Ireland has always had serious cultural clout and, for such a small island, has made massive literary and artistic contributions to the world. We’re a nation of poets, writers, thinkers, dreamers and artists - and you can see and feel it in our museums, our galleries, our libraries and even on our streets.
Dublin’s street art scene has been thriving for decades, since the birth of the underground graffiti scene of the 80s and 90s. Even in the early 2000s it was still widely seen as ‘vandalism’, but the creativity and tenacity of Irish artists kept shining through. With street art and murals becoming big, bold and more socially conscious, the scene thrived, and the streets of Dublin became an open-air gallery of beautiful works of art.
They don’t all last, and new art appears and disappears all the time, but there is always plenty of art to see in Dublin, and a street art tour is a great way to get to know the art and soul of the city- here are some of our favourites.
Artist: Shane Sutton
Where: Richmond Cottages, Dublin 1
On a grey wall at the end of Richmond Cottages, a small street of terraced houses off North Circular Road in Dublin’s north inner city, you’ll find a huge greyscale mural of one of Dublin’s most beloved poets, playwrights, and characters - the inimitable Brendan Behan. Behan was born in Dublin’s inner city and spent the first years of his life living on Russel Street, just a few minutes walk from the mural. This is his neighbourhood, and the fabulous mural honours him in the very streets that helped to form him.
It’s a fantastic piece of art, with Behan sitting in front of a typewriter, looking slightly disgusted at the mere sliver of Guinness left in his pint glass.
Artist: Shane Sutton
Where: Richmond Cottages, Dublin 1
On the same street, by the same artist, a towering mural of a young James Joyce looks down on the streets where he too spent some of his childhood, albeit a few generations before Behan. He wrote about the area:
“The dark muddy lanes behind the houses where we ran the gauntlet of the rough boys from the cottages…. down to the dark odorous stables where a coachman smoothed and combed the horse or shook music from the buckled harness.”
That two such literary greats both grew up in such a small area of a relatively small city speaks magnitudes of the great talent Dublin has produced. These two wonderful pieces of street art by the Dublin artist Shane Sutten speak magnitudes more for our rich artistic legacy.
Artist: Shane Ha, 23M Graphics, Mack Signs
Where: Cross Guns Bridge, Phibsoboro, Dublin 7
A lovely 2km stroll up the canal will bring you to Phibsboro, a vibrant village where lots of street art goes up and gets taken down all the time, on construction hoardings that come and go - but there’s one mural that’s a more permanent fixture. On the banks of the royal canal, a huge mural shows some of the canal’s important fauna and flora, all set to the beautiful backdrop of a pink sunset sky.
The painted wildlife includes a tree sparrow, a frog, waterlilies, and a huge, proud cormorant which can be seen diving and swooping along the canal and the Liffey too.
Artist: Subset Collective
Where: Longwood Avenue, Portobello, Dublin 8
Painted in honour of the wonderful David Attenborough, this colourful mural is painted on a large gable wall on Dublin’s South Circular Road, close to Leonard’s Corner. The Dublin artist collective Subset painted this to mark the 93rd birthday of Sir Attenborough and unveiled it on that day, the 8th of May 2018.
It features a wonderfully accurate greyscale portrait of the man himself, one that really seems to capture the kindness and character of such a great man. Around his face is a burst of beautiful colour and animal life, from butterflies to a hot pink parrot. One of Dublin’s finest pieces.
Artist: James Early
Where: Temple Bar, Dublin 2
In 2010, the Dublin artist and designer James Early was commissioned to paint the whole exterior of the Blooms Hotel in Dublin’s Temple Bar. It took a year to complete, and is now one of Dublin’s most beautiful and colourful landmarks, and a wonderful tribute to Joyce and some of the iconic characters he gave us. The walls are an almost psychedelic burst of floral, marine, and abstract colour and shape, a beautiful backdrop to the featured characters.
Full-length portraits in a stained-glass style bring to life some of Joyce’s most famous personalities - Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus (both loosely autobiographic), Molly Bloom, and Buck Mulligan.
Artist: Multiple
Where: Street corners all over Dublin
The Dublin Canvas Project is a wonderful initiative that includes artists of all ages and from all walks of life, and you can see it come to full-colour life all over the city. Hundreds of Dublin’s traffic signal boxes, once all a dull grey metal tagged with relatively indecipherable graffiti, have become little works of art unto themselves, turning the streets into an open-air gallery.
Each has some kind of connection to the area in which it’s situated or to Dublin and Irish life and culture in general, and they are a fabulous demonstration of the breadth of creativity and talent in the city. We wouldn’t even point you to any in particular, they’re all great in their way, but do keep an eye out for ‘Bustle behind the gate’ at St. James Gate, which you can see as you make your way to the Storehouse!
Artist: Jenny Cleary
Where: Convent Lane, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin
Out in Dun Laoghaire, you’ll find this relatively new beauty, a mural of a flame-haired woman draped in a sea-blue cape with her basket of sea shells. Behind her, a moody sky and moving sea reflect the colours of her brilliantly rendered clothing - you can practically feel how soft her cloak is.
Dun Laoghaire is a wonderful place to visit, and once you’ve walked the pier and spent some time staring out to sea you’ll truly feel just how perfect this piece is for its placement. Our only caveat is that sometimes there are bins in front of the wall, obscuring the piece a little - but it’s still well worth a visit.
The Guinness Storehouse, the World’s Leading Beer Tour Visitor Experience, is introducing a new tour, the ‘Home of Guinness Experience’, which brings longtime enthusiasts and those new to the world of Guinness even closer to the brand.
The new; ‘Home of Guinness Experience’ offers visitors the opportunity to book a fully guided tour where they will be accompanied by a dedicated member of the Guinness Storehouse visitor experience team as they discover and delve deeper into the origins, history and innovation of Guinness throughout seven floors.
The guided tour is paired with a lesson at the Guinness Academy where visitors can learn the legendary six-step ritual by pouring their own pint, earning their very own certificate before finishing up with a creamy pint overlooking the breathtaking 360-degree views of the city.
Having welcomed 25 million visitors through its doors since 2000, the Guinness Storehouse continues to bring new immersive experiences, engaging storytelling and rich history to domestic and international guests. This year, the Guinness Storehouse is set to write a bold new chapter in its extraordinary journey, through Alive in 25, an exciting year-long campaign that sets to celebrate even more cultural events and community initiatives.
The ‘Home of Guinness Experience’ runs Monday – Thursday inclusive with time slots available at 11am or 1pm with a maximum of 12 people per tour.
Tickets priced at €48 per person available now on the Guinness Storehouse website. Strictly over 18’s only.
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