Murals in Northern Ireland

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Murals in Northern Ireland have become symbols of Northern Ireland, depicting the region's past and present divisions.^{[citation needed]}

Northern Ireland contains arguably the most famous political murals. Almost 2,000 murals have been documented in Northern Ireland since the 1970s. The murals more often than not represent one side's political point of view.

Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 References 4 External links 5 Further reading

[edit] History

Almost all Northern Ireland murals promote either republican or loyalist political beliefs, often glorifying paramilitary groups such as the Provisional Irish Republican Army and the Ulster Freedom Fighters, while others commemorate people who have lost their lives in paramilitary or military attacks.

The most famous of the murals in Northern Ireland may well be Free Derry Corner, where the slogan "You Are Now Entering Free Derry" was painted in 1969, shortly after the Battle of the Bogside. However, some do not consider Free Derry Corner to be a true mural, as it consists only of words and not images. Free Derry Corner has been used as a model for other murals in Northern Ireland, including the "You Are Now Entering Loyalist Sandy Row" mural in Belfast, which was a response to the republican message of Free Derry Corner, and the "You Are Now Entering Derry Journal Country" mural, which is an advertisement for a Derry publication.

Not all murals in Northern Ireland are political or religious in nature, with some commemorating events such as the Great Irish Famine (1845–1849), and other moments in Irish history. Many portray events from Irish mythology, though images from Irish myths are often incorporated into political murals. A few murals avoid the subject of Ireland altogether, instead focusing on such neutral subjects as litter prevention and the C. S. Lewis novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Murals representing peace and tolerance are becoming increasingly popular with school groups who have children either design or actually paint murals in areas around their schools. Additionally with many paramilitaries now involved in community work there has been a move to decommission many of the hard-edged murals across Northern Ireland.^[1] This change was further highlighted in 2007, when the Bogside Artists artists were invited to Washington, D.C. for the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival. The three artists were invited to recreate murals in the Washington Mall.^[2]

A mural depicting Bernadette Devlin McAliskey.	A mural in a loyalist area dedicated to George Best.	A mural in a republican area dedicated to George Best.	A mural dedicated to the sinking of RMS Titanic.
A mural dedicated to Bobby Sands.	A mural depicting Fr. Edward Daly during the events of Bloody Sunday (1972).	Free Derry mural.	The Death of Innocence.
Loyalist mural depicting republican killings.	Loyalist 'Freedom Corner' mural.	Northern Ireland football mural.	Mural dedicated to James Joseph Magennis in east Belfast.
Loyalist mural in east Belfast.	A Mural in the village marking Linfield's contribution to the Northern Ireland team	Edward Carson	A Loyalist mural in south Belfast 1981.
Loyalist mural in Island Street in east Belfast.

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Murals in Northern Ireland

• Bogside Artists
• Public art
• Propaganda

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Up to date map of Belfast murals
• Photographs of Belfast murals
• Political wall murals in Northern Ireland
• A collection of loyalist murals in Northern Ireland
• A collection of republican murals in Northern Ireland
• Collection of Republican murals and monuments
• Collection of Loyalist murals
• Flickr group: Northern Ireland political murals
• Routes of Reconciliation: Visiting Sites of Cultural Trauma in the U.S. South, Northern Ireland, and South Africa by Charles Regan Wilson, Southern Spaces, March 2009

[edit] Further reading

• B. Rolston (1992). Drawing Support: Murals in the North of Ireland. Belfast. 
• Oona Woods (1995). Seeing is Believing? Murals in Derry. Guildhall: Printing Press. ISBN 0-946451-31-1. 
• B. Rolston (1995). Drawing Support 2: Murals of War and Peace. Belfast. 
• B. Rolston (2003). Drawing Support 3: Murals and Transition in the North of Ireland. Belfast.