"I
object to my artwork being used to pretend that there is a
United Ireland"
As the artist
who created the poster to commemorate the 200th
anniversary of the United Irishmen of 1798, I was deeply
offended to see it hanging in your parlor in Belfast City
Hall. Your stated purpose in hanging it was to help achieve
parity for all those of various "cultural identities" that
reside in Belfast. But, Lord Mayor, Belfast City Hall is
the home of British government, not an art museum, and the
United Irishmen of 1798 were not trying to promote a
cultural identity, but were committed to liberating Ireland
from British Rule. Hanging that poster in an office
controlled and paid for by the United Kingdom makes a
mockery of their efforts.
The quote by Wolfe Tone,
at the bottom of the poster, could not contain a clearer
message:
‘To subvert the tyranny of
our execrable government, to break the connection with
England, the never-failing source of all our political
evils, and to assert the independence of my country – these
were my objects. To unite the whole people of Ireland, to
abolish the memory of all past dissensions, and to
substitute the common name of Irishman in place of the
denominations of protestant, catholic and dissenter – these
were my means.’
When the Belfast City Hall is
located in a united Ireland, not the United Kingdom, I would
be honored to see my artwork displayed. Until then, I
request that it be taken down. Moving the picture of the
Queen of England from one wall to another does not in any
way make Belfast part of a United Ireland. I object to my
artwork being used to pretend otherwise.
Sincerely, Brian
Mor O’Baoigill
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