Mural of Hooded Man Kevin Hannaway
Posted by Jim on July 14, 2025
THE IRISH NEWS:
Mural of Hooded Man Kevin Hannaway erected in west Belfast after PSNI return seized artwork.
Police seized the mural, which had been separated into a number of parts, from a house in the Rodney Drive area in west Belfast on Friday.
A mural of Hooded Man Kevin Hannaway was erected on Hugo Street in West Belfast on Sunday.
By Conor Coyle
July 13, 2025 at 4:55pm BST
A mural of Hooded Man Kevin Hannaway was erected in west Belfast on Sunday after it was returned following a seizure of the artwork by the PSNI.
Police seized the mural, which had been separated into a number of parts, from a house in the Rodney Drive area in west Belfast on Friday. A man was arrested and later charged with drugs offences after police say class A drugs were found at the same property.
Mr Hannaway died in January after a short illness. He was one of 14 Catholic men who were subjected to state-sanctioned torture when they were interned in 1971.
Mr Hannaway was convicted of knowingly rendering assistance to the ‘IRA’, and assisting in interviewing people involved in ‘IRA’-organised activities in 2015.
A number of other items were also seized during the searches, which the PSNI say were connected to an investigation into dissident republican group the New IRA.
However, it emerged on Sunday police were forced to return the mural to the homeowner, with footage emerging on social media of officers unloading it from a vehicle and returning it to the house.
Later on Sunday, the mural was erected and is now in display on Hugo Street in the city. Around 250 people were in attendance at an event to mark the unveiling of the mural.
A solicitor acting for the homeowner said she had threatened legal action against the “unlawful seizure” of the mural by the PSNI.
Victoria Haddock of Phoenix Law, said: “There was no lawful basis for the seizure of this mural which police have now agreed to return to my client following the issue of emergency pre-action correspondence.”
A PSNI spokesperson said the mural had been removed “to establish whether the possession of the item constituted any possible offence”.
“Detectives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Serious Crime Branch carried out a search at a residential property in Rodney Drive, west Belfast, on Friday, 11th July,” the spokesperson said.
“During the search, a number of items were seized.
“A billboard was removed from the property while it was established whether the possession of the item constituted any possible offence.
“Following review, the billboard was returned to the property yesterday, Saturday 12th July. “