Junk

Here is a small gallery of the wild-style and street-art in the street (formerly Anne Street) above Glendara, Derry. The most-recently painted works are the left-most quartet above, including (l-r) work by NOYS (ig), Dave Bonzai (ig), Kyle McGinley (writing “Jakey”) (ig), and Jam2 (ig).

The other three are older (2025) pieces at the rear gate of the Brandywell stadiums. Above the older NOYS piece is a board remembering Ryan McBride.

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Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
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Keep ‘Er Lit, Sunshine

These two ‘welcoming’ pieces are next to Brandywell Park, at the western end of the Brandywell, Derry.

Above, a March 2026 piece by Dave Bonzai (ig) (Derry Journal) replacing long-standing graffiti that read “Keeper [sic] lit, sunshine”.

Below is an old (2011) “Welcome to Derry” with flowers and oak leaves.

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Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
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Believe In Your Dreams

Ryan McBride was a Derry City FC defender and captain who died suddenly in 2017 at the age of 27 (BBC). The stadium was renamed, and the Ryan McBride foundation (web) was established, in his honour.

The piece above (by Ray Bonner) is at the Brandywell stadiums; the banner below is in Lecky Road.

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Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
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Waterside, Cityside, Quayside

The Peace Bridge is shown spanning the Foyle between (the former) Ebrington barracks and the Guildhall, with a film-strip of images, many depicting naval and military scenes, above and below. The first few panels in the upper ribbon show a gap in the walls of Derry, a poster encouraging people to “Join the Wrens [and free a man for the fleet]” (the Women’s Royal Naval Service; see the poster at IWM), soldiers playing ping-pong in their barracks, and the ship’s bell of the HMS Londonderry (which served as a training ship during the Falkland War (WP)).

Sperrin Park, Caw, Londonderry

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Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
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Rising From The Ashes

This mural, painted in 1981, still exists as is and is thus the oldest original mural in the north. It shows a phoenix rising from the shields of the four provinces and a stand of three flags: Starry Plough, Tricolour, and Sunburst.

Anne Street/Glendara, Brandywell, Derry

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Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
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Making Memories

Girls from Seán Dolans GAC (Fb) and Trojans Youth & Community Group (Fb) are “bringing communities together”, “forging friendships”, and “making memories”.

Painted by Peaball (web) with support from Féıle Derry (web) on what is now the Health For Life (Fb) building on Linsfort Drive in Creggan, Derry

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Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
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Annie Maunder

Annie Russell was born (1868) and raised in Strabane, Ireland. She studied at Girton College, Cambridge, and took a job at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich as a “computer”, photographing and analysing sunspots. She married Walter Maunder in 1895 and was admitted to the Royal Astronomical Society in 1916. She died in 1947.

The mural references Maunder’s work in a number of ways: the eclipse in the apex is a reference to Maunder’s work on eclipses – she travelled to Norway in 1896, India in 1898, Algiers in 1900, and Mauritius in 1901 in order to photograph and research the solar eclipses; the butterflies are a reference to the “butterfly” diagram for sunspots (WP).

Most particularly referential is the mask with a moustache that she is holding. This is a reference to the treatment of women in the academic and scientific communities of the time: as a woman, she received no degree for her studies at Cambridge; as a married woman she was compelled to give up her position at the Observatory; she had been first nominated for membership of the Society more than twenty years earlier; her work in her first year at the Observatory was not credited to her and the butterfly diagram was initially attributed solely to Walter.

(Royal Museums | Royal Observatory | WP | Brück on Alive Everett and Annie Russell Maunder)

Painted by emic (web) in Bridge Street, Strabane. The portrait more closely resembles Everett than Russell (Girton).

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Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
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Stop The Game

The Irish men’s soccer team is scheduled to play Israel in the Nations’ League, on September 27th and – at home – on October 4th, 2026. A campaign was launched to “Stop the game” in Dublin as a form of protest and disengagement, most prominently in the form of an open letter (instagram) sent to the FAI signed by footballers and various musicians.

The FAI instead appealed to UEFA to have the game played behind closed doors in a neutral country, saying that while it was “deeply conscious” of the suffering in Gaza and the West Bank, it did not want to forfeit the points or be disqualified from the competition (FAI).

The large tarp shown above has been added (on June 18th) on top of the long Painting For Palestine mural on Divis Street.

The various placards reading “No to hate”, “Fight racism”, and “Yes to all!” were added last week (June 17th) in response to the rioting in east Belfast and elsewhere – see McMaster Street Remembers. (These additions are reminiscent of the ‘Free Marian Price’ additions in 2013 – see Scaoıl Saor Marian Price in the Peter Moloney Collection.)

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Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
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Nature Does Not Hurry

A “living mural” on and around the wall around the Ark Housing (web) in Millisle, Co Down, was announced in the summer of 2025 (Newtownards Chronicle), with art by Blaze FX (ig) to be complemented by planters. By March, 2026, only background colours and various line-drawings of wildlife had been completed – see the images towards the bottom of the page – but now the whole the colours and details have been added.

With support from the Millisle And District Community Association (Fb) and Ulster Wildlife (Fb).

Ballymacruise Drive, Millisle

March 20th, 2026:

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Copyright © 2026 Paddy Duffy
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