Óglach Bobby Sands

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Óglach Bobby Sands 9th March 1954 – 5th May 1981”. Sands was the first of the ten IRA and INLA prisoners to die in the second hunger strike. For the 44th anniversary of his death, a statue was unveiled in Twinbrook, near the Sands family home and next to the memorial garden in Gardenmore Road (Peter Moloney Collection).

The statue was created by Packy Adams (Belfast Media | Irish News) and appears to be based on the photographs by Gérard Harlay – discovered in 2019 – of Sands carrying a United Irishmen flag in a march that took place a few months before his (final) arrest in 1976 (Bobby Sands Trust). The new statue (which does not have planning permission) has a built-in flag-pole, to which an Irish Tricolour was added for the launch on May 4th.

May 3rd:

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
T06666 [T06665] T06664 [T06663] T06662c T06661c T06660c [T06659]
T06617

HTN 2025 – Library Street

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Here is a gallery of pieces from Library Street, painted for 2025’s Hit The North street art festival (Seedhead Arts).

From left to right (top to bottom in appearance here):
Rob Hilken (web)
NOYS (ig) official title “Auditor”
writing by TMN
Ajax Piper (web) from England
Claire Prouvost (web) from Dublin
Ohhi Ohno (ig) from Limerick
[writers]

May 4th:

May 3rd:

May 2nd:

May 3rd:

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
T06667
T06747 T06668 T06643
T06746
T06641 T06612
T06669
T06745 T06640
T06744

2025 HTN – Kent Street

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Here is a gallery of pieces from Kent Street, painted for 2025’s Hit The North street art festival (Seedhead Arts).

From top to bottom in appearance here, the works are by …

(North side of the street:)
Luck (ig) from Thailand (above and immediately below)
unknown
Karl Fenz (web)
My Dog Sighs (web)
Sanchai (ig) from Thailand
unknown
DanLeo (web)
unknown
(South side of the street:)
Mel Carroll (web)
Jacky Sheridan (web)
SillyMe (ig)
Glen Molloy (Fb)
Gabriela Joyce (web)
Alexandra (ig)
Danni Simpson (web)
FGB (web) + Katriona (web) 
Jam (ig)
Imogen Donegan (ig)
KVLR (web)
Lost Lines (ig)
JMK
(Above Union St:)
David McMIllan (web)
unknown
Holly Pereira (web)
Hicks (ig)

south side:

May 5th, vandalised after completion:

May 6th, re-finished:

May 5th, vandalised after completion:

May 6th, re-finished:

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
T06717 [T06649] [T06614]
T06719 [T06649]
T06718 [T06685]
T06785 [T06732] [T06721]
T06684
T06683
T06651 T06723
T06722 [T06682]
T06786 [T06787]
T06730
T06729 [T06681]
T06728 [T06680] [T06652]
T06679 [T06653]
T06727 [T06678]
T06726 [T06677] [T06655] T06654
T06725 [T06676]
T06724
T06731 [T06675] [T06650] [T06613]
T06720
T06716 [T06733]
T06674
T06784
T06734
T06735 T06783 [T06693]
T06736 T06782 [T06695] [T06694]

HTN 2025 – Union Street

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Here is a gallery of pieces from Union Street, painted for 2025’s Hit The North street art festival (Seedhead Arts). From left to right (top to bottom in this entry), the works are by:

FESA (ig) from Munch
SNAK (ig)
Ona Salvador (web)
ADW (ig)
Molly Hankinson (web)
Kerrie Hanna (web)
(below Kent St)
Shane Ha (web)
Kayde (web)
Alana McDowell (ig)
Niall OL (ig)
NRMN (ig)
Keyto (ig)
Codo (ig)
Leo Boyd (web)
Conor McClure (ig)
KAYOS (ig)
JunkGraff (ig) + Sinead Crumlish (ig)
and, on the other side of the street, Sky High (ig)

May 1st:

work-in-progress May 3rd:

May 4th:

May 3rd:

Below Kent St:

May 1st:

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
T06742 [T06644] T06597
T06743
T06741 [T06671] T06645
T06740 [T06646]
T06739 T06672 T06647
T06738 [T06673]
below:
T06715
T06714
T06692 T06737
T06711
T06710
T06709 [T06691] [T06990]
T06708 [T06657]
T06686
T06706 [T06688] [T06687]
[T06707] T06689 [T06658]
T06705
T06713 [T06712] [T06656] [T06616] [T06615] [T06595] T06594

The Shankill Remembers VE Day

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

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

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
T06769

When The Ranks That Are Thin Shall Be Thinned

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“English Brigade Ulster Volunteer Force.” “England and Ulster – the ties that bind.” “United we stand.”

On the left are the words from William Blake’s poem, which also serve as the lyrics to the hymn Jerusalem.

“Let our flag run out straight in the wind/The old red shall be floated again./When the ranks that are thin shall be thinned/When the names that were twenty are ten.” [from Swinburne’s A Song In Time Of Order which was also used as a socialist song]

The images along the bottom illustrate the connection between Northern Ireland and England. From left to right: Edward Carson in Liverpool in 1912; 10,00 pledges from Liverpool men; Carson addressing 100,000 people in Hyde Park, London; a banner reading “City of London supports loyal Ulster”; “Field Marshall Sir Henry Wilson opens the Ulster Tower in 1921. Sir Henry was killed by the IRA in 1922 at his home in London”; GS Cather, VC winner with the Ulster Division; evacuees to Liverpool in 1973.

Spier’s Place, middle Shankill, west Belfast. For the memorial on the right (in the wide shot) see A Fisherman, An Entertainer, A Shankill Road Man.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2025 Paddy Duffy
T06763 [T06764] T06767
T06765 T06766
T06768