New mural to replace controversial Limerick artwork to be unveiled

PLANS for a new painting to replace the controversial Eyepop Mural, which has been covered over, will be unveiled in the weeks to come.

Limerick arts organisation Draw Out will be designing the mural, to replace the 2014 work by Glasgow artist Smug, which was fading and vandalised.

The group is aiming to deliver “a progressive, lively and equally beloved piece of art that can fit nicely into its historical surroundings”.

There was uproar at the ​removal of the Eyepop Mural, officially titled Eye Scream, with local councillor John Loftus describing it as “cultural vandalism”.

However, there are other people who felt a painting of a man with a bald head, tattoos and pierced nose, licking an ice cream did not fit in well with such an historic part of the city.

Metropolitan mayor Daniel Butler and Catherine O’Halloran, of Draw Out had been in talks with the owner of the building to have the controversial piece of art covered up after said vandalism rendered it beyond repair; it was also fading.

After talks were held with the co-owner of the building, Niall Moynihan, Cllr Butler donated €1,000 of his own General Municipal Allocation allowance to allow the covering to take place.

“After it was vandalised, we had someone come down take a look at it and see what repairs were done. You can’t repair the damage done, and the drawing itself was fading. Catherine O’Halloran of Draw Out met with the owner of the building and consulted with them,” he said.

“The reality is the piece could not be repaired. So I secured funding to the cost of covering it, and Catherine came up to try and replace it as a starting point,” he told the Limerick Leader.

The painters came from Limerick City Build, while Draw Out will design the new mural, working together with some of the leading artists in the urban arts scene to deliver a progressive, lively and equally beloved piece of art that can fit nicely into its historical surroundings.

Cllr Loftus said: “This is just cultural vandalism. It was a very well done piece of art. Some people didn’t like it, I know it’s been defaced before. But painting it over with a bucket of magnolia is just ignorance. It’s made it look horrible.”

Larry O’Sullivan, who lives in Nicholas Street, added: “I was shocked to see it happen. Walking back up, you’d just shake your head. I thought the sculpture was great altogether. All the tourists take pictures of it. If it wasn’t worth looking at, they wouldn’t take pictures!”

But some councillors were happy to see the back of the mural.

Independent member Frankie Daly said: “I don’t think it fits in with the cultural fabric of the area. As a mural, it is out of sync. As a mural, it’s fantastic, but I don’t think it fits in with the fabric of the medieval quarter.”

Cllr Butler defended the action, saying: “Ideally, we would have loved for it to remain. Repairs were done previously, but this time where the vandalism was, it made it impossible to repair. Art evolves, spaces evolve, this is a new opportunity to reimagine this wall space.”