Spanish Civil War – Belfast Commemoration Mural

© Joe ÓNéill
L-R Gerard Murray, (Teach Na Fáilte) and historian, John Quinn.

“It isn’t often you hear the Wolff Tone Commemoration, Shankill Road Belfast Branch, and Bodenstown”, mentioned in the same sentence, said Gerard Murray, Representative of Teach Na Fáilte, as he delivered the opening remarks at the official unveiling of the mural to commemorate men from Belfast, who fought on the Republican side during the Spanish Civil War.

The mural, by artist Francis Maher, is based on an iconic photo of Belfast socialists who marched at the Republican Bodenstown Commemoration in 1934. Many of these men were prominent in organising the Outdoor Relief Strikes in 1932, when the working class from the Shankill and the Falls roads in Belfast, united to fight for better wages and conditions for the thousands of unemployed put to work on the Stormont government’s Outdoor Relief Projects. Many of these men from the Socialist movement, who sailed to Spain, gave their lives in defence of the Spanish Republic alongside IRA veterans from all 32 counties.

The mural is located on Northumberland Street which connects the Shankill and Falls roads.

Viva la Quince Brigada 
by Christy Moore