| From Unity, 18 August 2007 |
Painting on the wallby Lynda WalkerNot to go unnoticed this last week was the “unveiling” of new murals on the “International Wall” on what is known as the nationalist Falls Road in Belfast. This particular wall carries murals in solidarity with Cuba, Palestinians, opposition to the US and British war in Iraq, opposition to racism, recognition of the Basque Country, and others relating to the hunger strikes and other Irish politics.Murals have become part of the landscape in Belfast and the North in general. And, as Gerry Adams pointed out at the unveiling last Sunday, they have been with us for thousands of years—notably in the form of cave paintings. The “unveiling” of the mural of the 1907 dockers’ and carters’ strike was included in the programme of Féile an Phobail, the West Belfast Festival, and it took place on Saturday the 11th. This depicted “not Protestant not Catholic, not nationalist or loyalists but workers of Belfast in unity together” on strike against the bosses. The week before that the International Brigader Bob Doyle, along with his friend Harry Owens, came to Belfast, and, to the delight of participants, he visited the anti-racist football tournament on the Saturday and was given a standing ovation in the Roddy McCorley Club, where he spoke on the Saturday night. On Sunday the 5th of August he unveiled a mural honouring anti-fascist fighters in Spain. On Sunday the 12th of August Gerry Adams gave a short but informative speech about how, on the 26th of April 1937, the fascists bombed Guernica, the devastation that it caused, and how workers united against them. He also drew attention to the fact that workers’ unity was needed in present-day Ireland. Following this speech he and Jeannette Ervine unveiled a mural in memory of those who were killed at Guernica; this was a “copy” of Picasso’s painting. Both murals were cross-community and international efforts; most notably, Mark Ervine helped in the painting of the mural and visited Madrid with others to view Picasso’s work. The “International Wall” will be an obvious place to visit for those people who are coming here for the International Brigade Memorial Trust AGM in October. ■ For those who do not know, David Ervine, Jeannette’s husband and Mark’s father, who died earlier this year, was in the (loyalist) Progressive Unionist Party. |
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