Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [512]
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MURALS OF BELFAST
Belfast’s tradition of political murals is a century old, dating from 1908 when images of King Billy (William III, Protestant victor over the Catholic James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690) were painted by Unionists protesting against home rule for Ireland. The tradition was revived in the late 1970s as the Troubles wore on, with murals used to mark out sectarian territory, make political points, commemorate historical events and glorify terrorist groups. As the ‘voice of the community’ the murals were rarely permanent, but changed to reflect the issues of the day.
Republican Murals
The first Republican murals appeared in 1981, when the hunger strike at the Maze Prison saw the emergence of dozens of murals supporting the hunger strikers. In later years, Republican muralists broadened their scope to cover wider political issues, Irish legends and historical events. After the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, the murals came to demand police reform and the protection of nationalists from sectarian attacks.
Common images seen in Republican murals include the phoenix rising from the flames (symbolising Ireland reborn from the flames of the 1916 Easter Rising), the face of hunger-striker Bobby Sands, and scenes and figures from Irish mythology. Common slogans include ‘Free Ireland’, the Irish Gaelic ‘Éirí Amach na Cásca 1916’ (The Easter Rising of 1916) and ‘Tiocfaidh Ár Lá’ (Our Day Will Come).
The main areas for Republican murals are Falls Rd, Beechmount Ave, Donegall Rd, Shaw’s Rd and the Ballymurphy district in West Belfast; New Lodge Rd in North Belfast; and Ormeau Rd in South Belfast.
Loyalist Murals
Whereas Republican murals were often artistic and rich in symbolic imagery, the Loyalist ones have traditionally been more militaristic and defiant in tone. The Loyalist battle cry of ‘No Surrender!’ is everywhere, along with red, white and blue painted kerbstones, paramilitary insignia and images of King Billy, usually shown on a prancing white horse.
You will also see the Red Hand of Ulster, sometimes shown as a clenched fist (the symbol of the Ulster Freedom Fighters, UFF), and references to the WWI Battle of the Somme in 1916 in which many Ulster soldiers died; it is seen as a symbol of Ulster’s loyalty to the British crown, in contrast to the Republican Easter Rising of 1916. Common mottoes include ‘Quis Separabit’ (Who Shall Divide Us?), the motto of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA); and the defiant ‘We will maintain our faith and our nationality’.
Murals Today
In recent years there has been a lot of debate about what to do with Belfast’s murals. Some see them as an ugly and unpleasant reminder of a violent past, while others claim they are a vital part of Northern Ireland’s history. There’s no doubt they have become an important tourist attraction, but there is now a move to replace the more aggressive and militaristic images with murals dedicated to local heroes and famous figures such as footballer George Best and Narnia novelist CS Lewis.
There are also some off-beat and amusing artworks, including one that has been baffling passers-by for years. A gable-end on Balfour Ave, off Ormeau Rd, asks the question ‘How can quantum gravity help explain the origin of the universe?’. It was part of an art installation in 2001, one of 10 questions selected by scientists as the most important unsolved problems in physics. Perhaps it has survived so long as