Stuart Borthwick
@stuartborthwick.bsky.social
Photography & non-partizan commentary on political murals in Ireland.
“The Writing on the Wall: A Visual History of Northern Ireland's Troubles"
"Positive Vibrations: Politics, Polytricks and the Story of Reggae"
Chair of @wowfest
“The Writing on the Wall: A Visual History of Northern Ireland's Troubles"
"Positive Vibrations: Politics, Polytricks and the Story of Reggae"
Chair of @wowfest
Pinned
My name is Stuart Borthwick and for the past two decades I have maintained an interest in the political murals of Ireland. In 2015, I published "The Writing on the Wall: A Visual History of the Troubles of Northern Ireland".
As an intro to Bluesky, here are a selection of my photos.
As an intro to Bluesky, here are a selection of my photos.
10 recent captures of murals: 5 republican, 5 loyalist.
PAINT ONLY!
No digital artwork, no captions.
Let's go (a thread)...
PAINT ONLY!
No digital artwork, no captions.
Let's go (a thread)...
October 31, 2025 at 8:12 PM
10 recent captures of murals: 5 republican, 5 loyalist.
PAINT ONLY!
No digital artwork, no captions.
Let's go (a thread)...
PAINT ONLY!
No digital artwork, no captions.
Let's go (a thread)...
The thread below is a good start if you are new to Bluesky and interested in my work capturing and documenting the murals of Northern Ireland.
My name is Stuart Borthwick and for the past two decades I have maintained an interest in the political murals of Ireland. In 2015, I published "The Writing on the Wall: A Visual History of the Troubles of Northern Ireland".
As an intro to Bluesky, here are a selection of my photos.
As an intro to Bluesky, here are a selection of my photos.
July 22, 2025 at 8:02 PM
The thread below is a good start if you are new to Bluesky and interested in my work capturing and documenting the murals of Northern Ireland.
1 July 1916
"I am not an Ulsterman but yesterday, the 1st. July, as I followed their amazing attack, I felt that I would rather be an Ulsterman than anything else in the world." Captain Wilfred Spender after the Battle of the Somme.
A photographic thread (1 of 10)
"I am not an Ulsterman but yesterday, the 1st. July, as I followed their amazing attack, I felt that I would rather be an Ulsterman than anything else in the world." Captain Wilfred Spender after the Battle of the Somme.
A photographic thread (1 of 10)
July 1, 2025 at 10:56 AM
1 July 1916
"I am not an Ulsterman but yesterday, the 1st. July, as I followed their amazing attack, I felt that I would rather be an Ulsterman than anything else in the world." Captain Wilfred Spender after the Battle of the Somme.
A photographic thread (1 of 10)
"I am not an Ulsterman but yesterday, the 1st. July, as I followed their amazing attack, I felt that I would rather be an Ulsterman than anything else in the world." Captain Wilfred Spender after the Battle of the Somme.
A photographic thread (1 of 10)
Mairéad Farrell was a Provisional IRA volunteer who after imprisonment in 1976 became the OC of female prisoners in Armagh gaol, where she lead a no-wash protest and then a hunger strike in 1981. This photo Derry, June 2025 (1 of 2)
June 30, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Mairéad Farrell was a Provisional IRA volunteer who after imprisonment in 1976 became the OC of female prisoners in Armagh gaol, where she lead a no-wash protest and then a hunger strike in 1981. This photo Derry, June 2025 (1 of 2)
Cecil McKnight was a 32-year old commander of the Londonderry UDA who was shot dead by the Provisional IRA at his home on the Waterside on 29 June 1991. The IRA claimed it was because he had been behind the killing of Sinn Féin councillor Eddie Fullerton. This photo June 2025.
June 24, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Cecil McKnight was a 32-year old commander of the Londonderry UDA who was shot dead by the Provisional IRA at his home on the Waterside on 29 June 1991. The IRA claimed it was because he had been behind the killing of Sinn Féin councillor Eddie Fullerton. This photo June 2025.
A thread of murals and imagery related to the Irish Republican Socialist Party, Irish National Liberation Army and Republican Socialist Youth Movement beginning with this photo from the Bogside of Derry, June 2025. Feel free to retweet the whole thread if of interest...
June 19, 2025 at 8:56 AM
A thread of murals and imagery related to the Irish Republican Socialist Party, Irish National Liberation Army and Republican Socialist Youth Movement beginning with this photo from the Bogside of Derry, June 2025. Feel free to retweet the whole thread if of interest...
