Opinion
26 Jul 16

Public Protest held in Memory of Repeal the 8th Mural

"You can paint over the mural. You can cover us up, but the problem is not going away, we're still here. It's not going away with a little bit of blue paint"

Those were the passionate words of actress Grace Fitzgerald, the organiser of the protest.
Link to images by Natalia Marzec here.

If you have been in Dublin this past week, it is very unlikely that you haven't heard about the removal of the Repeal the 8th Mural outside Project Arts Centre.

This week has seen tensions surrounding the mural escalate at an alarming rate.

The mural was removed because it was in violation of planning regulations.
Its removal has been viewed as an attack against Freedom of Speech and has struck an especially sore nerve with women and artists alike.

Young actresses, Grace Fitzgerald and Katie Kelly were so outraged that they hosted a protest today at 11:30am, outside The Meeting House Square in Temple Bar, to show solidarity for Project Arts Centre, Maser's Mural and of course, Repealing the 8th.

The girls arrived, armed with blue face paint and a microphone, inviting supporters to paint their faces blue in solidarity.
"We're trying to show that we're supporting the project," said Grace. "Art is a form of expression, you should be entitled to express what you want."

"Not only are they trying to censor women's bodies" she continued, "but they are trying to censor art now... The removal of the mural was a violent act, so we are here to say, we will not be silenced."

Katie Kelly reminded protestors that there had been no opposition to the Marriage Referendum mural and that "with gay pride people were marching in the streets shouting about it, but somebody talks about abortion and there's shame attached to it."

The irony is that the removal of the mural has aided rather than abetted the ProChoice movement, bringing Repeal the 8th right into the public eye. "It has worked against the anti-repeal campaign" said Katie. "They've created a whole storm of publicity and sympathy that can be used against them."

Around, 70 people turned up to support the demonstration. With faces painted blue, they posed for portraits outside the Project Arts Centre, marking the depressing spot where the mural once stood.

It was a moving and peaceful display of solidarity and a clear indication of the momentum building up towards the Referendum.