Ardú seeing this?

One of Cork’s most important historical figures is being further immortalised in the form of a striking new largescale mural in the city.

Ardú Street Art has returned to the streets of Cork for their 2023 edition, with a towering mural of Leeside revolutionary Tomás MacCurtain.

The three-storey mural, currently a work in progress on the corner of Bridge Street and Coburg Street, was designed as a collaboration between co-organisers of Ardú, Shane O’Driscoll and Peter Martin.

Their mural design commemorates former Cork Lord Mayor Tomás MacCurtain, paying tribute to his part in Ireland’s fight for independence, as well as his contribution to arts and culture in Cork city.

The mural is the culmination of a project with Transition Year students from St Angela’s and Christian Brothers College.

Shane O’Driscoll is a visual artist from Cork and has painted in a number of street art festivals throughout the country, as well as having two large scale murals in Cork city.

Peter Martin, also based in Cork, has worked predominantly in public art over the last few years where he creates large scale, figurative artwork in mediums such as murals, tiled mosaics, and stained glass. History, culture, and identity feature strongly throughout his work, and he endeavours to create work which is a commentary and often a celebration of place.

The people of Cork are encouraged to keep a careful eye out for two more murals appearing in the city for Ardú 2023 in the coming weeks.

Ardú Street Art was established in Cork during lockdown of October 2020, originally bringing seven of Ireland’s most respected and renowned street artists - Deirdre Breen, Maser, James Earley, Peter Martin, Shane O’Driscoll, Aches, and Garreth Joyce - to create large scale murals at key Cork city-centre locations.