New Seamus Heaney street art mural unveiled in Derry

A new mural celebrating one of Ireland’s greatest poets has been unveiled on Westland Street in Derry by local street art collective Peaball in partnership with Derry community arts organisation, Féile.

The artwork features a portrait of Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney alongside the word “Influencer”.

The completion of the mural marks the culmination of a year-long PEACEPLUS street art programme involving young people from Bishop Street Youth Club and Newbuildings Youth Club, who worked together through a series of workshops to help develop its design.

The young people learned about the history of street art in Ireland, developed their own techniques and took inspiration from the County Derry writer’s poetry to write poems of their own. They also looked at the impact modern-day influencers have on their lives.

A poem written by 12-year-old Jude Shiels, titled ‘Beneath Irish Skies’, forms part of the finished artwork.

Féile Project Coordinator Ruairi O’Connell said the mural was a fitting tribute to one of Ireland’s greatest writers.

He commented: “Féile is absolutely delighted to unveil this new mural celebrating Seamus Heaney, a son of Derry who was educated less than a mile from where the mural now stands.

“It is also fitting that the mural stands at Lone Moor Road, which is referenced in Heaney’s poem ‘The Road to Derry’.

“I want to commend all the young people from different communities who worked together on this project to make the mural a reality, making new friends along the way.

“The young people brought a huge amount of creativity and energy to the project from the very beginning. That can be seen in the poem written by young Jude Shiels, which is now proudly displayed as a key element of the mural.”

Commenting after seeing the finished artwork, Jude Shiels said it was an ‘honour’ for his poem to be included within the mural.

“I’m really honoured and happy for my poem to be part of this mural. It was also really good to get the chance to show my creative side.

“It was also really nice to get to meet different people from difference backgrounds and meet new friends. It was an amazing experience. I’m very proud.”

Ruairi O’Connell also hopes the mural will spark a conversation about the role of influencers in people’s lives today.

He said: “Seamus Heaney is known across the world, but he also has a strong connection to the neigbourhood through his time at the St Columb’s College at Bishop Street. The young people were able to learn more about that connection and the influence his work has had on generations.

“The word ‘Influencer’ also gave them a chance to look at the people they see online today and compare that with someone whose words have continued to influence people decades after they were written.

“I also want to thank Peaball street art collective for their tremendous work in bringing the mural to life and for their commitment at every stage of the process, including facilitating the workshops with the young people.

“The majority of the work was completed off-site to ensure the artwork could be installed in as short a time as possible.

“The power of street art is that it appears in the places and spaces where we live, work, play and visit. This particular wall has already been a major talking point from passersby ahead of the mural’s completion.”

The mural forms part of Féile’s street art programme, which brings young people from different communities together to learn new skills and create artwork to transform public spaces across the city.

The project was supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body.