A mural painted on the front of a house in south Dublin has been painted over after the homeowner exhausted the planning process in a bid to keep it.
Cathy McGovern commissioned well-known street artist Solus to paint the piece 'The boxing ballerinas of Sandycove' on the front of her home last year and said the ballerinas were well-liked locally.
Originally Ms McGovern planned to have the ballerinas the size of the front door, but Solus was more ambitious and painted them the full two storey height of the house.
It worked so wonderfully, she added, because they "actually stretched to the clouds and danced off the building because they are dominant and it is a statement piece." According to Ms. McGovern, the public accepted the new appearance and felt happy and excited. There was nothing but a net of encouragement, delight, and enthusiasm. I would never regret doing that because it brought so much joy to so many people. It was one of the project's outstanding elements."
The thrill and happiness, however, were short-lived because Ms. McGovern soon got a letter from her local government, Dun-Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, alerting her that they were looking into reports that a mural had been painted on her home.
They cited a bye-law in planning that stated that a mural required approval, so I realised at that time that I had the ability to request for retention and did so.The council denied her request to maintain the mural on the front of her house, and she then appealed to An Bord Pleanála, which backed the local government's decision. The situation calls into question how public art exhibited in private residences is handled.
Since there is "no applicable regulation for public art on a private property," according to Ms. McGovern, a law that is unrelated to her situation was located and used to her case.
She was left with no choice but to take down the mural, which she admittedly found quite upsetting. I feel like a failure very much (the boxing ballerinas were painted over yesterday)," she stated. Now, Ms. McGovern is urging legislation to alter. There is no method for art and there needs to be a process for this kind of endeavour, she said, adding that she had to go through the same procedure as if she had been building 60 apartments.