Mural featuring Nell McCafferty painted by the Peaball Street Art Collective and unveiled by the President of Ireland. From the Bogside, Nell was a civil-rights campaigner, a feminist, journalist and playwright and founder of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement. Photo June 2025
June 18, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Mural featuring Nell McCafferty painted by the Peaball Street Art Collective and unveiled by the President of Ireland. From the Bogside, Nell was a civil-rights campaigner, a feminist, journalist and playwright and founder of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement. Photo June 2025
Derry Girls was a sitcom set in 1990s' Derry. Plotlines frequently referred to the conflict including the final special titled "The Agreement". From L to R, Dylan Llewelyn, Jamie-Lee O'Donnell, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Louisa Harland, Nichola Coughlan. This photo June '25
June 18, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Derry Girls was a sitcom set in 1990s' Derry. Plotlines frequently referred to the conflict including the final special titled "The Agreement". From L to R, Dylan Llewelyn, Jamie-Lee O'Donnell, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Louisa Harland, Nichola Coughlan. This photo June '25
Quick trip to the Maiden City and a quick iPhone shot of the Derry Girls mural, 13 June 2025
June 13, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Quick trip to the Maiden City and a quick iPhone shot of the Derry Girls mural, 13 June 2025
Bobby Sands died on this day in 1981 after spending 66 days on hunger strike. Born in Dunmurry, Sands grew up in Newtownabbey and Rathcoole and joined the IRA in 1971 before moving to Twinbrook in 1972, when he was arrested for possessing four handguns... (1/6)
May 5, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Bobby Sands died on this day in 1981 after spending 66 days on hunger strike. Born in Dunmurry, Sands grew up in Newtownabbey and Rathcoole and joined the IRA in 1971 before moving to Twinbrook in 1972, when he was arrested for possessing four handguns... (1/6)
Kneecap are an Irish rap trio who are in the news a lot!
This mural was painted in 2022 with the band's Móglaí Bap saying “Anti-police sentiment has been longstanding in the hip-hop community. This isn’t new. We didn’t burn a police Land Rover, we painted one." This photo Aug 2023.
This mural was painted in 2022 with the band's Móglaí Bap saying “Anti-police sentiment has been longstanding in the hip-hop community. This isn’t new. We didn’t burn a police Land Rover, we painted one." This photo Aug 2023.
April 28, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Kneecap are an Irish rap trio who are in the news a lot!
This mural was painted in 2022 with the band's Móglaí Bap saying “Anti-police sentiment has been longstanding in the hip-hop community. This isn’t new. We didn’t burn a police Land Rover, we painted one." This photo Aug 2023.
This mural was painted in 2022 with the band's Móglaí Bap saying “Anti-police sentiment has been longstanding in the hip-hop community. This isn’t new. We didn’t burn a police Land Rover, we painted one." This photo Aug 2023.
Reposted by Stuart Borthwick
The Easter Rising was an armed insurrection against British rule in Ireland during Easter Week in Dublin in 1916. It is depicted in numerous ways on the walls of Belfast, Derry and beyond. Here are some examples (a thread...) 🧵
April 20, 2025 at 11:41 AM
The Easter Rising was an armed insurrection against British rule in Ireland during Easter Week in Dublin in 1916. It is depicted in numerous ways on the walls of Belfast, Derry and beyond. Here are some examples (a thread...) 🧵
The Easter Rising was an armed insurrection against British rule in Ireland during Easter Week in Dublin in 1916. It is depicted in numerous ways on the walls of Belfast, Derry and beyond. Here are some examples (a thread...) 🧵
April 20, 2025 at 11:41 AM
The Easter Rising was an armed insurrection against British rule in Ireland during Easter Week in Dublin in 1916. It is depicted in numerous ways on the walls of Belfast, Derry and beyond. Here are some examples (a thread...) 🧵
@reps-old.bsky.social @marycorcoran.bsky.social
I said that I would let you know about the following:
writingonthewall.org.uk/myevents/dec...
I said that I would let you know about the following:
writingonthewall.org.uk/myevents/dec...
Decades of Denial: Paddy Hillyard - Writing on the Wall
John Finucane MP, in conversation with Prof Paddy Hillyard to discuss the impact of MI5’s secret intelligence-led counter-insurgency strategy
writingonthewall.org.uk
April 16, 2025 at 8:00 PM
@reps-old.bsky.social @marycorcoran.bsky.social
I said that I would let you know about the following:
writingonthewall.org.uk/myevents/dec...
