Former habitués of Captain Americas, the restaurant on Grafton Street in Dublin city centre – once described as the “only remotely hip place in Dublin” by Philip Chevron of The Pogues and The Radiators from Space – will be able to bring home some mementos when the pop-art burger bar’s memorabilia go under the hammer.
Chief among the exhibits will be the murals of Jim Fitzpatrick, the Dublin artist responsible for the iconic two-tone depiction of Che Guevara seen on T-shirts around the world as well as Thin Lizzy artwork and a vast corpus of Celtic fantasy art.
Overheard can understand why the works won’t be carried on to the New York-style bistro planned to succeed Captain Americas: they feature enormous comic-style depictions of the hero himself angrily bashing Nazis.
“I had a pedigree of doing crazy stuff,” Fitzgerald told Overheard. “It didn’t take much to get me going.”
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As a comic-book fan, he wanted to pay tribute to Jack Kirby, creator of the Captain America character, and came up with panels - first in 1971, and later the largest one in 1980 - as a compilation of Kirby’s Marvel work, channeling his aesthetic without making a direct copy. He later met Kirby, who was baffled by the existence of a restaurant named after his creation in Ireland of all places.
They are executed on chipboard in hardwearing emulsion paint to stand up to footfall and chip fat. “I’m staggered at how well they’ve lasted,” Fitzpatrick said.
As to who might buy an enormous Captain America artwork, he isn’t sure. “I don’t expect to see it any national collections,” he said. “But I’d love to see them somewhere kids can see them.”
Site-specific artwork in the upstairs rooms of Grafton Street buildings has sometimes been the cause of legal trouble. Six Harry Clarke windows installed down the street in Bewley’s Cafe in 1928 were the cause of a years-long court case over ownership, with the Supreme Court being required to rule earlier this year on whether they were a part of the building (and thus the property of the landlord) or of its contents (and the property of the tenant).
No such difficulties arise this time. The works will be part of an auction planned in association with Julien’s Auctions of Beverly Hills, a pop-culture specialist.
Interpreting the Battle of the Boyne
It’s been almost 11 months since Overheard was last reminded of the outcome of the Battle of the Boyne and we have gone hazy on how it all ended, illustrating one danger of the annual commemorative parade as a memorial device. Luckily, there are plans to improve the year-round “visitor experience” at the site of the clash in Co Meath.
Ireland is, of course, a shared island with multiple traditions, a fact absorbed by governmental bureaucracy through the Shared Island Initiative, which intends to “build consensus around a shared future”. Cue immersive King Billy content, in the wake of a €10 million grant for the wider project.
Tenders are sought for interpretation and exhibition design services at the site, with the high bar of creating an “engaging and inclusive environment that is welcoming for visitors from all backgrounds and traditions”. The site is “particularly cherished by the Unionist community”, the Office of Public Works (OPW) document does acknowledge, though interest is also expected from “a wider international community”.
The document appealing for a design mastermind provides what may be too much context – there is “evidence of human habitation at what is now Oldbridge Estate dating back to Paleolithic and Mesolithic times”, we are informed – but the nuts and bolts are standard enough. Fix building defects, provide toilets and a cafe, add “possible AV & Soundscape experiences” and attract coach tours.
Interestingly, narrations are expected in Irish and Ulster Scots, languages that would also have been heard on-site in 1690. Anglo-Irish poet Richard Murphy once remarked that his collaboration with Seán Ó Riada on a broadcast of his book-length work The Battle of Aughrim – which took place a year after the Battle of the Boyne – led to an interpretative clash, between Murphy’s “balance of opposing forces” and Ó Riada’s “heroic rhythms” which did not seek to “reconcile the ancient conflict, but to win”.
We look forward to checking if the minority language histories do the same. And to finding out, at last, which side was victorious.
A yarn from the bog
Ireland produces about seven million kg of wool every year, sheared from its four million sheep, according to a UCC research project. Very little of it is used locally, for complex reasons related to higher demand for cheap synthetic fibres and a lack of industrial processing capacity present in wool giants such as China and Australia.
If it goes anywhere, it’s to China for industrial use. Significant quantities are dumped or burnt, so low are the sale prices.
What should be done? A novel idea emerges from Antrim, where a peatland restoration trial on Slievenanee Mountain is deploying locally sourced “wool logs” to see if they can help patch problem parts of the fragile bog ecosystem.
The initiative, led by Ulster Wildlife and Ulster Farmers’ Union, involves jamming a load of fleece into a sack and then throwing it into the bog in exposed areas. It is anticipated that it will stop water flow, catch sediment and re-establish the conditions required for sphagnum moss – the magical material from which all bogs are made – to thrive.
Intended to replace coir – a coconut byproduct widely used in peatland restoration – it has apparently shown signs of working in trials in England and Scotland. Coconuts are not grown widely in this part of the world, but sheep are usually close at hand, so it seems like a sensible swap.
Scientists are still not completely sure whether the Gaels of old threw butter in the bog to preserve it or as a form of religious offering. We anticipate similar confusion for the Antrim archaeologists of times to come when they encounter dozens of mysterious wool cylinders in their excavations.
Low drones spook Kerry horses
Picture a horse trotting through the Gap of Dunloe. Killarney is far below and on all sides is rugged, beautiful countryside. Ach go tobann: a whirring comes across the sky. Even the most experienced nag could be forgiven for spooking.
The scenario was raised this week at a Kenmare Municipal District meeting, according to local media. Cllr Teddy O’Sullivan Casey said a constituent had been in touch to highlight that the whine of drones could be confused with that of a horsefly by horses traipsing the route.
This, O’Sullivan Casey said, could be a “very dangerous situation”.
Overheard was previously unaware of a conflict between horses and drones, but a quick skim of the equestrian hobbyist press over the past decade or so suggests a strong dislike is common. They are loud, weird and may trigger some of the same fears prompted by a swooping hawk, in summary.
This could be a genuine problem. A lot of horses traverse the gap with tourists in tow and it’s even possibly to hire your own pony to make the journey without a colourful jarvey as guide.
O’Sullivan Casey called for signs banning drones to be erected. So will the council put them up? No: they’re not allowed to ban drones. Will they at least put up warning signs? Also no, says the council. Call the gardaí if you see illegal drone activity.
Not much help if you’re a horse.
