Positive reaction to mural on Athlone's westside
A very artistic mural on the gable wall of one of the best-known pubs in Athlone, Walsh's on Connaught street, has been attracting favourable comments from locals and tourists alike.
The decision to commission a mural for the historic pub was taken after a major renovation project was completed on the premises last October.
"After the renovations were done, we noticed that the gable end of the pub was very bare," says Alana Walsh, wife of Patrick Walsh, who runs the pub alongside his father, Willie.
As a music teacher in Athenry, Alana consulted the art teacher in her school to see if they could come up with ideas to make the gable wall look more attractive.
A mural was considered, so Alana got in touch with well-known Drogheda artist, Ciaran Dunlevy, who is responsible for a large number of the eye-catching murals adorning the walls of iconic buildings in Galway city and elsewhere.
"Ciaran came to the pub and he noticed two pictures we have on the walls depicting the long history of the premises so he thought it would be a good idea to merge the two pictures into a mural for the gable wall, and it took him two and a half days to complete the project," says Alana, who is originally from London.
As one of the oldest pubs on Connaught Street, believed to date back to somewhere around 1889, the Walsh family wanted to have this reflected in the mural. The shop front which forms part of the mural painted by Ciaran Dunlevy depicts the original shop front as it was when Patrick Walsh's grandfather, also called Patrick, ran the business.
"In fact my husband is the sixth generation of the Walsh family to continue the business on Connaught street, so there is a great deal of history attached to the premises," remarks Alana.
Another very well-known business family in Athlone were the Foys, who ran a shop selling everything from bikes to tobacco and was located in the building which now houses the Bank of Ireland on Church Street.
The Foy and Walsh families were connected through marriage, so the family decided to honour the Foy connection by having Ciaran Dunlevy paint a car with two members of the Foy family inside, Donal, who is driving the car, and Michael in the back seat.
"My mother-in-law, Sylvia (nee King) was a Foy on her mother's side of the family, which would make the man sitting in the back of the car in the mural, Michael Foy, my husband's great grandfather, so we are delighted to have been able to honour that side of the family also," explains Alana.
The mural was painted in graffiti-resistant paint, so Alana Walsh says it will be permanent memorial to the history of two great business families in Athlone for generations to come.
"We have got very favourable comments for the mural from everybody," says Alana, "and we see tourists stopping to take photographs of it all the time, so it has attracted a lot of attention so far."
Despite the fact that she is from London, she has heard lots of stories since she moved to Athlone about what a vibrant and busy street Connaught street once was, and she is hoping to see the street restored to its former glory.
"I kind of feel Connaught Street is the forgotten street of Athlone, and it is great to see that some of the buildings have now been bought and I would love to see them being restored and to see the whole street getting a facelift, so we feel that the mural on the gable wall of the pub is our little contribution to that facelift," says Alana.
Patrick Walsh and his father, Willie, who now jointly run Walsh's licenced premises, are currently in the process of organising a Walsh Reunion Weekend which will take place on the August Bank holiday weekend. Among the events will be a barbeque; a storytelling session with renowned storyteller, Helena Byrne, and a novel event called 'How many Walshs can fit in one pub' which will take place on the Sunday of the Bank holiday weekend.