June 15, 2003
Physical Graffiti
While I was on vacation in France, I spotted some graffiti of a topical nature (Monsieur Bove famously destroyed a McDonalds restaurant, and has waged a war against globalisation, usually by wrecking something).
Travelling in north Mayo a month ago, I came across the following graffiti that almost deserves to be preserved for posterity.
When I was growing up in the late Seventies and early Eighties, "No EEC", "Free Nicky Kelly" and "Up the IRA" were the most common slogans daubed on walls throughout Ireland (out in the countryside, anyway). A quarter of a century later, Ireland is an enthusiastic member of the EEC (now EU), Nicky Kelly has been freed, pardoned and is now a public representative, and the IRA are heading for retirement.
I'm not a huge fan of graffiti. Yes, it can be regarded as an art form, or as a form of political expression. But too often, it's just vandalism. I remember waiting for a train in Amsterdam and there was a young lad on the platform washing graffiti off of the walls, watched by his clearly irate mother. It's a policy that could well be adopted here.
Of course, graffiti, or rather murals have been a popular form of expression north of the border - they even have their own websites and you can even buy a poster. Presumably, if someone violates their copyright, they just send the lads around. Not everyone is happy.