Scary or not, some say Paddy Drac mural should be reinstated

A COUNCILLOR has said “looks can be deceiving” when it comes to the former mural of Paddy Drac in Tallaght, as other councillors shared that it had scared some children and upset a local business.

The tribute to Paddy Finlay (aka Paddy Drac) was painted by artist Geoff Tracey as part of the Dublin Canvas project back in 2019 at the junction of Firhouse Road West and the Old Bawn Road.

The location was specifically picked as it 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 week, calls were made to reinstate the mural.

Cllr Teresa Costello (FF) tabled a motion calling for the mural to be repainted, as the removal of it had caused “much distress” in the community.

“When it was first painted, people were so happy to see it,” she said.

“He was such a great advocate for Tallaght, and he did so much great work.”

Cllr Costello’s fellow councillors supported her motion, but also shared that not all members of the community were happy when the mural first appeared four years ago.

Cllr Mick Duff (Ind) said: “When the box was first painted, way back when, I got a phone call from a very distressed resident.

“He told me that his children were petrified when he was driving into the area to pick them up from school and they’d see the painting of Paddy Drac.

“So much so, that if we didn’t remove the painting, he was going to be forced to sell up and move out of the area.

“Funnily enough, there was never another word from him, but that had nothing to do with the removal of the painting many years later.”

Cllr Charlie O’Connor (FF) said he also received similar calls but, like Cllr Duff and the rest of their colleagues, supported the reinstatement of the mural.

“I got the same calls,” said Cllr O’Connor.

“In fact, I got a call from a local business at the time who said I needed to get it taken down.

“But I just ignored all that, because I think Paddy Drac did an awful lot of great work for Tallaght, and he did a huge amount of good in Tallaght Hospital.

“Despite the fact that some people had a different view about it, Paddy Drac should be honoured in this way.”

Responding to Cllr Duff and Cllr O’Connor’s comments, Cllr Costello said it was still appropriate to memorialise Paddy Drac on the electricity box once again.

“For people who may not have liked it because they were scared of his image,” said Cllr Costello, “I think looks can be very deceiving.

“The man was pure good. He did so much for other people and gave without an expectation of anything in return.

“To reinstate his face around Tallaght again, I think it’s the very least that we can do for him.”

South Dublin County Council 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, they added that they plan to discuss the matter with Dublin Canvas before the next roll-out of the project this coming summer, with a view to re-establishing the Paddy Drac artwork.