of a community led project by Hive Cancer Support and Ulster University [web]. It was designed and painted by Peaball street art collective [web] based on the findings of an Ulster University research study [UU | Derry Now] commissioned by Hive Cancer Support that looked at the mental health impact of cancer surgery. We want to thank all those who took part weer willing to tell their personal story to help create this piece. The singular sunflower looks at each individual journey and the focus and determination to look to the light in dark times. It also represents the innovative air purifying paint [Hypo Air] used on this mural. The vase illustrates the Japanese art of Kintsugi- repairing pottery with gold making it stronger and more beautiful that before. The healing golden seams become part of the beauty and history of the object, to be appreciated rather than disguised. Cancer does not discriminate. Many homes around the world have been affected in some way- the window is a representation of this. The project was made possible through funding from The Ideas Fund.”

Strand Road, Derry

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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Peace If Possible, Truth At All Costs

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“Londonderry west bank loyalists” are “still under siege”, from two decades of “Republican violence” – “Between 1971 and 1991 the Protestant population of the Cityside declined by 83.4% as a result of Republican violence (Shirlow et al. 2005)”. (The words “as a result of Republican violence” are not included in the Shirlow article).

Fountain Street, in the Fountain, Londonderry.

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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Faith, Blood, Service, Sacrifice

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The board remembering Queen Elizabeth II below the Old Warren “community transformation” board has been updated with the accession and coronation of Charles III: “Lisburn is proud of the history and heritage of our royal family – faith, blood, service, sacrifice – God save the King” with images of William III, the present king Charles III, and his mother and predecessor Queen Elizabeth II. For a (brief!) explanation of the line from William (1689) to Elizabeth (1952), see Elizabeth, Queen Of Orange.

For the previous (QEII remembrance) board (and an image of the old UDA mural at the top of the estate which is included in the “Before” panel on the left), see Conflict To Peace.

Avonmore Park, Old Warren, Lisburn

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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Warm Welcome

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In the early hours of Tuesday morning, the Townsend Street offices of homeless charity the Welcome Organisation (web) were rammed with a car which was then set alight (BBC). The graffiti shown above has now appeared on the other side of the Falls Road, threatening anyone who works on the restoration of the building. “Any work-men repairing Welcome centre will be shot!”

The IRSP issued a statement in which they expressed support for the work of the charity but asserted that local residents have been asking for the relocation of the charity for a decade due to the anti-social behaviour of some of Welcome’s clients (see Xitter one | two | the BBC article below | Belfast Media | BelTel). After the attack, the Organisation made an initial statement explaining its altered services and hope for a drop-off point for donations in the light of the attack (Belfast Live) but yesterday said that it would consider moving if it could not reach an agreement with locals at a meeting next week (BBC).

Milford Close, Divis, west Belfast

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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I Was A Stranger And You Welcomed Me

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God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son (John 3:16). And greater love hath no man but to lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13, often used in the context of military sacrifice). But local homes are for local people. (The use of a stencil is a step up in sophistication.)

The Union Flag fills the empty frame where there used to be a list of locals who died in The Belfast Blitz.

Hogarth Street, Tiger’s Bay, north Belfast.

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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A Fighting Chance

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“Our wee champ.” 21-year-old boxer Liam McGuinness, of Gleann ABC (Fb), died by suicide in October 2010, one of the many people to take their own lives in west Belfast that year among the 313 in all of Northern Ireland (Irish Examiner | Guardian | NI Assembly). A vigil was held in September (in Twinbrook) to commemorate the suicides there (BBC); another was held in the days after McGuinness’s death (BBC); a forum on the topic was held by Sınn Féın. The mural in his memory and in support of suicide awareness is outside the club, off the Glen Road in Hannahstown.

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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From The Plough To The Stars

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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

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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Joseph, 23

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“Joseph, 23” is Joseph Burns, from north Belfast, who died in 2014 of a cardiac arrest. This is one of a dozen British Heart Foundation murals across the UK featuring victims below the age of 35 (Belfast Media | BelTel | Belfast Live). The other murals in the series – in Birmingham (Wolverhampton), Cardiff (Abertysswg), Chesterfield, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London (Essex, West Drayton), Newcastle, Nottingham, Southampton (x2) – are tied to the person’s support for a national soccer team (BBC | BHF).

“This is Joseph. He had his whole life ahead of him. A life full of hopes and dreams. But those dreams were sadly snatched away when he died. Each week, 12 young people are lost to sudden cardiac death in the UK. Only with your support can be fund the lifesaving scientific research that will help put a stop to this tragic reality. Please donate today.”

Linenhall Street, Belfast city centre

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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Love The Arts

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Love Hearts turn 70 years old in 2024 – they were originally included in crackers for the Christmas season in 1954. Over the years, the messages on them have changed, and various specialty versions have been produced, including for Prince William’s 21st (in 2003) and a recent collaboration with YoungMinds with affirmative messages (Swizzels | WP). The messages on these “Love tHeArts” – imagined by FGB (ig) in North Street, Belfast city centre – are perhaps less “Marry me” and “Be mine” and more “Fund me” and “Follow me on Instagram”.

See also Eat To The Beat for another Swizzels sweet – the drumstick – by FGB.

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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