Pearse’s famous “Ireland unfree …” is modified to become “Women unfree shall never be at peace” alongside a combined anarchist and female (Venus) symbol. With the rejoinder: “Fuck up and make the tea!”
Northland Road, Derry
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Copyright © 2007 Peter Moloney
M03617
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
M03578
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
M03414 [M03933] M03861
A famous photo from the Battle Of The Bogside 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
M03299
“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
M02749
The symbol for female and Venus is stencilled in purple and pink on Lecky Road, Derry.
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Copyright © 2006 Peter Moloney
M02692
Wolfe Tone is buried in Bodenstown graveyard, Co Kildare, and every year republicans make a pilgrimage there to commemorate his role in the United Irishmen’s 1798 Rebellion and the beginning of Irish nationalism. In 1972, the address was given by Máıre Drumm, vice-president of Sınn Féın, a position she held until she was assassinated in the Mater Hospital by the Red Hand Commando in October 1976.
“Ní síocháın gan saoırse … thinker and doer, dreamer of the immortal dram and doer of the immortal deed. We owe to this dead man more than we can ever repay him. To his teaching we owe it that there is such a thing as Irish nationalism. And to the memory of the deed he nerved his generation to do. To the memory of 1798 we owe it that there is any manhood left in Ireland …”
Divis Street, Belfast
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Copyright © 2005 Peter Moloney
M02578
“Elizabeth the second by the grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and our other realms and territories, queen, head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith.” “Elizabeth II dea [sic] gratia Britannia regina fidei defensor”. “We the British subjects of Ulster pledge our allegiance to her sovereign majesty Queen Elizabeth II now and forever. The heart of the empire Ulsters loyal citizens.” Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor acceded to the throne of the United Kingdom in 1952 (she was crowned in 1953). 2002 was her golden jubilee year.
North Howard Street, west Belfast
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Copyright © 2005 Peter Moloney
M02455
Volunteers from the IRA’s 3rd battalion, Belfast Brigade, Billy Reid, Sean McIlvenna, Rosemary Bleakley, and Michael Kane are shown walking down New Lodge Road. Gibraltar victim Dan McCann is included in the 16 faces in the apex. The main image is on boards while the knotwork and dedication are on brick. “I measc laochra na nGael go raıbh a nanamacha.”
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Copyright © 2005 Peter Moloney
M02409 [M04401] [M04402] M04403 [M04404]
“Women of substance – plúr na mban. The changing role of women the in Market area.” A century of women’s work, from cooking, child-care, and hand-wringing the washing in 1904 to using computers, reading books, and graduating from university in 2004. The pink symbol in the corner is the emblem of the New Belfast Community Arts Initiative.
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Copyright © 2005 Peter Moloney
M02356 M02388
