Council should help to restore ‘iconic’ railway mural – mayor

THE county mayor and a party leader have both said an iconic mural in Skibbereen that depicts a piece of Irish railway history needs to be saved.

Cllr Joe Carroll, recently elected as county mayor, and Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns, are hoping funds can be found to restore the mural of the train on the side of Baby Hannah’s pub.

Deputy Cairns has appealed to Cork County Council to help restore the mural while Cllr Carroll says the Council has said the restoration would prove too costly to be undertaken by the local authority. ‘But,’ he told The Southern Star, ‘if a local crowdfunding campaign was set up, I know the Council would support it and back it.’

The mural depicts the 463 steam engine – the last train out of Skibbereen – and was painted by local artist, the late Russell Barrett, in 1994, and was sponsored at the time by Murphy’s Brewery, which gets a small mention on the image.

The new owners of Baby Hannah’s, Ann and John O’Driscoll, who are renovating the landmark hostelry, say the mural needs specialised work to return it to its former glory.

‘We are currently developing this property into a bar and restaurant and hoping to restore as much as possible of the original premises,’ said Ann. ‘The mural has deteriorated significantly over the years as a result of the weather. Baby Hannah’s premises was built in the mid 19th century and the train went right past its gable end, hence the location for this iconic mural depicting the old steam train that used to run to Skibbereen,’ explained Ann.

Describing the artwork as a ‘much-loved icon’, Ann said that, as well as being a work of art, Russell Barrett’s mural is synonymous with Skibbereen. ‘It’s a reminder of our past that desperately needs to be preserved for the good of our town and for our future generations. It is of huge historical and cultural significance and is also important to local tourism.’ This week Skibbereen native Social Democrats party leader Holly Cairns called on Cork County Council to take the initiative and help restore the mural.

‘I would appeal to the Council to take this opportunity to preserve an important piece of artwork and of Skibbereen’s history,’ she said. ‘Funding streams do exist within Cork County Council for murals and have been used in recent years to commission works that celebrate the history of towns in West Cork – for example, the Anne Bonny mural in Kinsale or the Civil War mural in Clonakilty.’

Deputy Cairns said that the preservation of the mural should be a simple decision by the local authority. ‘Public artwork is essential in creating a vibrant atmosphere in our town, and this one in particular also preserves the memory of an important aspect of Skibbereen’s history,’ she added.

However, Cork County Council revealed this week that they had examined the possibility of restoring the mural in 2022. According to Cllr Isobel Towse, the Council confirmed to her that it did not believe the mural could be saved.

An attempt to ‘test-clean’ a small portion further degraded the paintwork, it said, and agreed it was a ‘great pity’ that it could not be preserved.

Cllr Joe Carroll (FF) said he had been campaigning for the Council to get involved in restoring the mural, for two years. ‘I have brought Council officials to see it, but it will take a lot of money to restore it. I would be very grateful if they would get involved because I remember Russell Barrett painting it and I think it’s very important that we save it.’

He said he will be pointing out the mural to Council chief executive Moira Murrell when she visits Skibbereen in the coming days.