physical force

Circus

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M00056 Rossville St 1981+

“Provos” and “victory to the hunger strikers” next to a circus mural at the rear of Rossville flats, with clowns, a monkey riding a bike, a strong man, people riding horses, a lion-tamer, and a juggler. It was painted by Joe Coyle, Noel Millar, Margo Harkin, and Tim Webster, with financial support from the Department Of Manpower Services (Watson in Circa 8.3, 1983). An anonymous painter is quoted of p.8 of Woods’s Seeing Is Believing? as saying: “The people felt absolutely no connection with it – it has to involve you or it just doesn’t mean anything.”

Chamberlain Street, Derry

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Copyright © 1981 Peter Moloney
M00056

They Die, You Die

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M00049+

“They die, you die – Brit Govt”. Above are posters of hunger strikers, some marked with dates of death. From right to left, smaller posters show Sands, Hughes, McCreesh, and O’Hara. From left to right, the larger posters show [McDonnell out of frame?], Doherty, Lynch (both marked as deceased), McElwee, Quinn, Devine, McKeown, McGeown, Devlin.

If the posters are an accurate guide, the date is somewhere between August 2nd and 8th, the dates on which Doherty and McElwee died. Liam McCloskey would join the strike on August 3rd.

The dentist’s office round the corner from Ballymurphy shops, Belfast.

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Copyright © 1981 LC
M00049

Don’t Let Them Die

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M00020+

M00021+

Two images of the Busy Bee supermarket in Andersonstown in August, 1981.

There are two galleries, at left and in centre. In the lower (later) image, the central gallery has 12 portraits – McDonnell, Doherty, Hurson, Lynch, McElwee (all with crosses, below, indicating death), Devine, Quinn (no days – he stopped his fast on July 31st), McKeown, McGeown, Devlin, McCloskey, Sheehan. The length of Sheehan’s strike is given as 8 days (in the lower image), which would mean that the (lower) image was taken on August 17th, 1981, the day Jackie McMullen joined the strike. The upper image was taken some time after McCloskey joined on August 3rd but before Sheehan joined on the 10th.

“Give them their 5 demands”, fist smashing H, “support the POWs”, “Ireland unfree shall never be at peace”, tricolour, starry plough, “Support the hunger strikers”.

Andersonstown Road, west Belfast

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Copyright © 1981 LC
M00020 M00021