Murals in Northern Ireland

1
Murals in Northern Ireland

• Politics and Art in a Divided Society
• All pictures taken by Anne Frazer
• July/August 2006

2
Loyalist Murals

• In Northern Ireland, the term Loyalist refers
  to the mainly Protestant community who is willing
  to use violence to maintain the Union with Great
  Britain.
• Loyalist murals are found throughout Belfast and
  Northern Ireland. In Belfast, they are found most
  frequently in East Belfast (especially the
  Newtownards Road area) and in the Shankill Area
  of West Belfast.
• Loyalist murals often contain a good deal of
  symbolism, and from my observations tend to be
  more militant than Republican murals, showing the
  difference in attitudes of the two communities
  towards the Northern Ireland Peace Process.

3
Loyalist Murals

• There is currently an initiative underway in
  Northern Ireland to reduce the number of Loyalist
  murals by replacing them with more neutral
  images, such as murals of soccer player George
  Best.
• This has been met with controversy by people
  concerned that the money from the government to
  replace the murals will end up in the hands of
  loyalist paramilitaries.
• Loyalist paramilitaries were responsible for the
  deaths of 1,020 people during the period from
  1972-1998 known as The Troubles.

4
Republican Murals

• In Northern Ireland, the term Republican refers
  to those generally in the Catholic community who
  are willing to use violent means to achieve unity
  with the Republic of Ireland. This includes
  groups such as Sinn Féin and the Irish Republican
  Army (IRA).
• Republican murals are found throughout West and
  North Belfast, along the Ormeau Road in South
  Belfast, in the Republican Short Strand area of
  East Belfast, and in Republican strongholds such
  as the Bogside of Derry.
• Republican murals tend to be a great deal more
  commemorative than outright violent, which is
  quite different from Loyalist murals and shows
  the differing opinions of the two communiites on
  the Peace Process.

5
Republican Murals

• There has been no attempt like in the Loyalist
  community to get rid of these murals. In fact, I
  witnessed a man on the Falls Road (a Republican
  area of West Belfast) painting a new mural
  commemorating the 1981 Hunger Strikes while I was
  there.
• The Bogside Artists group, which is responsible
  for the high quality of murals in the Bogisde
  area of Derry, actually sells prints of their
  murals in the Derry Tourist Bureau gift store.

6
Murals in Northern Ireland

• For more information on murals in Northern
  Ireland, visit the murals index at the Conflict
  Archive on the Internet (CAIN).
• For more pictures of my trip to Northern Ireland
  in July/August of 2006, visit my Smugmug Gallery.
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