This Galliagh art encourages “RESPECT” for families and the elderly. The first (“R”) panel is the odd one out, as it includes a (Star Wars) storm-trooper’s helmet and a tribute to Oran McClintock, who died in July (2024) (Derry Now | Funeral Times). The electrical sub-station is near the family home in Moss Park. “May the force be with you!”
This is (presumably) a RAZER (ig) piece, along with young people from Galliagh Community Response (Fb gallery).
Caitlin McLaughlin died suddenly on June 24th, 2023. She collapsed from a heart attack as she walked to the bus station in Belfast to return home from a music festival at which she had taken ecstasy (BBC). A requiem mass was held in Galliagh on the 28th (BelTel) and the mural shown here was launched in Brookdale Park on October 27th, 2023, which would have been Caitlin’s 17 birthday (Belfast Live).
“I saw you all, my family & friends/the day God took me home,/I smiled, I cried, I felt so proud/You didn’t let me go alone//To all my friends, please listen now/To what I have to say,/Please don’t leave your loved ones/the way I did that day//I’m with the angels in heaven now/and with our we[e] Kyle too,/But often I look down and sigh/For I’d rather be there with you//Forget me not/XO”
The “Lagan Gateway” bridge opened in 2021 (Belfast Media), connecting the Lagan Towpath and the Annadale Embankment, just below the Belfast Boat Club (which is the site of the final image, from The Coffee Box ig) and the Stranmillis weir. The art was added in 2022 by Glen Molloy (Fb) with support from Youth4Nature (ig).
“The flowers that bloom tomorrow are the seeds you planted today” – this is another in the series of murals sponsored by Wild Belfast (web) as it attempts to increase the habitats for birds. The ‘house martin’ painting at Cliftonville and the ‘swifts’ painting in Bruce Street are now joined by a piece by Lost Lines (ig | Rhea Hanlon) in Rossmore Drive, south Belfast, featuring house sparrows. Like the others, this piece include bird boxes, mostly in the top right of the wide shot, last below.
“Beır bua – It is the responsibility of the living to keep alive the memory of the dead.” This is the second ‘Working Class Heroes’ piece in Ballymurphy. The other, from 2014, features Tommy “Toddler” Tolan, who appears here to the left of the phoenix.
The plaque on the right reads “This mural was unveiled by Johnny Doc and Maureen Tolan, 5th November, 2023.” There is video of the launch on Facebook, which contains a reading of the names of all the people pictured from the 1m 57s mark onwards.
This is a second piece of street art by Dan Kitchener (web) in Bank Square, next to his painting of fast cars (Fast Enough So We Can Fly Away?): a painting of Jesus Of Nazareth for Hope/Crown Jesus Ministries (web).
This is the second “Living Mural” in Wild Belfast’s (web) “Art For Conservation” project. The first was on the side of a stand at Cliftonville FC, where a Daniela Balmaverde painting was dotted with small structures for house-martins (see Bird In The Hand).
The second, shown here, is above the Little Victoria Street car-park in Bruce Street and again includes bird boxes along with the artwork. The sideways-on image, below, gives the best view of the eight “swift bricks” that will provide nesting space for the birds in the summer, as well as the bird-call speakers (above the “S” of “swift” on the side) that will hopefully attract the swifts. Both swifts and house-martins have ‘red’ (“high concern”) conservation status in Ireland (Bird Watch Ireland pdf).
‘Suggestions For Stargazing’ is a series of information boards and fluorescent questions encouraging people to embrace darkness. The installation was designed by Aisling O’Beirn (web) as part of the Right To The Night (ig) project, which is concerned with light pollution in north Belfast, and was included in the Red Sky At Night festival (Belfast CC). It will remain in place until the end of November, 2024.
Above: “Light pollution is caused by too much artificial outdoor light. When we over-light we risk losing our night time environment with negative effects for the environment, the climate, wildlife, human health and the economy.”
Last below: “There is a global movement to reduce light pollution, everyone can help, even you! Use light only when necessary. Minimise glare and brightness. Angle outdoor lights downwards. Use switch off or dimming sensors. Keep nature dark. Avoid illuminating trees, water, and nesting areas.”
“I would not wish any companion in the world but you” [The Tempest 3.1]
“So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,/So long lives this, and this gives life to thee” [Sonnet 18]
[Right (image above)]
“Doubt thou the stars are fire/Doubt that the sun doth move/Doubt truth to be a liar/But never doubt I love” [Hamlet Act 2 Scene 2]
“When I saw you/I fell in love./And you smiled/because you knew” [from ArrigoBoito’s libretto to Verdi’s Falstaff. In Italian: “Come ti vidi/M’innamorai./E tu sorridi/Perchè lo sai”]
“See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand/O that I were a glove upon that hand/That I might touch that cheek.” [Romeo & Juliet 2.2]
Paddy Duffy Collection 