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Political Graffiti
Belfast
1908
8 killed and more than 700 enjured people
150 homes destroyed, 2 thousand families evacuated
...Bloody Sunday
Nationalists, Catholics,
Irish people.
Loyalists, Protestants, British people.
The phenomenon of murals in Northern Ireland developed in 1908. In this year the first mural was painted in Belfast,which is still famous for the countless political representations painted throughout the city.
The first mural painting dates back to 1908, when some loyalists painted William III of England on a white horse (he had defeated the Catholic king James II in the battle of the Boyne in 1690) to underline the Protestant identity of the nation. The original is gone, but the subject is a favorite among Unionists.
The walls were initially built as a temporary structure to avoid the violence episodes that had involved nationalists, loyalists and police.
The first peace line is dating back to 1969 in Belfast after the riots that began in August. Intense violence broke out that month between the Loyalist community of The Shankill Road and the Nationalist community of The Falls Road.
Falls Road
Shankill Road
Sunday Bloody Sunday
This tragic event inspired the Irish rock band U2. Indeed, they wrote the song "Sunday Bloody Sunday" to commemorate the terrible day of January 30, 1972.
These conflicts refer to the struggle for the autonomy of the people. Still partly under the control of London, the territories underwent a long British colonization and the division of the population into two sections: the first, formed by a large Catholic, nationalist and republican majority, the second formed by a minority of English ancestry , Protestant and unionist. The conflict escalated in the 70s and 80s when Irish republicans formed paramilitary organizations (IRAs). The Irish Republican Army and loyalist groups clashed hard, resulting in thousands of deaths.
Republican Belfast murals are activated in predominantly Catholic neighborhoods. Republican depictions capture the faction's most dramatic moments. The most famous depict the rising phoenix, a symbol of Ireland reborn from the ashes of the Easter Uprising, the face of Bobby Sands, the political activist who died following a hunger strike, and various Irish political and mythological figures.
Unlike the republican style, rich in symbolism, the loyalist one has always been distinguished by provocative features and military images. Paramilitary insignia, images of King William III, the red hand of Ulster and clenched fists are the main subjects of the loyalist murals, demonstrating the deep sense of loyalty to the British crown.