poster/paste-up/sticker

Keep Our Kids Safe

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On June 7th, a Ballymena teenager was allegedly assaulted by two Romanian-speaking fourteen-year-olds, who were subsequently charged with attempted rape and denied bale. Rioting in Ballymena (Reuters gallery | youtube) beginning on the 9th spread to other locales in subsequent days, including Larne where the leisure centre was set alight on the third night (Guardian | youtube). More than 100 people from Ballymena were eventually arrested (Yahoo). Convictions of rioters – which police described as “race-motivated” and “hate-fuelled” – began on August 1st (PSNI); a 21-year-old man was sentenced to two years in jail earlier this month (Belfast Live). Two-thirds of the Roma population have left the town (Guardian).

These flyers are stuck onto a bus shelter on Crebilly Road, Ballymena. “We are not racist; we are concerned parents”, “Two-tier policing”, “Stop illegal and unvetted immigration”, “Stop mass migration”, “Keep our kids safe”.

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The End Is Nai

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Here is a selection of paste-ups on the hoardings around the War Memorial building in Waring Street, inspired by Leo Boyd’s attempt to create an unofficial paste-up wall. (See Paste No Paste-Ups.)

The piece above relies on two homophones, “nai” (“now” in a strong Belfast accent) and “nigh”, and, “sigh” and “scythe”.

In addition to pieces by Boyd (web), there are works by Lazer Eyes (web) (“In the gears, the machine”), Codo (ig) (“Every test is a lesson; every lesson is a blessing”), Szu Szu Sign Co (ig) (“There will never be a border between us”), Dragos (ig) (Imagine Balkans creatures), and RickyDrewAPiccy (Fb) “The End Is Nai” and “Cranes – they’re everywhere. She’s got cranes on her walls … now she’s got cranes in her soul.”

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Paste No Paste-Ups

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Above and immediately below are two new paste-ups by Leo Boyd which attempt – by example and by reverse-psychology – to turn the hoarding around the War Memorial building in Waring Street into a paste-up gallery (similar to the new “legal wall” for graffiti and street-art in Little Patrick Street – see First!).

The third image is of a Boyd paste-up already on the wall, mixing the police land-rover (see Off The Edge for an index) with the cat looming over city hall (see Belfast Kitty Hall). The final stencil is by French artist MDLF (ig).

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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The Shankill Remembers VE Day

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World War II ended in Europe at 11 p.m. on May 8th, after Germany’s unconditional surrender to the Allied forces. The date was dubbed “Victory In Europe Day” or “VE Day” and this year (2025) marks its eightieth anniversary. 

The text at the bottom of this Shankill Road poster reads: “‘My dear friends, this is your hour. This is not the victory or of any class, it’s a victory of the Great British people as a whole. We were the first, in these ancient isles, to draw the sword against tyranny.’ – Prime Minister Winston S Churchill”. The lines come from brief remarks Churchill made to the crowds assembled at the Ministry Of Health in London – the text can be found at Forces News; Pathé newsreel of Churchill’s earlier radio announcement of the end of the war can be found on youtube.

Shankill Road, west Belfast

See also: VE Day | VE Day Celebrations | From D-Day To VE Day

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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Mind Your Whisht

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Joe Caslin (web) with a poem by Sean Watmore (web) entitled Mind Your Whisht: If lives you talk of are not your own/Whose actions don’t affect you//If existence causes you distress/Your own must be a virtue//Please heed the words my Grandad said/To those who judged another//’Mind your whisht’ and walk away/We’re all in this together.

In Talbot Street for Hit The North 2025 (Seedhead Arts).

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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Be A Bastard

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Here are two paste-ups from illustrator and artist DEID (web) in Belfast city centre.

Above: “Be a bastard – tag yer local electrical box.”

Below: MAGA red-hats with an upside-down Stars And Stripes bring to mind David Bowie’s 1997 song “I’m afraid of Americans” (youtube).

There are more DEID stickers and paste-ups in the Seosamh Mac Coılle collection.

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Copyright © 2024/2025 Paddy Duffy
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A Revolution In Recycling!

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For Recycle Week 2021 (WRAP), Laura Nelson (ig) and Leo Boyd (web) installed a series of seven pieces (each a combination of sign-writing and paste-up) on the abandoned Fanum House, using CO2-absorbing paint (from Graphenstone) and a potato-based glue for the paste-ups. “A revolution in recycling!”

The X-Wing Land-Rover was a later addition, on top of one of the original paste-ups.

Great Victoria Street and Ventry Street, Belfast city centre

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Invasion Of The Building-Snatchers

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The Bank Of Ireland building at the junction of North Street and Royal Avenue was purchased by the City Council in 2021 (Business Insider) with the intention of turning it into a visitor attraction called ‘Belfast Stories’ by 2030. The latest step in the process was a period of public consultation (BelTel). In the meantime, Leo Boyd (web) has taken over the boarded-up space that previously housed the ATM with an image of space invaders hovering over the building.

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Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
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Union Bears

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The “Union Bears” are a Rangers FC “ultras” supporters club whose web page currently features the giant tifo – “sign” or “banner” is too small a word, so the Italian word is used – unveiled at various games. This much smaller display (above) is on an electrical box on the Doagh Road next to the Iceland at the eastern edge of the Rathcoole estate.

For the Sons Of KAI flute band sticker, see Kai Johansen’s Bar | Sons Of KAI | Four Lads Had A Dream.

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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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