Murals of 1981 – Irish Studies

Rockmount Street, Belfast, 1981. Dying hunger striker holding rosary beads with Mary watching over him; “Blessed are those who hunger for justice.” (Eric Arnum)

Rockmore Road, Belfast, 1981. Emaciated hunger striker attached to crucifix-like H-block; Bobby Sands quote; “Break Thatcher’s Back.” (Eric Arnum)

Donegall Road, Belfast, 1981. Dead, Jesus-like hunger striker draped in the tricolor being carried from Long Kesh. (Eric Arnum)

Whiterock Road, Belfast, 1981. Angel, dying hunger striker, and IRA volunteer; “Blessed are those who hunger for justice.” (Bill Rolston)

Twinbrook, Belfast, 1982. Skeletal blanketman on a brick H in between depictions of 1916 and 1969, “continuity of republican struggle.” (Bill Rolston)

Whiterock Road, Belfast, 1981. Blanketman and words of chorus of “The H-Block Song.” (Bill Rolston)

Springfield Road, Belfast, 1981. Blanketman, tricolors, and names of first four hunger strikers. (Bill Rolston)

Creggan Heights, Derry, 1981. Portrait of Bobby Sands; “The Spirit of Freedom” (Bill Rolston)

Oakman Street, Belfast, 1981. Portrait of Bobby Sands, skeletal figures with limbs extended, IRA slogan. (Bill Rolston)

Falls Road, Belfast, 1981. Blanketmen, names of hunger strikers (“those brave Irish martyrs who died on hunger strike for their republican beliefs in the H blocks of Long Kesh”), crucifix coming out of H-block. (Bill Rolston)

Beechmount Drive, Belfast, 1981. Sacred Heart of Jesus over-looking blanketman. (Bill Rolston)

Etna Drive, Belfast, 1981. Prison guards beating blanketman; “Each day my comrades and I face a psychological battle for survival. It is a very intense struggle and the enemy is unmerciful.” (Bill Rolston)

Bond Street, Belfast, 1983. Sinn Fein election mural featuring Bobby Sands and James Connolly; “Vote Socialist, Vote Republican, Vote Sinn Fein” (Bill Rolston)

Cable Street, Derry, 1984. Aspects of republican struggle and quotation from Bobby Sands. (Bill Rolston)

click here for full thumbnails of these murals with descriptions

All of these murals represent contemporary murals from 1981, honoring and commemorating the hunger strike as it was taking place and occupying community and international consciousness. A few motifs dominate these early murals, reflecting the political landscape of the era through both their relevance and their divisiveness. Through both of these means, these murals become unifying forces not just because of their presence in a community, but also because they alienate outside viewers.

This is particularly relevant as an analysis of the overtly Catholic themes and images of a large portion of these murals. The hunger strikers in these images are so emaciated and skeletal that their ribs bulge from their pallid chests, or they appear to be too weak to stand. In many of them, the strikers, whose long hair (as a result of the dirty protest [LINK]) is itself very reminiscent of Jesus Christ, have their arms and legs spread as if nailed to a crucifix. In a few images, the Virgin Mary or Jesus himself are present, watching over and blessing the hunger strikers. Intriguingly, images from subsequent anniversaries of the hunger strike lack any of these religious allusions, and instead tend to depict the strikers as glowing and lively rather than sickly and dying.

These murals also tend to represent more overt images of violence, though at first glance this may seem to be at odds with their religious aspect. However, the common thread here is that the 1981 murals tend to focus on images of suffering, implying that there is something noble about willingly taking on pain. There is a clear link between the theme of martyrdom and self-sacrifice present in this particular narrative of the hunger strike in relation with Catholic rhetoric and iconography, which tends to emphasize the suffering that Jesus endured on behalf of his followers. By taking on a similar pain, an IRA volunteer is reifying both his faith and his commitment to the cause of Irish freedom. By painting images of this pain on the walls of the neighborhood, a community sends a clear signal about what values it wants to see from its young people. It is not a coincidence that once the Troubles die down in the mid-1990s, the visual language of lauding self-inflicted suffering transforms into one of honoring a glossy, joyous version of the past.