A new mural from Joe Caslin, the artist whose work on George's Street during the Marriage Equality referendum gained international recognition, has appeared in Belfast.
The mural, which was done to mark Belfast's Pride celebrations, can be seen on Hill Street in the city.
Caslin took to Facebook to share an image of the artwork, and noted that it was part of a larger installation of street art and photography, which involved collaboration with 17 members of the Belfast LGBTQ community.
Taking a similar theme to the piece in Dublin, Caslin's latest work portrays two women from the Belfast LGBTQ community embracing.
The news coverage is going good for your latest mural @joecaslin @SmirnoffEurope #lgbt #gaypride #lovewins pic.twitter.com/XB49bceSUo
— Neil Harrison (@neilhphoto) 1 August 2016
Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster, Caslin said that he was proud to take the campaign to Belfast to continue the work that had been done in Dublin with the first piece, at an important time for the community in Northern Ireland.
"Northern Ireland is the only territory now on the islands of western Europe that doesn't have same sex marriage - and it's same-sex marriage not civil partnership," said Caslin. "Through the work that I did in Dublin last year with the referendum and the large piece we put up on George's Street, I felt it was an ideal time, coming up to the Pride Festival that takes place this weekend, to reignite that conversation."
Events in Belfast kicked off on Sunday, and are scheduled to take place across the first week of August. Similar celebrations took place in Cork over the bank holiday weekend, as crowds took to the streets for concerts, family events and a parade.
Colourful day in the city today #lgbt #Cork #festival #pride pic.twitter.com/YRJi117h1f
— Lynda (@Lyndacollins) 31 July 2016
Awesome day @corkpride 2016! Well done to all! #LGBT #CorkPride #CorksRedFM pic.twitter.com/VMlkJjnLaF
— Cork's RedFM (@CorksRedFM) 31 July 2016
Speaking to The Irish Examiner, Kathleen Lynch TD said she was delighted with the strong turnout, adding that the result of the referendum could be seen as thousands celebrated on the streets.
"I most definitely think that the referendum has had an enormous impact on people’s sense of security in themselves," said Lynch. "And really that is all it is about. It is about being confident. It is about being secure in yourself. The amount of people that left this country because they were different, and now that difference has diminished so much."
