'221 Columbus Place', 1973

Oil on board by Ralph Lillford, 1973.

This image of two derelict houses in a late-Victorian or Edwardian terrace, decorated with the symbols of opposition, seeks to sum up the destruction of the community as a result of the sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland. The green, white and gold Easter lily symbolises the Republic of Ireland, while the red, white and blue of the Union Flag signifies the Unionist attachment to the idea of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Although there had always been single-denomination areas in the Province before 'the Troubles', there were also mixed community areas where Roman Catholic and Protestant families lived side-by-side. Here, even the way in which doors have been blocked up, one with breeze blocks, one with corrugated iron, tell of the fundamental differences and the complete breakdown of tolerance which once permitted coexistence.

The painting does not depict a specific location, but the image is representative of many such properties observed by the artist in Northern Ireland in the 1970s.

Between 1971 and 1976, drawn by an interest in the civil conflict, Ralph Lillford made repeated trips to Northern Ireland to draw what he saw in the streets.