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.
David Ervine was a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force in the 1970s, former prisoner, MLA for Belfast East from 1998 and leader of the Progressive Unionist Party from 2002 until his death on this day in 2007. This photo, Montrose Street, East Belfast, 2015.
January 8, 2026 at 5:12 PM
David Ervine was a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force in the 1970s, former prisoner, MLA for Belfast East from 1998 and leader of the Progressive Unionist Party from 2002 until his death on this day in 2007. This photo, Montrose Street, East Belfast, 2015.
A photo thread of some of the new murals I captured in 2025, starting with the repainted new mural to INLA hunger striker Patsy O'Hara, in the Brandywell in Derry.
January 5, 2026 at 6:12 PM
A photo thread of some of the new murals I captured in 2025, starting with the repainted new mural to INLA hunger striker Patsy O'Hara, in the Brandywell in Derry.
Here's four different versions of the Stevie McKeag mural in the Lower Shankill and a capture of the wall in transition. This version 2011 (thread, 1 of 5)
December 12, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Here's four different versions of the Stevie McKeag mural in the Lower Shankill and a capture of the wall in transition. This version 2011 (thread, 1 of 5)
1st Liverpool Somme Society mural and accompanying memorial at the New Derry Social Club in Everton, Liverpool. These photos August 2017.
December 12, 2025 at 6:41 PM
1st Liverpool Somme Society mural and accompanying memorial at the New Derry Social Club in Everton, Liverpool. These photos August 2017.
Reposted by Stuart Borthwick
Instantly reminded me of this, from the Waterford Walls festival in 2023
December 7, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Instantly reminded me of this, from the Waterford Walls festival in 2023
A thread of non-political stuff (kinda!). Starting with this great Fontaines DC piece in the Maiden City. This photo August 2025.
December 6, 2025 at 7:43 PM
A thread of non-political stuff (kinda!). Starting with this great Fontaines DC piece in the Maiden City. This photo August 2025.
Gerard Donaghey (1954-72) was a 17-year-old Fianna na hÉireann member shot dead by the Parachute Regiment on Bloody Sunday, 30 Jan 1972. Lord Saville's finding that he was "probably in possession of the nail bombs when he was shot" is widely contested in Derry. This photo Bogside Aug 2025.
December 6, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Gerard Donaghey (1954-72) was a 17-year-old Fianna na hÉireann member shot dead by the Parachute Regiment on Bloody Sunday, 30 Jan 1972. Lord Saville's finding that he was "probably in possession of the nail bombs when he was shot" is widely contested in Derry. This photo Bogside Aug 2025.
The Republican Socialist Youth Movement (RSYM) is the youth wing of the Socialist Republican movement, whose political wing is the Irish Republican Socialist Party and with the Irish National Liberation Army its traditional armed wing. This photo August 2025.
December 6, 2025 at 6:56 PM
The Republican Socialist Youth Movement (RSYM) is the youth wing of the Socialist Republican movement, whose political wing is the Irish Republican Socialist Party and with the Irish National Liberation Army its traditional armed wing. This photo August 2025.
John Hume (1937-2020) was a Derry-born SDLP leader, civil rights activist, and Nobel Peace Prize winner (1998) for brokering the Good Friday Agreement. He championed nonviolent reform, power-sharing, and cross-border cooperation amid the Troubles, serving as MP and MEP. This photo Derry August 2025
December 6, 2025 at 6:54 PM
John Hume (1937-2020) was a Derry-born SDLP leader, civil rights activist, and Nobel Peace Prize winner (1998) for brokering the Good Friday Agreement. He championed nonviolent reform, power-sharing, and cross-border cooperation amid the Troubles, serving as MP and MEP. This photo Derry August 2025
Cecil McKnight was a senior member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) in Derry. He was shot dead by the IRA at his home on June 29, 1991, aged 32. This photo Waterside, Londonderry August 2025.
December 6, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Cecil McKnight was a senior member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) in Derry. He was shot dead by the IRA at his home on June 29, 1991, aged 32. This photo Waterside, Londonderry August 2025.
George McBrearty was an IRA volunteer from Derry's Creggan, killed by SAS on May 28, 1981, alongside Charles "Pop" Maguire during an ambush a week after Patsy O'Hara's hunger strike death. This photo Creggan August 2025.
December 6, 2025 at 6:49 PM
George McBrearty was an IRA volunteer from Derry's Creggan, killed by SAS on May 28, 1981, alongside Charles "Pop" Maguire during an ambush a week after Patsy O'Hara's hunger strike death. This photo Creggan August 2025.
Mickey Devine "Red Mickey," one of the ten dead hunger strikers of 1981, was an INLA founder from Derry's Creggan/Springtown, arrested in 1976 arms raid, sentenced to 12 years. These photos Derry, August 2025.
December 6, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Mickey Devine "Red Mickey," one of the ten dead hunger strikers of 1981, was an INLA founder from Derry's Creggan/Springtown, arrested in 1976 arms raid, sentenced to 12 years. These photos Derry, August 2025.
Patsy O'Hara (1957-1981) was an INLA volunteer and one of the ten dead hunger strikers of 1981. From Derry's Brandywell area, he was radicalised by civil rights marches like 1968's Duke Street and Bloody Sunday, which he witnessed. This photo Brandywell, Derry, August 2025.
December 6, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Patsy O'Hara (1957-1981) was an INLA volunteer and one of the ten dead hunger strikers of 1981. From Derry's Brandywell area, he was radicalised by civil rights marches like 1968's Duke Street and Bloody Sunday, which he witnessed. This photo Brandywell, Derry, August 2025.
