Mural artists from both sides of Ulster's political divide have been given
the go-ahead to show off their skills in Liverpool.
East Belfast loyalist Mark Ervine, son of the late PUP leader David Ervine,
and republican ex-prisoner Danny Devenny have been granted £10,000 to paint
murals of Merseyside's most famous sons — The Beatles.
The unlikely duo are part of the Liverpool Mural Project which has been
awarded the cash by the Liverpool Culture Company to mark this year's
Capital of Culture status.
They plan to paint a timeline history of The Beatles on an outside wall of
the famous Picket music venue on Jordan Street in the heart of the
Liverpool's cultural district.
The mural will chart The Beatles' rise from wannabes to a worldwide
phenomenon, with painting expected to start in March.
The Liverpool Culture Company had initially rejected the project because it
was not deemed "edgy enough".
But after an 18-month campaign backed by politicians on both sides of the
Irish Sea, the Culture Company changed their minds.
Mark, who was responsible for the New Dawn mural on Belfast's Newtownards
Road, said: "We are really pleased. We have been campaigning for this
for about 18 months.
"We were initially told it didn't have enough edge — but how much
more edge can you get? We are well pleased to get the funding."
Danny Devenny, who served time in Long Kesh, is renowned for painting murals
across north and west Belfast — including the famous Falls Road Bobby
Sands work.
He said: "We are over the moon about it. The boys from Liverpool are
coming over on February 9 to plan when we are going to head over there to
start.
"Our plan is to do a timeline history of The Beatles and possibly a
couple of other murals. "We are hoping to bring three or four artists
from here over as well as a number of musicians so that it is more than just
a visual event."
The artists also hope to involve school children and community groups from
Liverpool. The idea came about after Liverpudlians Gregory Brennan and Peter
Morrison took a black taxi tour of Belfast's murals.
Originally it was planned to paint 12 murals — based on Beatles album
covers — but that figure was reduced.
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