Westbank Loyalist Mural 1980, Fountain Estate, Derry City.

Westbank Loyalists Mural 1980, Fountain Estate Derry. Dimensions: 12cm high, 12cm wide, 4 cm deep. This iconic mural, found in the cityside Fountain Estate in Londonderry, has been relocated and repainted several times since its first appearance in the early 1980s. The original artist is unknown, but the message contained in the composition remains a strongly held ethos in the community to the present day. The origin of the message can be traced to the ‘exodus’ of up to 10,000 cityside Protestants who moved to the Waterside area and beyond, representing approximately 90% of the Protestant population in the Westbank relocating due to fear and intimidation between the volatile years of 1969 and 1974. The Fountain stands alone as the sole Protestant estate on the Westbank, and often suffered sectarian attacks throughout the years, even having to be gated at night for security during the tumultuous 1980s. This sense of isolation remains strong in the community, and has materialized as a defiant, proud identity evident on every street in the estate. The ‘No Surrender’ slogan originates from 1688, when 13 Apprentice Boys shut the city gates on 1200 Jacobite soldiers, thus setting in motion the beginnings of the famous Siege of Derry which would last 105 days. This representation is of the mural during its location on a garage wall in Wapping Lane during the 1980s, it is presently painted on the rear of a house and visible from many aspects from the overlooking City Walls. It has since become a widely recognized symbol of Loyalist defiance and pride. See less