“The Brothers on the Walls”

Abstract

The article considers in detail a particular aspect of the political murals painted by the republican movement in Northern Ireland, namely their references to international themes rather than solely Irish matters. These murals are seen as an instance of solidarity with people in struggle elsewhere—against imperialism and state oppression—and thus represent recognition by Irish mural painters of their affinity to liberation movements elsewhere. As such, the phenomenon points to the potential of subaltern nationalism to be progressive. Finally, the article briefly considers the difficulties facing the other main mural tradition in Northern Ireland, that of the loyalists, to engage in a similar process of recognition and solidarity.