The world-renowned Drawing Support books edited by sociologist Professor Bill Rolston, were first published from 1992 to 2013, with a fifth covering murals painted between 2013 and 2021. Each of the books is an important and unique historical record of imagery relating to conflict and peace in the North of Ireland. Available here as a bundle at a discounted price. You can see each book individually here, or read below for each book's description.
Drawing Support: Murals in the North of Ireland (also available here)
First published in 1992. The political wall murals of the North of Ireland are an integral part of loyalist and republican communities. In its murals each group displays its hopes and fears, struggles and aspirations. Sometimes the murals are long-lived, more often their existence is fleeting. This unique collection of photographs captures a large section of the murals in their original colour and grandeur. It provides a revealing glimpse into the ideologies of the communities which produce this lively political art.
Table of Contents
Introductory essay: Loyalist murals; republican murals; sources themes and process; the murals of Mo Chara; conflict and propaganda.
Loyalist murals: King Billy; Loyalist flags; Red Hand of Ulster; Historical events; Military images; Humorous and miscellaneous.
Republican murals: Hunger strike; Military images; Elections; Historical and mythological; Repression and resistance; Prison; International.
12 pages of text, 60 pages of photographs (112 plates)
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Drawing Support 2: Murals of War and Peace (also available here)
First published in 1998. Each of the books is an important and unique historical record of imagery relating to conflict and peace.
How can the political wall murals in the North of Ireland cope with the peace process and ceasefires? This second volume of unique photographs charts the changes in loyalist and republican mural painting between 1992 and 1995 and casts a tentative glance towards the future.
Table of Contents
Introductory essay: The story so far; the story continues - loyalist murals; republican murals in the 1990s; 25 years on - the peace process; ceasefire; murals - the future.
Loyalists: King Billy; flags; Red Hand of Ulster; military; memorials; prisoners; historical; humorous.
Republicans: Military; prisoners; repression/resistance; elections; international; peace process.
Ceasefire: The Future?
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Drawing Support 3: Murals and Transition in the North of Ireland (also available here)
First published in 2003; the long-awaited third volume of photographs of political wall murals looks at the period 1996 to 2003. The book covers both loyalist and republican murals - 114 in all - reproduced in full colour.
The murals reflect the period leading up to the Belfast - or Good Friday - Agreement and what the author calls āthe frustrating politics of transitionā. The themes of murals in republican areas include political prisoners, sectarian harassment, memorials around the 20th anniversary of the 1981 hunger strikes, the RUC/PSNI and British Army, plastic bullets and international solidarity.
Loyalist murals also cover memorials, as well as the peace process, mythology, loyalist military groups, territory, Ulster Scots history and culture, and royalty.
In this collection Bill Rolston includes a number of unique photographs of murals from inside the H-Blocks taken shortly before the prisonās closure.
Table of Contents
Introductory essay: Murals: a brief history; after the ceasefire, the frustrating politics of transition; the changing face of republican murals; what we have we hold - loyalist murals.
Republican murals: Peace process; sectarian harassment; prisoners; RUC and British Army; plastic bullets; memorials; hunger strike; mythology; history; international; other themes.
Loyalist murals: Peace process; heroes; military; mythology; territory; memorials; history; Ulster Scots; royalty.
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Drawing Support 4: Murals and Conflict Transformation in Northern Ireland (also available here)
First published in 2013; almost twenty years after the 1994 ceasefires in Northern Ireland and fifteen years since the signing of the historic Good Friday or Belfast Agreement, loyalists and republicans continue to paint murals as they have done - in the case of loyalists - since 1908, and - in the case of republicans - since 1981.
But the themes have changed. Where once military imagery dominated, especially in loyalist murals, now artists on both sides select from a wider palette when choosing themes. There is still a strong political message in many of the murals as each community seeks to come to terms with the compromises necessary for peace and the slow task of conflict transformation.
This unique collection of photographs explores the changes in mural painting in the last decade and briefly considers other sources of mural painting which have emerged during the period.
Table of Contents
Introductory essay: Murals in the North of Ireland - the background; murals and āthe troublesā; peace process; the role of the state - re-imaging; a mixed economy of mural painting; the murals.
Republican murals: Military/memorial; hunger strike; history; mythology; state force; children and young people; women; culture; elections; international; prisoners.
Loyalist murals: Military/memorial; home rule; first world war; war; identity and culture; victims/peace.
Re-imaging
Other murals
Book Details
Drawing Support 5: Murals, Memory and Identity in the North of Ireland (also available here)
The murals in Drawing Support 5 were painted between 2013 and 2021. This period almost perfectly coincides with what has been termed the ādecade of centenariesā.
A century ago, opposition to Home Rule grew; the Irish Volunteers prepared for revolution; the Ulster Volunteer Force moved from rebellion to the killing fields of the western front; the Easter Rising and the Battle of the Somme occurred; a war of independence was fought; the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland were formed and partition became copper-fastened. Some or all of these events continue to be part of the vivid memory of various groups in the North of Ireland and so are painted on the walls.
Along with these historical murals are murals about international struggle, contemporary paramilitarism and memorials to dead comrades.
Finally, beyond the murals of the two main political camps, a brief look is taken at some of the other murals now being painted on walls in Belfast and Derry, murals bringing in other politics or alternatively, not directly political at all.
Format: 21cm x 21cm. xii + 60 pages of colour photographs (115 plates).