Fiachra COVID-19 Photo Essay

Tectonic shifts have taken place in politics since the beginning of the pandemic and nowhere are these shifts more visible than in Cork’s graffiti. The city has always been known for its many (often politically charged) murals and painted electrical boxes. However, since March there has been a steep increase in the number of political murals and signs. One of the most notable things about these new murals is the monumental influence of American politics.
At the beginning of the pandemic, the general attitude seemed to be one of solidarity. This was obvious due to the amount of paintings like this one. There were also signs and stickers saying, ‘stay safe’ or ‘ní neart go cur le céile’. This dutiful attitude devoid of politics was soon to change. The restrictions along with the government’s handling of the pandemic soon became politicised in various ways, with a large cohort suggesting that the virus was planned or even doubted its existence entirely. These people tend to identify with Right-wing figures and parties. There has also been a strong surge to the Left as many people were being made unemployed and the Debenhams protesters were being harassed, fined, and later arrested by Gardaí. These factors when combined with a government that took five months to form during a national emergency led to a drift toward anti-establishment politics.

I took this picture on Washington Street where many of the empty buildings have graffiti on them. There has been much discourse around who is to blame for the mishandling of the pandemic, namely in the areas of unemployment and evictions. The government did not suspend rent or mortgage payments for people or businesses, and as a result hundreds of businesses have closed, and people have been evicted. In June, a video went viral in which the Gardaí assisted private security to evict a family. The distrust in the Gardaí on the Left comes from what is seen as bias and discrimination towards poor people, travellers, people of colour, and any Left-wing protesters and activists. These biases have gained a considerable amount of attention and as a result many have become radicalised, believing that the answers to these problems are some form of Socialism – as is clear from the crude hammer and sickle. This sign could itself be described as a threat and has been used by Connolly Youth Movement Cork activists, a Marxist-Leninist group with a presence in UCC.

The influence of American politics first came in the form of COVID denial or the refusal to comply with certain measures, particularly wearing masks and sanitising hands. Someone hurled expletives at me in early April when I was wearing a mask in Dealz, saying that I’m a fool for wearing one. Anti-mask protests began to crop up around the country in early May. In late May it became impossible to ignore the shadow American politics was casting upon Ireland. This banner was outside Bishop Lucey Park on Grand Parade where a Black Lives Matter protest was taking place on the 8th of June in response to the murder of George Floyd in the US. There were about three hundred people in attendance with speeches being given by several black activists, and a call to join the Cork Anti-Racism Network. For many people I know, this was their first protest and since then they have become far more engaged in Leftist politics.

These went up on Sullivan’s Quay shortly after the Black Lives Matter protests. Although they began as a reaction to George Floyd’s murder, many of the speakers stressed the point that institutional racism exists in Ireland too, albeit in subtler ways – namely direct provision. The visibility of racism in Ireland was greatly increased and people became further politically engaged. I know a lot of people who pay attention to American politics exclusively and would cry out when a black person was murdered by American police but said nothing of racism in Ireland. All of that changed in June when these murals started appearing. I noticed a rise in discussions with typically apolitical friends and family, and a general shift toward being actively anti-racist and making connections between poverty and racism.

As awareness around direct provision has increased, naturally the refugee crisis has become a major talking point as the two issues are one in the same. This is part of a project organised by Crawford to draw attention to the 40,000 refugees who have died crossing the Mediterranean, or when waiting for asylum to be processed. This was taken in September on Sullivan’s Quay next to the Black Lives Matter and Direct Provision murals. The numbers are made up of several sheets of paper bearing the faces of Crawford students as well as a list of the names of every refugee who died.
 

Things have changed considerably on the Right too with a very strange combination of co-opting American and Irish symbols for their causes. There is a large crossover between anti-maskers and Right-wing activists who call themselves ‘patriots’ like Síol na hÉireann, a “food aid group” who sell anti-LGBTQ, racist, homophobic, Islamophobic, anti-immigration newspapers. Síol na hÉireann and other far-Right groups began to set up stands more and more often on Grand Parade and Patrick Street, and almost all of them use images of the Irish harp or Irish revolutionaries. I noticed however that the only leader of The Rising who was not pictured or mentioned by these groups was James Connolly, a self-declared Marxist.

This picture was taken at an anti-mask rally. There have been many in this exact spot on Grand Parade since June, and almost all of them include the Irish Republic flag and the tricolour. You can also see that there are people wearing hi-vis jackets saying Jesus Saves. This shows the very odd combination of symbols here. These people are in general quite Right-wing and identify with their “Irishness” which generally includes Catholicism. However, they also paint themselves as anti-establishment. The hi-vis jackets are an intentional inclusion taken from the Left-wing ‘gilet-jaunes’ (yellow vest in English) protests in Paris. The Irish yellow-vests took the anti-establishment principle from the gilet-jaunes, but their influence stopped there. I saw roughly twenty of them protesting vaccinations, chemtrails, and immigration in July 2019 on O’Connell Bridge in Dublin. One of their leaders is Gemma O’Doherty who is often accused of being a fascist. Since June, the protests have grown to include hundreds.

The picture above was taken on Upper Barrack Street by the pharmacy and clearly shows the clash of Left and Right as well as the heavy influence of American politics. This graffiti is one of many stencil pieces of George Floyd around Cork. Most of them have been defaced in various ways, but this one is unique in that it references what Americans call the “thin blue line” – a symbol used to show their support for the police during anti-police brutality protests. The thin blue line can often be found in pictures of the American flag with all stripes in black and white, except for one blue stripe.

Although this seems like a meaningless jumble, this is possibly the most complex, confusing, and telling piece of ‘art’ since the pandemic struck. The Guy Fawkes mask has been used as a symbol of anti-establishment politics (generally by the Left) since the release of the film V for Vendetta. However, during the COVID pandemic it has been used in two completely opposing ways. There are two versions of this stencil art, both in the exact same style, format, and colour with the only variable being the text on the side. The version above says, “stay safe”, while the other says “fuck COVID, disobey”. On top of this is what seems to be a picture of Michael Collins, James Connolly, and Constance Markievicz. Michael Collins’ image has been used by the Right quite often in the last two years, however James Connolly and Constance Markievicz’s images are mostly used by the Left – especially Marxists and Feminists. It is difficult to work out which part was put there by what part of the political spectrum, but it’s a perfect illustration of the extreme importance being placed on symbols since March.
 

There hasn’t been so much importance given to symbols in Ireland since the Good Friday Agreement and the country seems more politically charged than it has been in decades. The past year or two have seen a radicalisation of some people on the Right as a wave of Fascism has been sweeping Europe, but the pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests have been the catalyst that pushed people both Right and Left so rapidly – and nowhere is this more evident than in Cork’s ever evolving graffiti.