Mural row: Gable-wall painting generates ‘hysteria’ in Limerick village

A PLANNING row has erupted in a Limerick village over the painting of a mural in memory of a deceased man.

Two women have appealed to An Bord Pleanala after permission for a mural they commissioned on the side of a house to honour the man they say bequeathed the home to them, was refused.

Aoife Kiely and Darlene O’Carroll enlisted an artist to paint a mural of the late Patrick Foley on the gable wall of the home they live in Nicker, near Pallasgreen.

They say the cottage was “devised” to the pair by Mr Foley in his will.

But in July, they received a letter from council stating an “unauthorised development” had come to their attention.

“Namely the painting of a mural on the gable wall of the dwelling house for which there is no record of a planning permission being granted and is therefore unauthorised,” the authority stated of the mural.

The local authority later refused their application for permission to keep the mural, leading to the appeal to An Bord Pleanala.

After the initial application was lodged, three relatives of Mr Foley all wrote to the council in relation to this.

His brother Donal Foley, his niece Elaine Holmes, and his sister Mary Holmes all expressed opposition to the mural in separate letters to the planning authority

All three, in their correspondence, stated the property remains rented to both Ms Kiely and Ms O’Carroll.

Elaine Holmes, who says she is the “next of kin” of her uncle wrote: “The mural has created deep emotional stress and is extremely insensitive to the late Patrick Foley, his family, friends and neighbours. This mural belittles my late uncle who was a very private person. It is incredibly insensitive to paint a mural of him on the gable wall of the dwelling house in question without permission from myself, his family or the executor of his will.”

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In similar objection letters, Donal Foley and his sister Mary Holmes added the mural has created a “sense of hysteria” in the local community, adding: “the applicants have defaced a property of the deceased while the deeds of the property are still in the deceased’s trust. No prior permission was granted to the applicants for the mural.”

In a letter to council in response to Mr Foley’s objection, Ms O’Carroll said she’d noted its contents “with regret”.

She wrote: “We were close friends of the deceased and have been honoured that Patrick Foley devised this house to us in his will. As the beneficiaries of this house, we did not consider that it was necessary to receive prior consent from anyone in relation to the mural.”

She added, having grown up in the area, she has received “nothing but a positive response” over the painting.

Despite this, permission for the installation was refused.

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Local planners stated the mural would “detract from the character of the dwelling, the adjacent protected structure and the streetscape”. They added it would “injure the visual amenity of the area.”

Ms O’Carroll and Ms Kiely have appealed this ruling to An Bord Pleanala.

A decision is expected by February 1 next.