Review
A practical, pictorial guide to the city’s murals and a testament to the skill of those who painted them, says Sarah Lapsley.
- Murals of Derry
- Guildhall Press
Murals of Derry
With bus and walking tours of the north’s murals now amongst the top tourist attractions this book provides an important pictorial memoir of Derry’s murals, both past and present.
Derry’s demography dictates that many of the murals depicted and discussed in the book would be said to be from a Nationalist perspective, however the book manages to give a fair representation of the Unionist and Loyalist murals that do exist, perhaps to a lesser extent, in enclaves of the city. The inclusion of these is important, especially as the Loyalist mural tradition dates back much further than that of the Nationalist murals.
With Arts Council funded, ‘re-imaging’ projects being undertaken throughout Northern Ireland, to replace some of the more forceful and paramilitary linked murals, this book is timely in ensuring all the images are captured before some disappear forever.
I found the inclusion of memorials around the mural sites to be an unexpected and informative addition to this book. Alongside memorials to those killed on Bloody Sunday and those who died while on hunger strike in the H-blocks and elsewhere are smaller memorial stones, including one to John “Caker” Casey who first painted the infamous slogan “You Are Now Entering Free Derry” in 1969. This iconic mural – Free Derry Corner – deservedly gets a section of its own in the book; detailing its many incarnations since Casey first daubed the words on the gable wall of a house in the Bogside. This wall has been subject to many reinterpretations - including having a pink facelift in 2007 in support of Gay Pride Week.
While the book clearly shows that the Bogside and its surrounds remain the focal point for murals depicting Nationalist history, several sites are documented in the book for depicting Loyalist history, although the murals tend to be smaller in number. The Fountain Estate and some near the Fountain Youth Group are documented in the book. The estate’s murals depict King William III crossing the Boyne, the Relief of Derry and scenes connected to the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
Various sites in the Waterside continue the Loyalist themed murals including reminding the viewers of the Unionist community’s links to England and also depicting some of the more well known Loyalist paramilitary groups. Many of the murals are keen to remind us of their links to the 36th Ulster Division at the Somme and their blood sacrifice.
Community murals are dealt with at the end of the book, showing that the murals are becoming more about depicting present day social and world events.
An interesting book providing details of many murals now removed from the streets of the city. While the book goes some way to describing the symbolism and often high degree of thought that goes into the inclusion of items on each mural by those who commission it, more detail on this would have made the book even more fascinating.