The Derry Girls, a TV sitcom featuring from left to right, Dylan Llewellyn, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Louisa Harland and Nicola Coughlan. This photo Derry, August 2025.
December 6, 2025 at 6:41 PM
The Derry Girls, a TV sitcom featuring from left to right, Dylan Llewellyn, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Louisa Harland and Nicola Coughlan. This photo Derry, August 2025.
A depiction of civil-rights activist Bernadette Devlin (now McAliskey) at the Battle of the Bogside in August 1969. Bernadette went on to be MP for mid Ulster, founder of the IRSP, anti H-Block campaigner, and still an activist today. Painting by the Bogside Artists. This photo Bogside June 2025.
December 6, 2025 at 6:12 PM
A depiction of civil-rights activist Bernadette Devlin (now McAliskey) at the Battle of the Bogside in August 1969. Bernadette went on to be MP for mid Ulster, founder of the IRSP, anti H-Block campaigner, and still an activist today. Painting by the Bogside Artists. This photo Bogside June 2025.
This mural has been regularly repainted and then digitally redesigned and re-erected since the death of the UDA's Stevie McKeag in Sept 2000. McKeag was the top gunman of Johnny Adair's C-Coy of the West Belfast UDA. This photo, lower Shankill, Sept 2025.
December 6, 2025 at 6:02 PM
This mural has been regularly repainted and then digitally redesigned and re-erected since the death of the UDA's Stevie McKeag in Sept 2000. McKeag was the top gunman of Johnny Adair's C-Coy of the West Belfast UDA. This photo, lower Shankill, Sept 2025.
Mural commissioned by @kneecapceol.bsky.social and painted by Mickey Doherty and Marty Lyons in August 2025 in Beechmount, West Belfast. This photo Sept 2025.
December 6, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Mural commissioned by @kneecapceol.bsky.social and painted by Mickey Doherty and Marty Lyons in August 2025 in Beechmount, West Belfast. This photo Sept 2025.
Glen Branagh, 16, a member of the Ulster Young Militants/UDA from Tigers Bay North Belfast was killed during sectarian rioting when a homemade bomb exploded in his hand. This photo Tigers Bay Sept 2025.
December 6, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Glen Branagh, 16, a member of the Ulster Young Militants/UDA from Tigers Bay North Belfast was killed during sectarian rioting when a homemade bomb exploded in his hand. This photo Tigers Bay Sept 2025.
The Belfast Blitz. Hogarth Street, Tigers Bay, North Belfast. John 3:16 'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life'. This photo Sept 2025.
December 6, 2025 at 5:50 PM
The Belfast Blitz. Hogarth Street, Tigers Bay, North Belfast. John 3:16 'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life'. This photo Sept 2025.
A plaque and painted mural to mark VE Day. This photo Sept 2025, Tigers Bay, North Belfast.
December 6, 2025 at 5:48 PM
A plaque and painted mural to mark VE Day. This photo Sept 2025, Tigers Bay, North Belfast.
A memorial incorporating a dramatic representation of the Ulster Tower in Thiepval, France, Northern Ireland's National War Memorial on the Western Front and which commemorates the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division who lost their lives. This photo, Village, Belfast, Sept 2025.
December 6, 2025 at 5:46 PM
A memorial incorporating a dramatic representation of the Ulster Tower in Thiepval, France, Northern Ireland's National War Memorial on the Western Front and which commemorates the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division who lost their lives. This photo, Village, Belfast, Sept 2025.
The Irish Sea Border is the trade border between NI & GGB, created by the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol post-Brexit to keep NI aligned with EU goods rules. This imposes customs & regulatory controls on GB-to-NI goods. This photo Village, South Belfast, Sept 2025
December 6, 2025 at 5:42 PM
The Irish Sea Border is the trade border between NI & GGB, created by the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol post-Brexit to keep NI aligned with EU goods rules. This imposes customs & regulatory controls on GB-to-NI goods. This photo Village, South Belfast, Sept 2025
Red Hand Commando memorial mural for Stevie McRea, who was killed in an Irish People Liberation Organisation attack on the Orange Cross social club in the lower Shankill, West Belfast in February 1989. This photo Sept 2025.
December 6, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Red Hand Commando memorial mural for Stevie McRea, who was killed in an Irish People Liberation Organisation attack on the Orange Cross social club in the lower Shankill, West Belfast in February 1989. This photo Sept 2025.
Young Citizen Volunteers formed 10 September 1912 and becoming the 14th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles on 17 May 1914. 432 lost their lives in the First World War. This photo Village, South Belfast, Sept 2025.
December 6, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Young Citizen Volunteers formed 10 September 1912 and becoming the 14th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles on 17 May 1914. 432 lost their lives in the First World War. This photo Village, South Belfast, Sept 2025.
At its height, A Battalion of the South Belfast UDA covered Sandy Row, Village, Donegall Pass and Upper Ormeau Road districts. Ulster Young Militants and Ulster Freedom Fighter badges & 'Quis Separabit' (Who Shall Separate Us?) This photo Village, South Belfast, Sept 2025.
December 6, 2025 at 5:30 PM
At its height, A Battalion of the South Belfast UDA covered Sandy Row, Village, Donegall Pass and Upper Ormeau Road districts. Ulster Young Militants and Ulster Freedom Fighter badges & 'Quis Separabit' (Who Shall Separate Us?) This photo Village, South Belfast, Sept 2025.