Artist criticises bid to remove controversial mural in Limerick village

THE ARTIST behind a controversial mural painted in memory of a deceased man says he’s had a “totally positive” reaction to the piece from the local community.

And he’s criticised the council for ordering its removal from the gable-end of the home in Nicker, near Pallasgreen.

Celebrated artist Neil O’Dwyer was commissioned by Aoife Kiely and Darlene O’Carroll to paint a mural in honour of the late Patrick Foley.

It came after they say he “devised” the property to the pair in his will.

But the council has since declared it must be removed, and now it is up to An Bord Pleanala to decide after the authority’s verdict was appealed.

The council said it had been alerted to what it described as an “unauthorised development”, with three members of family of the late Mr Foley writing to council, saying it has generated “hysteria” in the area.

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

But speaking to Limerick Live this week, the man behind the mural said the opposite has been the case.

“It’s not a big intrusive pub-like mural. The girls were thrilled with it, and as I was doing it – I was there for a couple of days – the amount of people who stopped to say hello and admire it was something else,” Mr O’Dwyer said.

“From speaking to local people, everybody seemed to love the man. Evidently, he was a bit of a character and even in the mural, he is holding his little dog and has an ice cream in his hand. Once I saw the photo of the man, I decided, yes, he seemed to be a nice person. He meant a lot to the girls and they just wanted to celebrate the friendship after he passed away,” he added.

A small line of Irish language – translating as ‘our good friend’ – also sits below the mural.

Mr O’Dwyer, who has painted murals across Ireland since the early 1980s, said he has never seen any council intervene in this way for an installation on the side of a home.

“It’s just disappointing that someone would approach the council and that the council would want it removed. I’d have thought council would have way more important things in their portfolio than to be worried about going out to Nicker to make a couple of girls take down a personal commemorative piece of art,” he concluded.

The council declined to comment.