Sir, – I am astonished at the responsiveness of Dublin City Council. One solitary complaint about the mural on our street celebrating the life and work of David Attenborough and the artwork must be destroyed.
Let me assure you that we on Longwood Avenue in Dublin 8 are proud of the mural, and it is our hope that the motorists who pass it at rush hour will reflect on the loss of the biodiversity that it depicts. It is certainly admired by the walking tours of Dublin that now visit the street.
And, I should add, not only is the mural on the gable wall of a house with the permission of the owner, but it is not defacing some protected structure. It is painted on a featureless gable wall, on some ordinary rendering that dates back to the beginning of the present decade.
The message is clear. We have an incredibly responsive civic authority. All that is needed (and I wish I had known this earlier) is for someone to complain that Dublin air pollution is breaching EU standards, the sewage that is lapping our shore, about the congestion, the homeless dying on our streets, the rickety cycle-lanes – only say the word and swift action will ensue.
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Although – and here’s a possible fault in my logic – there is a vital difference. The David Attenborough mural was not and is not a social problem. Ah. – Yours, etc,
Prof RONÁN CONROY,
(Professor of Public Health
and Epidemiology,
RCSI)
Dublin 8.