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UDA says 'OK' to King William | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
A notorious wall mural in Belfast - showing a loyalist paramilitary - is to be replaced by a portrait of King William of Orange. | |
The mural is nicknamed "The Grim Reaper". | |
It was painted 10 years ago on a gable wall in Tavanagh Street in the mainly Protestant Village area of the city. | |
Its £18,000 replacement is part of a £3m community "reimaging" scheme. | |
Negotiations on the repainting began five years ago with the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Defence Association (UDA). | |
Paula Bradshaw, director of the Greater Village Regeneration Trust, said: "We kept being told 'No' but over the past twelve months confidence and trust has been built up. | |
"When we got that money from the Arts Council we were afforded the opportunity to go to them and they said 'yes', thankfully." | |
She said the UDA had decided that the mural should be replaced by the King William portrait. | |
"But it was a process we had to take as a community to move forward," she added. | |
The new mural has been funded by the Arts Council | |
The Tavanagh Street scheme is one of 18 new public art projects. | |
The programme is funded by the Department of Social Development and arranged by the Arts Council. | |
The Council's Chief Executive, RoisÃn McDonough, said the Tavanagh Street mural was "divisive and offensive." | |
She said its replacement was a huge first step in a very positive transformation process. | |
"The fact that it's being replaced by King William is not an act of triumphalism," she said. | |
"King William is not offensive to people in this area. It's part of their legitimate Orange cultural heritage. | |
"The most significant aspect of this is that we are taking down one of the most horrific murals in Northern Ireland." |
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