John McMichael was one of the UDA’s most politically significant figures in the 1980s, closely associated with the publication Common Sense, which argued for power-sharing and a political future. He was killed by an IRA car bomb outside his home in Lisburn in December 1987.

Named after the nearby Cosy Bar, the Cosy Somme Association organise annual parades and memorial events. Here is their memorial mural in Willowfield, East Belfast. This photo May 2026.

... (2/2) It is then digitally reproduced in a printed version that can be seen on the Falls Road, West Belfast (this photo August 2016). The image focuses on the role of the Cumann na mBan and women in Republicanism.

Yesterday, I mentioned a trend of replacing painted murals with printed facsimiles of the original image. Here is something similar, but different. This painting by Danny Devenny (1/2, see below) hangs in the Sinn Féin room in Belfast City Hall (this photo February 2015)

Meanwhile, this one was painted in 2011 (see this news article bbc.co.uk/news/uk-nort...) and replaced with a digital version, again about a decade later with my photo taken in August 2023.

There is a bit of an emerging trend of replacing painted murals with digital reproductions of the original painting, printed on metal or plastic sheeting. Here's two in East Belfast. This one originally painted in July 2012 & replaced with a printed version around a decade later.

All photos from Belfast, August - September 2023.

Noah Donohoe, a 14-year old from Belfast, disappeared in June 2020 and was found dead later in an underground water tunnel in north Belfast. This morning, coroner Mr Justice Rooney adjourned the inquest into Noah's death in a move he described as 'unprecedented'.

In addition to murals, memorial gardens also dot the landscape of, in particular, Belfast. While many focus on the armed groups of 'the Troubles',, some, such as this one on York Road, North Belfast, focus on World War I. "I am an Ulsterman" by Wilfrid Spencer also seen here.

"I am not an Ulsterman" depicted in a printed mural in Ballymacarrett, East Belfast that also features the Ulster Tower, Northern Ireland's National War Memorial in Thiepval, France.

“I am not an Ulsterman but yesterday, the First of July, as I followed their amazing attack, I felt that I would rather be an Ulsterman than anything else in the world", wrote Wilfrid Spencer in a letter to his family sent on the second day of the Battle of the Somme.

With some murals, there is a tradition of renaming the street to fit in with the theme. Here Conway Walk in the Shankill has been renamed Passchendaele Court. This photo August 2012.

During the 'Decade of Centenaries', a landmark series of commemorative events across Ireland and Northern Ireland, many murals focussed on the Battle of the Somme. This one is in Ballybeen, in the village of Dundonald on the outskirts of East Belfast.

Another monochrome mural focussing on the 36th Ulster Division, this one in Ballyclare, Newtownabbey to the North of Belfast.

Bottom right of this mural is a depiction of the telegram sent by William McFadzean to his family, informing them of his death and expressing the sympathy of Lord Kitchener. This photo Castlereagh, East Belfast, July 2014.

William McFadzean, VC (1895-1916) was a private in the 14th Royal Irish Rifles. On the first day of the Somme, he smothered grenades that had lost their pins, saving fellow soldiers and winning the Victoria Cross posthumously. Photo Waterside, Londonderry, April 2015.

The main figure in this mural is Edward Carson, unionist politician and the first to sign the Ulster Covenant in 1912. Carson went on to form the Ulster Volunteers, who became the 36th Ulster Division of the British Army. This photo, Carlingford Street, East Belfast.

In the centre of this mural is the commemorative banner of the 36th (Ulster) Division, featuring the Union Flag, an Irish harp, and seven shamrocks around the red hand of Ulster. This photo Shankill, August 2014.

The 36th (Ulster) Division, formed in 1914 from Ulster Volunteer Force units, largely unionist, is best known for its Somme attack near Thiepval in Northern France. It pushed deep into German lines but lost more than 5,000 men. This photo Shankill Road, 2015.

By nightfall, the British Army had suffered 57,470 casualties, including 19,240 dead, for only limited gains, making it the bloodiest day in its history. The attack did succeed in the south, but most objectives were not taken. Somme Memorial Garden, Shankill, April 2017.

On the first day of the Battle of the Somme, British troops went over the top after a week-long bombardment meant to destroy German defences. It failed to cut much barbed wire or silence machine guns, and many soldiers were hit down in no man’s land.

Today marks the anniversary of the first day of The Battle of the Somme, a major Allied offensive in Northern France in World War that began on 1 July 1916. A photo thread. This and next two photos from the Somme Memorial Garden, Shankill Road, April 2017.

Recently repainted, this mural is described as the oldest continually existing mural in Belfast, with Paddy Duffy first photographing it in July 1981. It relates to the 1981 hunger strikes that eventually led to the deaths of 10 republican prisoners. This photo June 2026.

This is a newly painted mural of Paddy Mayne. Lt-Colonel Robert Blair Mayne was a Northern Irish soldier and founding member of the SAS who became one of the most highly decorated British servicemen of World War II. This photo: Disraeli Street, West Belfast, May 2026.

The Willowfield Street Somme Memorial Garden photographed in May 2026. Willowfield, East Belfast.

28 May 1981: Undercover soldiers shoot dead George McBrearty of the Derry IRA. There are competing versions of the incident but most agree that McBrearty was killed in a shoot-out between the Army and the IRA that also saw the IRA’s Charles Maguire killed. This photo Derry Aug 2025.

Patsy O'Hara, from the Brandywell in Derry, died on this day in 1981 after 61 days on hunger strike for 'the five demands', in effect political status. O'Hara was OC of the Irish National Liberation Army prisoners in HMP Maze after conviction in May 1979. This photo Derry Aug '26

Robert Blair Mayne was a British Army officer from Newtownards, County Down, who became one of the most celebrated figures in the history of the Special Air Service (SAS). Decorated for bravery & command in WW2, he died in a car accident in 1955. This photo Woodvale, Belfast, 2026.

This side panel of a digital mural in East Belfast is controversial because of the inclusion of a photograph of the UVF Regimental Band marching past the site of a mass shooting by the UDA in 1992 on the Lower Ormeau Road in South Belfast that left 5 dead. This photo May 2026.

Here’s my photo!