women

Fıanna Éıreann 1909-2009

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“Fuaır sıad bás ar son saoırse na hÉıreann” [they died for the freedom of Ireland]. Na Fıanna Éıreann [warriors of Ireland; IRA youth] were begun in 1909 by Countess Markievicz and Belfast man Bulmer Hobson (WP). They took part in the Easter Rising of 1916. The role of honour lists deaths from 1969 to 1984 – the Troubles. After the Agreement, the Fıanna are affiliated with Republican Sınn Féın and the Continuity IRA. At the corner of Beechmount Avenue and the Falls Road – see the Visual History of this wall.

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Copyright © 2009 Peter Moloney
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Colin Area Remembers With Pride And Honour

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“Everyone tells me I’m a feminist. All I know is that I’m just as good as others, and that especially means men. I am definitely a socialist and I’m definitely a Republican. I believe in a united socialist country, definitely socialist. Capitalism can offer our people nothing and yet that’s the main interest of the British in Ireland – Óglach Maıréad Farrell.” Farrell was one of the Gibraltar 3 (along with Sean Savage and Dan McCann), killed by SAS soldiers in 1988. Painted by Rısteard Ó Murchú.

Jasmine Corner, Twinbrook, Dunmurry.

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Copyright © 2008 Peter Moloney
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Beechmount Óglaıgh

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The memorial garden in Beechmount Avenue, Belfast, goes beyond commemoration of IRA volunteers. Moving clockwise: dying volunteer, “local men and women and POWs”, hunger strikers, comhaltaí Shınn Féın, proclamation, na hÓglaıgh, “innocent people from the area”, “the unsung heroes off [sic] this area”, Sands quote.

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Copyright © 2008 Peter Moloney
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Women At Work/Catalonia 300

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These two boards are on the fence outside the Pilot’s Row Centre in Rossville Street. The first is a Bogside & Brandywell Women’s Group compilation of women in various occupations (plus Bernadette Devlin breaking up pavement); the second shows support for Catalonia: “300 years of occupation, 300 years of resistance”.

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Copyright © 2007 Peter Moloney
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Female Guardians

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This pair of images — “Deserted! Well – I can stand alone” from the anti-Home Rule campaign that continued during WWI and the other a more contemporary scene of “a protestant farmer’s wife guard[ing] her husband against sectarian attack from across the border” — was previously painted in (what remains of) Moscow Street, next to the Rex bar on the Shankill. (See X00066. See also M00558 lower Shankill | M00621 east Belfast | M02302 east Belfast). The plaque on the right was not originally part of the mural (see J2395) and the mural would later be modified by the removal of the Orange Order and St Andrew’s flags (but not the UVF emblem), replaced by a shamrock-strewn banner reading “Fight To A Finish” (M08026).

Drumtara, Ballymena

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Copyright © 2007 Peter Moloney
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Bernadette

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The Bernadette mural by the Bogside Artists is prepared for an update, ten years after originally being painted, in 1997.

“The Artists’ first coloured mural is a tribute to the women of Derry and their role in the civil rights campaign. Bernadette Devlin, Britain’s youngest MP, addresses the crowd during the Battle of the Bogside: her actions resulted in a six month jail sentence for inciting and taking part in a riot. The woman to her left bangs a dustbin lid on the ground to alert neighbours to the arrival of the authorities. The triable motif inspired by the gable end is repeated throughout the painting. Our job is to do justice to our history and the price people have paid for their democratic rights. That’s what we are about.“

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Copyright © 2007 Peter Moloney
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Breaking New Ground

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A famous photo from the Battle Of The Bogside (included below) shows Bernadette Devlin breaking a piece of pavement. The board above – possibly of two independent halves – has her bringing down the pavement on the issues faced by women in Derry, such as water rates, lone parents, breast cancer support, and smoking cessation.

“Bogside & Brandywell Women’s Group – Breaking new ground – Féıle 06”

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Copyright © 2006 Peter Moloney
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The Falls Curfew

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“I ndıl chuımhne William Burns, died 3-7-70, Charles O’Neill 3-7-70, Zbigniew Uglik 4-7-70, Patrick Elliman 11-7-70, murdered by the British Army during the Falls Curfew of July 3-5 1970. The curfew was finally broken by the courage and determination of the women of Belfast.”

There is video of the 2005 launch and reenactment of the breaking of the blockade. The plaque for a time moved to the International Wall (see the mural to Máıre Drumm and the ending of the Falls Curfew) before returning to this spot (next to Elaine’s/Falls Rolls – see Ár Tae Will Come).

Falls Road, west Belfast

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Copyright © 2006 Peter Moloney
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