Street Art
There is a tradition of painted murals on walls in parts of the city. Mainly, though not exclusively, political in nature they are a potent propaganda tool for the forces at work in their neighbourhoods and a source of some pride to many as they reinforce the political and cultural identities of the people of the surrounding areas.
The first shown is chosen because it is a world famous image having been photographed hundreds of times and been shown on TV programmes and in magazines and newspapers across the globe. The first four pages are of murals in the Lecky Road area of the Bogside and are representative of the Republican tradition, the following pages are of Loyalist murals from the Waterside area.
Known as Free Derry Corner the gable wall of the old building is all that has survived the redevelopment of the entire area. The street corner on which the building stood was at the edge of the no-go area where the local Republican people barricaded the streets to keep out the Police and British Army. The gable and its inscription remain as a monument to times still regarded by many locally as days of heroism. The mural in the background is reproduced below, it shows a petrol bomb carrying local youth wearing a mask as protection against the tear gas being used by the police.
