It's fair to say that Belfast has no shortage of murals, with most of them announcing themselves from gable walls or buildings throughout the city, often demarcating territory or featuring political slogans.
And while most of us have a decent knowledge of the famous Troubles-related murals and where to find them, one of the wonders of this city is that some memorials can hide subtly in plain sight.
One that fits the bill is the 'Numbers Wall' mural, located at Jubilee Square, just across the road from the Albert Clock.
The mural, which was designed by renowned Dublin artist Robert Ballagh and created by Irish ceramicist Stephen Pearce, has apparently been forgotten by many who live in Belfast.
The unassuming work of art features dozens of small bricks, with a different number on each of them.
Created in 1976, the mural was commissioned as a poignant marker of the 1,500th fatality of the Troubles, with each number referring to deaths during a Troubles-related incident.
The dedication in the bottom right hand corner of the mural reads:
“To The Memory Of Those Who Died From Violence From July 1969 To April 1976.
"Designed By Robert Ballagh
"Made By Steve"
Writing about the mural, Mark Wylie of Dead Centre Tours in Belfast said that for a long time he had passed by it without even realising it was there.
He wrote: "For years we thought there was [no memorial of this kind in] the city centre.
"Except that there is a memorial. A memorial wall to be exact, but it has been forgotten – whether deliberately or accidentally, we don’t know. While poppies, lilies or wreaths are laid annually at memorials across the country, there’s no annual remembrance or ritual commemoration that we know of, even though it remembers the first 1,500 victims of the Troubles without judgement.
He added: "It’s certainly not the most striking of memorials and conveys no overt emotion, but maybe that was part of the concept – to keep it simple and factual, and maybe even dispassionate. Don’t give anyone a reason to take offence, simply list the dead numerically and anonymously, where every one is equal."
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