City history captured on walls

Henry Joy McCracken parts with his sister Mary Ann at the gallows

The life and times of a group of 18th century revolutionaries has been marked with a new work of public art which has gone on permanent display in Belfast.

The four paintings in the city's Cathedral Quarter depict the history of the Society of United Irishmen - a movement co-founded by Wolfe Tone that sought to create an independent Ireland free from English rule in the 1790s.

They have been erected in the newly-restored Warehouse Lane in the Four Corners area where Belfast members of the society met in secret over 200

years ago, calling themselves the Muddlers Club.

Warehouse Lane, which links Waring Street and Exchange Place, marks the latest phase in the regeneration of the historic section of the city.

The artwork, by local painter Michael O'Neill, is part of the regeneration which later this month will see the opening of a new £15m hotel and a bar and restaurant.

Among the scenes captured in the paintings is one of Belfast United Irishman Henry Joy McCracken saying goodbye to his sister before being led to the gallows to be hung for his part in the 1798 rebellion.

Michael O'Neill said: "I was keen that the four paintings should reflect the breadth of thinking of the United Irishmen and their full legacy in the fields of knowledge, culture, radical liberalism and sheer human courage.

"At the heart of their thoughts and actions lay love of their fellow countrymen and a desire for equality."

Thomas Russell and friends study the first issue of the Northern Star newspaper

The paintings, two of which will be illuminated at night, were unveiled by Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie.

"The regeneration of this historic Four Corners site and the commissioning of this art is another excellent example of how the private sector can work with government to deliver top quality development in a very important part of Belfast's city centre," Ms Ritchie said.

"This art, Warehouse Lane, the Premier Inn hotel and the 4 Corners Bar and Restaurant that will open on this site in the coming weeks, are a further sign that the heart of this city can once again be vibrant and dynamic, not just during the day, but in the evenings also."

The regeneration of the historic area was a private sector undertaking led by developer Durnien.com.

Managing director Paul Durnien said: "This building is significant in terms of Belfast history and is best known as the point from which all milestones out of Belfast were once measured. The building had been vacant for around 15 years and was in a very poor state when work began.

"The architect, Colin Conn, who is best known for his work on the Spire at St Anne's Cathedral, worked with us to create a development that would transform this gateway to the Cathedral Quarter, inject vitality into the area and preserve the unique character of the building by retaining the front facades on Donegall Street.

"When speaking to Michael O'Neill about commissioning a piece of public art for the development, it was clear from the outset that there was a need for art that would capture the historical significance of this area.

"Michael has achieved just this and his four paintings will be permanently displayed in Warehouse Lane for local people and tourists to enjoy."

Thomas Russell and Edward Bunting meet Mary Ann McCracken

Henry Joy McCracken was tried for treason on 17 July 1798 and hanged in Cornmarket in Belfast on the same day.

His sister, Mary Ann, had a doctor standing by in case there was still life in the body after it was cut down, but the move was in vain.

McCracken was buried at St George's Church in High Street, but his remains were later transferred to the Clifton Street cemetery a short distance away.

Henry Joy McCracken was born in High Street, Belfast on 31 August 1767.

A member of a prominent Presbyterian family, he was interested in radical politics from an early stage and in 1791 he joined with Thomas Russell and others to form the first Society of United Irishmen in Belfast.

The founders, claiming to be The Muddlers Club, secretly formed the society in Peggy Barclay's Tavern in Sugarhouse Entry, a narrow passageway between High Street and Waring Street that was destroyed by the German Luftwaffe during a bombing raid in the spring of 1941.

Composed mainly of Presbyterians, the aims of the society were initially constitutional - a union of all Irishmen to counter English influence, a radical reform of Parliament and the inclusion in that Parliament of people of all religious persuasions.

However, by 1795 government repression had changed a party of constitutional reformers into a society of determined revolutionaries.

In 1796 McCracken was imprisoned for over a year in Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin.

When the insurrection broke out in June 1798, he was made general of the forces mustered at Donegore, which then attacked Antrim town.

They were defeated by government troops and, after a month on the run, McCracken was captured in Carrickfergus while trying to escape to America.