St Colmcille

Three new murals are added to the walls of the Lecky Road underpass to brighten it up. Above, St Colmcille (St Columba) sails from Derry to Iona (Scotland), in order to start a monastery there; he founded a Derry monastery in 540. The smaller pieces show the emblem of (Glasgow) Celtic FC and a young mother in front of a (civil rights?) protest beside Free Derry Corner.

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Copyright © 2008 Peter Moloney
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Ernesto Che Guevara Lynch

“Che” Guevara’s father, also called Ernesto Guevara Lynch, was an Argentinian descended from Patrick Lynch, who emigrated from Galway (in 1742?) and married in Buenos Aries in 1749. (Based on these rodovid pages: one | two | three.) Che’s father is the source of the quote at the bottom of the mural: “In my son’s veins flowed the blood of Irish rebels.”

The Irish inscription, ‘Th[ı]ocfadh an réabhlóıdeach a mharú ach ní an réabhlóıd a scríosadh”, means (roughly) “It may be that the revolutionary is killed, but not that the revolution is destroyed.” Fahan Street, Derry. Launched October 13th, 2007 (An Phoblacht).

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Copyright © 2008 Peter Moloney
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Catalonia 300

“Catalonia & Ireland – Saoırse • Llibertat”. Centralised Spanish rule dates back to the Nueva Planta decrees (WP) made by Philip V (shown upside-down in the first zero) between 1707 and 1716. These formed a single Spanish nation and citizenry and ended various regional identities including Catalonian.

Fahan Street, Derry

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Copyright © 2007 Peter Moloney
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Defend The Raytheon 9

“Derry Anti-War Coalition – Defend the Raytheon 9”. On August 9th, 2006, nine activists (including Eamonn McCann) broke into the Raytheon offices in Derry and destroyed computers and equipment. The trial would begin in May 2008.

See previously: Killed By Weapons Systems | One World One Struggle

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Copyright © 2007 Peter Moloney
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Years From Now They Will Ask You

“Years from now they will ask you where you were when your comrades were dying on hungerstrike. Shall you say you were with us or shall you say that you were conforming to the very system that drove us to our deaths[?]” INLA (sign the light-pole as well as the flags and red star in the mural) volunteer Patsy O’Hara, from Derry, joined the hunger strike on the same day as Raymond McCreesh (March 22nd) and died, 61 days later, later in the same day (May 21st, 11:29 p.m.) as him (2:11 a.m.).

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Copyright © 2007 Peter Moloney
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Let Us Swear By Joe’s Martyred Blood

“This plaque commemorates IRA vol. Joe McDonnell who lived in this house prior to his capture on 14th Oct 1976. Joe later died at 5.11 am on 8th July 1981 after 61 days on hunger strike in the h blocks Long Kesh. ‘Let us swear by Joe’s martyred blood never to waver of fail til the true united Irish socialist republic stands forth before the nations, a testimony to the worthiness of our case.’ Óglach calma dobhrıste. [A strong, unbreakable volunteer]”

Lenadoon Avenue, Belfast

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Copyright © 2007 Peter Moloney
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Political Status Now

“Political status now” – one of four such small boards along the Falls. The others are “Join Republican Sınn Féın 1905-2001“, “RSF“, and “Brits out, not sell out“. Below it (cut off) is “Go mall – páıstí’ (“Slowly – children”).

Islandbawn Street, Belfast

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Copyright © 2007 Peter Moloney
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