This article is from page 14 of the 2012-05-22 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
GRAFFITI artists in Ennis could have a wall to call their own if plans put forward by a local councillor get the go-ahead.
At yesterday’s meeting of Clare County Council, Councillor James Breen (Ind) renewed his calls for a graffiti wall to be developed in Ennis.
Cllr Breen, who first proposed the wall last January, told the meeting that graffiti can be a healthy form of therapy for young people.
He said that while he is no expert in the matter, some graffiti could be a “beautiful thing”.
He said that by developing a dedi cated facility for graffiti in Ennis, young people wouldn’t have to be worried about being “hunted away” from other locations.
Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind) proposed that primary and secondary school make walls available for graffiti.
He said, “We’ve actually left some of the graffiti in place (in Shannon) because it is of such a high standard.”
Cllr Cathal Crowe said it had been shown that there are therapeutic benefits to be derived from graffiti. He said a graffiti wall would help alleviate distasteful graffiti in other parts of Ennis. Cllr Breen told the meeting that he wasn’t trying to foist a graffiti wall on communities in Ennis.
He added, “I think Lees Road would be a good facility for a graffiti wall.”
The Director of Services, Gerard Dollard, stated that Lees Road had previously been forward as a location for the wall.
He explained, “The Management Committee of the Lees Road facil ity was subsequently requested to consider the provision of a graffiti wall. The matter was discussed at a meeting of Ennis Town Council’s Leisure Facilities Committee. It was agreed by the committee that the matter would be reconsidered in 12 months.”
The proposal was due to be discussed at yesterday’s committee meeting.
“It should be noted that no funding source has been identified for such a project and, in the event that the provision of such a facility was considered more appropriate for the Lees Road facility, such a funding source would have to be identified. The proposer of the motion may wish to suggest other possible locations that could be considered if a funding source was available,” he said.