Deirdre Breen’s colourful mural is a pop of colour on Western Road

We can’t get enough of Cork’s eye-catching collection of brand new murals.
Cork City Council is helping to breathe new life into the city’s empty spaces and now there’s a new work of public art to check out on the trail; Deirdre Breen’s ‘The Bandfield’ is complete, having completely transformed the bike rack outside the front gates of UCC.
Breen worked on The Band Field Project, curated by Tadhg Crowley, as part of the #mardyke300 celebrations in collaboration with the Council and The Glucksman.
The façade of a former ESB substation, one of many modernist structures built in Cork between 1948-1951, is directly adjacent to the spot where the original Mardyke bandstand was located in the 18th century.
Here’s what it looked like before work began:
Making plans with artist @deirdrebreen for #Mardyke300 celebrations with @corkcitycouncil #publicart #music #community #creativity pic.twitter.com/WaToURk7qe
— The Glucksman (@glucksman) March 21, 2019
With a bold new Huguenot-inspired mural on Carey’s Lane and a magnificent kingfisher by artist Curtis Hylton over on Lavitt’s Quay at the entrance to the Paul Street Car Park, the latest installation brings a welcome pop of colour to the Western Road.
A great day of painting was had today for The Band Field Project as part of the #mardyke300 celebrations. Serious progress made and great to see the mural taking shape @corkcitycouncil @glucksman @crowley_tadhg pic.twitter.com/gzNpy0H9Pv
— Deirdre Breen (@deirdrebreen) May 20, 2019
The piece, which wraps right around the bike dock, creating new views on all sides, will be officially launched at 5pm on Friday, May 30th by the Lord Mayor of Cork, followed by a performance by the Butter Exchange Band.