DUBLIN: Where Rock Stars and Writers are Depicted in Street Art

Dublin Street Art (Photo: William Murphy (https://flic.kr/p/pctxhA)

Dublin is a great place to base yourself when exploring Ireland and there is a great choice of hotels when it comes to accommodation. As for the street art, not all of it is in the city centre and there are some notable examples to be found on the outskirts. One such area is the beach known as Sandymount Strand where graffiti and murals cover the nearby walls. Sandymount Strand looks out over Dublin Bay. It is the most famous beach in Irish fiction and was immortalised in Ulysses by James Joyce.

Sandymount Strand

Sandymount Strand Beach Art (Photo: William Murphy (https://flic.kr/p/adFudK)

Dublin, the capital of Ireland has a very important place in the world of the arts, and has a thriving community of poets, writers, actors, musicians and artists. The city is notable for its very strong underground arts scene, with places like the Project Art Centre staging new exhibitions. Where there are artists there will be street art, and Dublin has many colourful examples of this form of artistic expression.

The Dubliners (Photo: William Murphy (https://flic.kr/p/9yyKsa)

Murals and graffiti decorate the walls of many parts of this Irish city, and love them or hate them, these art forms are very hard to ignore. So let’s have a closer look at some of the street art of Dublin. Many of the murals show famous writers and musicians.

Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula

Abraham “Bram” Stoker (Photo: William Murphy https://flic.kr/p/9yBzNq)

Abraham Stoker is more commonly known as Bram Stoker. He was an Irish writer and is most famous for the Gothic horror novel Dracula that was published in 1987. Perhaps it is not surprising to find the creator of the evil Count Dracula pictorially represented as an example of Dublin’s street art.

Rock star Phil Lynott

Phil Lynott on the walls of the Tivoli Car Park (Photo: William Murphy https://flic.kr/p/6KrUgS)

Phil Lynott was an Irish rock musician and singer who grew up in Dublin and found fame with his band Thin Lizzy in the late 1960s. He is depicted in action on the walls of the Tivoli Theatre Car Park along with many other interesting murals. This is one place in Dublin that is well worth visiting if you like street art.

U2 Wall and Windmill Lane Studios

U2 Wall in Dublin (Photo: William Murphy https://flic.kr/p/iLApt)

Speaking of famous rock stars and street art in Dublin, no visit to the city would be complete without seeing the U2 Graffiti Wall and the old Windmill Lane studios. This is where the band recorded their first album and where countless fans have left their appreciation in the form of colourful graffiti.

Shane MacGowan of The Pogues

Shane MacGowan (Photo: William Murphy https://flic.kr/p/9yBG91)

Another Irish rock singer and songwriter who has ended up depicted on a wall in Dublin is Shane MacGowan who found fame fronting The Pogues. He is also famous or infamous for his terrible teeth, though in recent years he got them fixed.

Notes:This article was submitted by one of our contributors.