PODCAST: Dr Stuart Borthwick discusses his love for the political murals of Northern Ireland and his book, The Writing on the Wall

Stuart Borthwick has produced The Writing on the Wall, a beautiful book of photographs of Northern Irish wall murals which tell the turbulent history of the country from 1900 to the present day.

It takes the story from the foundation of the Ulster Volunteers in 1912 and the 1916 Easter Rising, each key historical events for unionists and republicans respectively, through the Troubles, to the current Peace Process which began in the 1990s.

The book, published by Bluecoat Press, is being launched on Wednesday, October 21 at the Bluecoat Arts Centre as part of both the Liverpool Irish Festival and the Writing on the Wall Festival, of which Stuart is a trustee.

Among other things, Stuart tells the fascinating story of how he, a man who moved to Liverpool from the south of England in 1989, eventually came to find himself sitting in Armagh waiting for the sun to rise so he could photograph the most beautiful artwork he’s ever seen.