It looks like someone has been recreating the work of the notorious graffiti artist Banksy in the town of Bundoran, but is it really the man himself?
So what’s the story with Banksy being in Bundoran? Is it true?
Well it certainly looks like it could be. Over the past couple of months a spate of Banksy-style works of graffiti have cropped up all over the costal town of Bundoran in Donegal, which is probably better known for its surfing rather than it’s graffiti.
So what has cropped up recently?
Well the most recent ‘work of art’ to appear in the town was a massive colony of ants on the old Astoria Ballroom. You can see the massive creepy crawlies in the image below, which was taken by Thomas Gallagher. No one has caught the renegade artist in the action but according to locals, there aren’t too many people that are pleased.
So what other Banksy styled art works are in currently in Bundoran?
Thankfully, someone over on Flicker has been taking some pretty good shots of the graffiti in question. The photographer NP1X (not his real name… we assume) captured the ‘Daffodils Activist’, ‘Copyright is for Losers’, ‘Ché in Guevara T-Shirt’ and the ‘Catarazzi’ works.
They actually look pretty good. So what are the locals saying?
As we already said, they aren’t too happy. Brian McEniff of the McEniff Hotel Group (who owns the old Astoria Ballroom, above) said that if the artist had of come up to them before the graffiti paint job then maybe something could have been worked out – commissioned work we suspect.
Speaking to the Donegal Democrat he said, “If whoever did this wanted to do something creative and had approached me, I would have looked at the idea. But I definitely would not have agreed to anyone painting loads of bugs all over the walls.”
So what have they done about the ants?
Sadly (or thankfully, depending on your view), the ants have been painted over at this stage. Brian McEniff said they had planned to give the old Astoria a lick of paint ahead of this year’s Sea Sessions festival anyway. So if you’re heading down for the tunes and the waves this weekend, forget about looking for the Banksy-wannabe. Instead have a look at the drinkaware.ie Festival Survival Guide – there’s much more interesting stuff in there anyway.
Has anyone else got ants in their pants over the bugs on the walls?
Yes, actually. Bundoran’s new mayor, Cllr. Philip McGlynn, who is also a member of the McEniff group said, “This is the work of pranksters, not artists.
“There is no artistic value to what’s being done. They’re just getting stencils and spraying paint. They are not doing any favours for Bundoran.
“This [the ants] is about the fifth incident of its type in Bundoran. In this case, it was done in the middle of the night and they would have needed ladders to do it.”
So, is it actually the real Banksy?
Probably not. Bansky is too cool for ladders these days.
