UFF's 'grim reaper' mural to be replaced

ONE OF Belfast's most intimidating paramilitary murals is to be replaced next week as part of a £3 million (€3.94 million) re-imaging scheme supported by the North's Arts Council.

The notorious Ulster Freedom Fighters' mural, which depicts a grotesque soldier standing alongside the grim reaper, is painted on a wall in south Belfast's loyalist Village area.

The removal project is a part of the Greater Village Regeneration Trust's streetscape project, which has received £18,000 support from the Arts Council.

The trust's director, Paula Bradshaw, said the paramilitaries agreed to the repainting, "with the proviso that they decided what would be the replacement, so we went along with their wishes".

The new, more traditional painting, showing King William astride a white horse at the Battle of the Boyne, will be hung as a three-piece canvas on the repainted wall.

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times