Paddy Drac artist says quote was ‘neither substantial nor excessive’

THE artist who originally painted the Paddy Drac mural on the Old Bawn Road that was erroneously painted over by council contractors said he was not willing to repaint it “through no fault of my own for free”.

This follows on from a discussion about the mural at a council meeting where a member of council management said the artist, Geoff Tracey, requested a “substantial fee” for the mural to be replaced.

The tribute to Paddy Finlay (aka Paddy Drac) was painted by artist Geoff Tracey as part of the Dublin Canvas project back in 2019 and looked down on the Dodder towards Paddy’s home in Bawnville.

The canvas was a tribute to Paddy, who after nearly 50 years of donning his cape for community and charity events, passed away in April 2019 following a short illness.

The canvas was painted over in error by contractors in May last year, and at a Tallaght Area Committee meeting last month, calls were made to reinstate the mural.

A member of council management said the same artwork could not be reinstated as the original artist “wanted a substantial fee that’s very much against the principles of what we’re trying to do here.”

However, Mr Tracey contacted The Echo this week and said that he had been asked to repaint the mural according to the terms of the Dublin Canvas project.

The project provides the materials needed to create the artwork and €250 to cover expenses for the day when the electric box is painted.

Mr Tracey said the Paddy Drac mural was an involved piece that took in excess of 40 hours to paint and involved days of background work and handmade stencilling.

As such, he suggested a fee to the council to reflect the time it would take to carry out the work, but they declined the fee.

“As the artist, I was very proud of the original artwork as part of the Dublin Canvas Project,” he said.

“It took me about 45 hours to design and create that piece, of which Dublin Canvas covers the cost of materials.

“It is a privilege to have my art displayed in public with this initiative, and so you aren’t paid for your time, which I was and am completely fine with.

“I’ve done several Dublin Canvas boxes and am happy every year to enter the competition and hopefully produce a piece. I am fully on board with ‘the spirit’ of the project.”

Mr Tracey’s artwork in the locality includes the Des Carty mural on the side of the Dragon Inn, which he painted for free, and electricity boxes in Inchicore, Fettercairn and the city centre with Dublin Canvas.

“When [the Paddy Drac mural] was mistakenly painted over by a council sub-contractor, I was asked would I be interested in painting it again,” added Mr Tracey, who also works as a firefighter.

“I said I was, but I was not willing to do it again through no fault of my own for free.

“The man-hours for a piece of this complexity are around 40+ hours and I gave them a quote accordingly.

“It was neither substantial nor excessive. I gave them a realistic cost for my time, skill and materials in what I presumed was private correspondence, and it is now made out in public like I was giving them some ridiculous quote to capitalise on the community’s call for it to be repainted.

“As far as I am concerned, the quote makes me out to be money-grabbing or greedy and not on board with the spirit of the Dublin Canvas Project which has upset me greatly.”

At last month’s meeting, the council said they planned to discuss the re-establishment of a Paddy Drac mural at that site with Dublin Canvas before the next roll-out of the project this coming summer.

“I’m not on a crusade here,” said Mr Tracey. “I gave them the fee at the time, the council said no, and I thought that would be the end of it.”

He added: “I’d like for something meaningful to go back on that box, whether it’s Paddy Drac or another local character.

“Art is for everyone. I suggested this art at this box to Dublin Canvas with Paddy’s permission before he passed away. I knew Paddy and did the piece with his blessing. That meant a lot to me.”