No climbdown by planners on beanstalk mural

Killjoy planners have threatened to take legal action over a mural at a city centre jewellers, the Galway City Tribune has learned. The City Council has written to Claddagh Jewellers on Mainguard Street threatening to take an injunction through the courts unless the owners remove the famous ‘Beanstalk’ art from the shop facade. Two years ago, planners ordered that the mural be taken down, “by reason of their excessive scale, design, colour scheme and multiplicity of styles, would detract from the visual appearance of the building”. But there was a huge public outcry at the time and a campaign to save the mural proved successful . . . until now. The Council has again in recent weeks stepped up its efforts to have the mural removed. Called ‘Grown in Galway’ the mural by Ruairi O’Byrne was highly praised in 2013 by Tidy Towns’ judges. The popular murals depict Galway scenes with giant beanstalk type plants decorated with Claddagh rings rising upwards towards an electric blue sky. In the latest Tidy Towns report, judges also singled out Claddagh Jewellers for its shop front. The judges, in the 2015 Tidy Town report, ironically also praised a rival business for its murals. “Nice murals adorned Claddagh and Celtic Jewellery,” the judges said of the jewellery business owned by City Councillor Niall McNelis on Quay Lane. A spokesperson for Claddagh Jewellers confirmed it had received a letter threatening legal proceedings unless the mural is painted over. “They’ve said they will take injunctive proceedings if we don’t take the mural down which is a bit like using a nuclear weapon to kill a fly,” he said. “It is crazy. The mural has become iconic. It is loved by people, locals and tourists alike. It puts a smile on peoples’ faces and a pep in their step. “People know it so well they arrange to meet under the Beanstalk, a bit like the Spire in Dublin. It’s a bonkers. It’s as if the Council doesn’t have anything else to do.”