I said that I would let you know about the following:
writingonthewall.org.uk/myevents/dec...
Proposed changes to legislation will give the PSNI an enhanced right to remove flags. The reviewer of terrorism legislation has also said that, "if police feel they need further powers, for example in relation to murals, he will discuss this with them."
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Paramilitary flags: Terrorism law changes may help police removal
Police Service of Northern Ireland chief constable Jon Boutcher says he is seeking
www.bbc.co.uk
March 14, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Proposed changes to legislation will give the PSNI an enhanced right to remove flags. The reviewer of terrorism legislation has also said that, "if police feel they need further powers, for example in relation to murals, he will discuss this with them."
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Familiar themes of loyalism and royalism in East Belfast. This photo June 2024.
March 12, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Familiar themes of loyalism and royalism in East Belfast. This photo June 2024.
Anthony Cacace, also known as "The Andytown Apache", is a professional boxer from Andersonstown in West Belfast, He has held the International Boxing Organization(IBO) super-featherweight title since 2022. This mural was painted in 2024.
March 12, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Anthony Cacace, also known as "The Andytown Apache", is a professional boxer from Andersonstown in West Belfast, He has held the International Boxing Organization(IBO) super-featherweight title since 2022. This mural was painted in 2024.
Miriam Daly was an activist in NICRA and the SDLP who went on to be chair of the Irish Republican Socialist Party
from Feb 1978 until she was shot dead by the UDA in June 1980. This is a long-standing digital mural with painted lettering added in 2024.
from Feb 1978 until she was shot dead by the UDA in June 1980. This is a long-standing digital mural with painted lettering added in 2024.
March 12, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Miriam Daly was an activist in NICRA and the SDLP who went on to be chair of the Irish Republican Socialist Party
from Feb 1978 until she was shot dead by the UDA in June 1980. This is a long-standing digital mural with painted lettering added in 2024.
from Feb 1978 until she was shot dead by the UDA in June 1980. This is a long-standing digital mural with painted lettering added in 2024.
Two printed display boards in Willowfield, East Belfast. Self-explanatory content, but for the outsider, the modern-day UVF that was formed in the 1960s drew inspiration from, but was not formerly connected to, the Ulster Volunteers that formed in 1912. These photos Feb 2025.
March 12, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Two printed display boards in Willowfield, East Belfast. Self-explanatory content, but for the outsider, the modern-day UVF that was formed in the 1960s drew inspiration from, but was not formerly connected to, the Ulster Volunteers that formed in 1912. These photos Feb 2025.
I gave an interview recently that focussed on the topic of 'digital murals', and it made me consider a brief taxonomy of them. Let's start with this one in Sandy Row, Belfast, formed by individually cut pieces of printed plastic affixed to a pre-painted wall. Photo Aug 2024.
March 12, 2025 at 4:57 PM
I gave an interview recently that focussed on the topic of 'digital murals', and it made me consider a brief taxonomy of them. Let's start with this one in Sandy Row, Belfast, formed by individually cut pieces of printed plastic affixed to a pre-painted wall. Photo Aug 2024.
Three UDA murals in East Belfast dating back to approx 2018. During the conflict, the 2nd Battalion of the East Belfast UDA covered Dee Street, Lord Street, Templemore Street and Avoniel Road. These photos June 2024 (1 of 3)
March 12, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Three UDA murals in East Belfast dating back to approx 2018. During the conflict, the 2nd Battalion of the East Belfast UDA covered Dee Street, Lord Street, Templemore Street and Avoniel Road. These photos June 2024 (1 of 3)
Concluding this evening's theme of reversionings in murals, here's two different versions of a mural in Andersonstown, West Belfast. Originally painted in 2016 to mark the centenary of the Easter Rising. This photo August 2017. (1 of 2)
February 26, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Concluding this evening's theme of reversionings in murals, here's two different versions of a mural in Andersonstown, West Belfast. Originally painted in 2016 to mark the centenary of the Easter Rising. This photo August 2017. (1 of 2)
Stephen McCrea was killed by the IPLO in a gun attack on the Orange Cross Social Club off the Shankill Road in February 1989, claiming that the club was being used to plan attacks on nationalists. This photo Aug 2014. (1 of 3)
February 26, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Stephen McCrea was killed by the IPLO in a gun attack on the Orange Cross Social Club off the Shankill Road in February 1989, claiming that the club was being used to plan attacks on nationalists. This photo Aug 2014. (1 of 3)