Murals in Northern Ireland

Murals in Northern Ireland have become symbols of Northern Ireland, depicting the region's past and present political and religious divisions.

Belfast and Derry are home to many of the most famous political murals in Europe. In 2014, the book The Belfast Mural Guide estimated that, in Belfast, there were approximately 300 quality murals on display, with many more in varying degrees of age and decay. Murals commemorate, communicate and display aspects of culture and history. The themes of murals are often reflections of what a particular community believes is important. Political murals exists to express ideas or messages^[1] and often reflect values of a certain group or community.

In Irish republican areas the themes of murals include the 1981 Irish hunger strike, with particular emphasis on strike leader Bobby Sands, murals of international solidarity with revolutionary groups, and murals highlighting a particular issue, for example the Ballymurphy Massacre or the McGurk's Bar bombing. In working class unionist communities, murals are used to promote Ulster loyalist paramilitary groups such as the Ulster Defence Association and Ulster Volunteer Force and commemorate their deceased members. However, traditional themes such as William of Orange and the Battle of the Boyne, the Battle of the Somme and the 36th Ulster Division are equally common.^[2]