24 May Belfast Wall Murals
These are political wall paintings and Belfast is famous for them.
Belfast has a long tradition of Loyalist murals (loyalists are the group that want to remain part of the United Kingdom).
The first one , painted in around 1908 , depicted the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 , when Protestant King William the third defeated Catholic King James the second.
The murals were painted on July 12th to commemorate the Battle of the Boyne.
During the troubles the murals were more threatening than the old ones and a lot more sinister.
However since peace has been established in Northern Ireland many are now historical and depict the First World War and the Titanic.
The emergence of murals on the nationalist side (those who prefer Ireland as one state with no UK influence) dates from the hunger strikes.
In the spring and summer of 1981 hundreds of murals were painted by republicans (nationalists).
From the very beginning republican murals portrayed the “armed struggle”.
Now in the Bogside of Londonderry , or Derry , there is a fantastic historicla series of murals depicting the troubles.
These were painted by the famous “Bogside Artists” and Ireland Luxury Tours recently took some clients on an extended tour of Ireland to meet the artists and see their work.
We can let you see them on our tours of Belfast or during your tour of Ireland. In fact some of our clients from cruise ships often see them on our overview of Belfast.