As part of the Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN) the Mural Directory provides a listing of many of the murals that adorn the walls of the two main cities of Northern Ireland – Belfast and Derry. The CAIN initiative provides a range of source material on the Northern Ireland conflict and the politics of the region from 1968 to the present day. CAIN is based within the University of Ulster and is located at the Magee campus.
The Mural Directory includes 994 political murals, although it makes no claim to be comprehensive. Each mural is given a brief description, details of location and status, such as whether the mural is still in existence. Also there is an indication from which side of the political divide the mural originates – either Republican/Nationalist or Unionist/Loyalist.
The information for each mural is detailed and the descriptions are well written, informative and concise. Many of the records are cross‐referenced to others through the use of a hyperlink. Not every record includes an image although many do. These images themselves are in the standard form of jpg (joint photographic experts group) files. This format allows the images to be enlarged at the click of a button.
The entries are arranged into sections which parallel the photograph albums held by the site’s creator. This arrangement does not allow any structured retrieval. It is not possible, for example, to retrieve all entries that are no longer in existence or those that originate from the 1981 hunger strikes. In short, the collection has not been classified within the Web site. This is a pity. There is an overall search facility on the CAIN Web site but it is cumbersome to use this to seek out particular groupings of the murals. A further point of improvement might be the introduction of a map to identify the main concentrations of murals.
The murals depicted are striking, both for their political messages and for their artistic achievement. In the main the photographs are well composed, striking a good balance between detail (most murals include writing) and an overall impression of the installation (typically the gable end of a house).
I found myself wishing that I knew more about how these artists operate and what techniques they use. For instance, do they unveil their final product or does the community watch as the artists work? Do people give permission for the use of their gable ends as canvases? I assume the artists work in teams and that different teams of artists might have unique characteristics, although the directory does not attribute the murals to any group.
For those interested in politics and art this Web site is very useful. It would certainly benefit from a more structured approach to the collection of mural records. The navigation of the site is not as intuitive as is now possible and some clarity here would add much strength. In conclusion, the Mural Directory is a unique source of material, to which the cultural and heritage sectors of Europe may well in the future owe a debt.
