Vandalism of famous Eurovision mural ‘will not be tolerated’
THE vandalism of the ‘Eurovision Wall’ in Millstreet is being investigated by Gardaí and has been condemned by a Macroom local elections candidate who said that the incident “will not be tolerated”.
The wall, which is located on Minor Row and features the flags of each country that participated in the 1993 Eurovision held in Millstreet’s Green Glens Arena, was painted in the lead up to the song contest by the late Matthew Murphy, who owned the wall.
In 2012, Millstreet Tidy Towns replaced each flag with new panels and a plaque to commemorate its artist and Eurovision’s Irish winner, Niamh Kavanagh, who sang “In your Eyes.”
However, the mural was vandalised when the slogan ‘Free Palestine’ was graffitied on to it and its Israeli flag was painted over on the morning of Thursday, March 21, leading Gardaí to investigate an incident of “criminal damage”. Sinn Féin candidate John O’Sullivan stated that what happened is not acceptable.
“I agree totally with the slogan, as what’s happening in Palestine is genocide. We in Sinn Féin have been calling for the Israeli ambassador to be expelled. It is outrageous the suffering the Palestinian people have endured, but this wall isn’t the place for it,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
“This wall was painted by a man that is no longer with us back in 1993, known as Matty Murphy. This wall has been pride and place in Millstreet for many years and means a lot to the locals. The murals hold great memories to the people of Millstreet and for them to be vandalised like this is totally unacceptable,” he continued.
‘The damage to these murals will not be tolerated in Millstreet. It’s not making a statement, it is angering and annoying the Millstreet people. There are vigils and protests locally happening regularly where people can come out and support the Palestinian people in their fight for freedom.”
Gardaí said that “enquiries are ongoing” into the incident.
On Wednesday, Cllr O’Sullivan said he had been in contact with the owner with regards to helping to remove the graffitti.