Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
rights marches, inspired by King and using the same methods to combat a similar set of
grievances, gave this long-suffering community a powerful new voice.
Political Murals
The dramatic and emotional murals you'll encounter in Northern Ireland will likely
be one of the enduring travel memories that you'll take home with you. During
the 19th century, Protestant neighborhoods hung flags and streamers each July to
commemorate the victory of King William of Orange at the Battle of the Boyne in
1690. Modern murals evolved from these colorful annual displays. With the advent
ofindustrial paints,temporary seasonal displaysbecame permanent territorial state-
ments.
Unionist murals were created during the extended Home Rule political debate
thateventuallyledtothepartitioningoftheislandin1921andthecreationofNorth-
ern Ireland. Murals that expressed opposing views in Nationalist Catholic neighbor-
hoods were outlawed. The ban remained until the eruption of the modern Troubles,
when staunchly Nationalist Catholic communities isolated themselves behind barri-
cades, eluding state control and gaining freedom to express their pent-up passions.
In Derry, this form of symbolic, cultural, and ideological resistance first appeared in
