painted wall

McFadzean And Miller

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The UVF’s William Millar (here given as “Miller”) was ambushed, along with Bobby Morton, by the RUC on the 16th of March 1983 – Millar died and Morton was injured (Long Kesh Inside Out). His death is put in parallel with the WWI service of William McFadzean, who won the VC for throwing himself on a fallen box of grenades on the first day of the Battle Of The Somme. The McFadzean family home (Rubicon) is only half a mile away from this mural.

Cappagh Gardens, Cregagh, Castlereagh

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Copyright © 1996 Paddy Duffy
T00243r

War Or Peace?

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“War or peace, north or south.” A hooded gunman from “Seymour Hill UFF” stands with his back to an explosion on O’Connell Street, Dublin.

“To the politicians: words are not enough for the peace and freedom of the children and the people of Ulster – “deeds and actions”. To our freedom-fighters: the supreme sacrifice is to lay down your life for your country. Some have given everything, others have yet to give.” The same wording (with “volunteers” instead of “freedom-fighters”) appears in a UVF mural in east Belfast.

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Copyright © 1996 Paddy Duffy
T00215

No 5 Platoon

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“No 5 platoon, A company, 1st battalion, Shankill, west Belfast”. Hooded gunmen crouch in front of a St Andrew’s Saltire and an Ulster Banner, with a UVF flag on top.

A plaque “in memory of a true soldier, Big Bill Campbell” was later added (see the Peter Moloney Collection).

Northland Street, west Belfast

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Copyright © 1996 Paddy Duffy
T00214

Timeless Time

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In Aboriginal cultures, “Dreamings” are the stories – in words or in paintings – of the creation and persistence of the Aboriginal peoples and lands, and their inter-relation. They belong to the person or tribe who told the story; it’s not know how this image came to be painted in Belfast’s New Lodge, or whether it is an authentic dreaming.

It shows two slender figures in black – one female, one male – looking upward at a jagged red circle/sun, all three of them contained in an inverted egg-like shape, itself surrounded (above) by a field of stars (including a small Plough) and (below) a variety of snake-like shapes and other designs.

Ludlow Square, New Lodge, north Belfast

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Copyright © 1996 Paddy Duffy
T00209 [T00293]

Release All POWs Now

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“Saoırse” [freedom]. Both male and female prisoners of war are represented in this mural: by the male and female faces — the male above the silhouette of Long Kesh, the female behind bars (presumably of Armagh prison) – and by the (formerly astrological) symbols for male (Mars) and female (Venus). The mural is signed (top left): “G[erard Mo Chara] Kelly 95″.

Kinallen Court, Ormeau, south Belfast

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Copyright © 1996 Paddy Duffy
T00195

The Women Of 1916

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Text would later be added along the bottom reading, “This mural is dedicated to the Women of Cumann Na mBan, Óglaıgh Na hÉıreann & Sınn Féın.” Image “from R[uth] Taillon’s book The Women Of 1916.” Taillon is a Canadian who moved to Belfast in 1980 and has been doing work with the women’s movement in the north and on women’s history – see NVTv.

Hawthorn Street, west Belfast. There was also a mural on the low wall to the left – see The Soldiers Of Cumann Na mBan.

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Copyright © 1996 Paddy Duffy
T00193

No Consent, No Parade

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Parading This mural demands that Orange Order marches have the consent of local residents in Derry, Garvaghy [Portadown], and lower Ormeau [south Belfast].

Parading was the central on-the-ground issue of the post-Agreement years (BBC). Resistance to Orange Order parades marching through CNR areas was led by local groups: in Derry, by the Bogside Residents’ Group, in Portadown, by the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition, and in lower Ormeau by Lower Ormeau Residents Action Group. In each case, residents were appealing directly to the local lodges and to the police. (The Parades Commission would be established in 1998.)

In 1995, there was a three-day stand-off on the Gavraghy Road that resulted in a silent march without bands (CAIN). The police initially re-routed the 1996 march but reversed the decision at the last minute, citing the threat of loyalist violence, and forced residents off the street in order to accommodate the parade.

Rossville Street, Bogside, Derry

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Copyright © 1996 Paddy Duffy
T00190

Upper Springfield Development Trust

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This is an in-progress image of a mural sponsored by and for the Upper Springfield Development Trust (web | until 1993 the Upper Springfield Development Forum) focusing on young people: “Mol an óıge agus tıocfaıdh sí.” (Praise youth/the young and it will flourish.”/”Youth responds to praise.”)

For a finished version, see the Peter Moloney Collection.

Signed by “Mo Chara” (Gerard “Mo Chara” Kelly) and “Spud” in the bottom right corner.

Whiterock Road, west Belfast

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Copyright © 1996 Paddy Duffy
T00188

The Battle Of Moy Tura

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“Nuadha, rí Tuatha Dé Danann, buaıteor chath Magh Tuıreadh Conga, Éıre/King Nuadha of the Tuatha De Dannan, victorious at the battle of Moy Tura [at Cong, the first battle], Ireland.”

“Mo Chara” Kelly’s mural reproduces the cover of Jim Fitzpatrick’s The Book Of Conquests in the middle and adds various other elements (Visual History).

Upper Whiterock Road, west Belfast

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Copyright © 1996 Paddy Duffy
T00187