mural

Feargal Sharkey reacts to new mural of The Undertones in Derry

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A new mural has been unveiled of The Undertones overlooking the historic Derry Walls.

Garrett Hargan

A new Undertones mural which has been completed beside Derry’s walls on Magazine Street. Picture Martin McKeown

A new mural has been unveiled of The Undertones overlooking the historic Derry Walls.

Former lead singer of the band, Feargal Sharkey, who is now known as much for his environmental campaigning described it as an “absolute honour”.

The artwork, created by Karl Porter of UV Arts, involved weeks of work but had been mooted as an idea for a number of years.

It is timely with this year marking the 45th anniversary of they band’s legendary single, Teenage Kicks.

Karl and other artists have been responsible for transforming Derry’s streetscape over recent years.

Alongside old Troubles-related murals, images celebrating the city’s heritage and cultural icons now take pride of place.

Like the band, this particular piece is punk in style — a departure from UV Arts’ other work with three layers of colour and Karl drawing inspiration from world-renowned political street artist, Banksy.

Commenting online, former frontman Mr Sharkey said: “WOW! How fantastic is that, what an absolute honour.

“My applause and appreciation to everyone involved, never thought for one second I would ever see myself staring down from Derry walls. Totally brilliant bit of work.”

The image itself is one that graces the cover of The Undertones’ self-titled debut album.

It shows the young men atop a wall in Bull Park which is close to the areas where they all grew up.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph for a recent interview, guitarist Mickey Bradley shared a story about one homecoming gig at the park.

Having just appeared on Top of the Pops, they returned to perform a gig in the back of a lorry at Bull Park where young boys “pelted us with eggs” and the show had to be abandoned.

McCartney and Casey solicitors provided the gable wall canvas and supported Karl for The Undertones piece, along with other local businesses.

Source: Feargal Sharkey reacts to new mural of The Undertones in Derry

Derry Girls: mural of characters in hit series unveiled in Northern Ireland, with one star branding it ‘surreal’

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As the Channel 4 comedy prepares to return for a second series, a tribute to the girls has been painted on a wall in Northern Ireland

Stars of the Channel 4 comedy series Derry Girls have been honoured with a mural in Londonderry. The painting – on the side of Badger’s Pub in the town – was unveiled in the Northern Irish city this weekend, and showed a promo shot of the five stars of the hit show almost 10 metres in height. The mural was created by UV Arts C.I.C.

The series, written by Lisa McGee, aired last January to much critical acclaim. It’s based in the ’90s of the Troubles-era Derry, and focuses on four school girls and an English cousin. It features Michelle (Jamie Lee O’Donnell), Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), Orla (Louisa Harland), Clare (Nicola Coughlan) as the wise-cracking teens who are attempting to navigate their way through high-school, but seem to always end up in trouble.

‘Madness’ Actress Coughlan, who plays Clare Devlin, tweeted her shock at the huge mural, saying it was “madness”.

She later followed-up, by saying: “Derry is painting us like one of their French Girls, so surreal.” Mayor John Boyle said he was delighted with the success of the show. He told the Irish News it shone a light on the city’s culture and humour: “This artwork is a real tribute to the cast which will no doubt be really well received by fans.” Religious and political murals are often found in Northern Ireland’s cities and they’ve previously appeared in the Channel 4 series. The mural “You Are Now Entering Free Derry”, which dates back to 1969, after the Battle of the Bogside, has also aired as part of the show.

McGee previously said: “Growing up I hated that there was only one view of Derry. I don’t want to take away from those films and TV programmes which are often brilliant but living there you just didn’t want people to think it was that depressing because there was always a funny warmth to Derry. It’s a gorgeous place to grow up in and I always felt that wasn’t represented enough.”

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