The Fitzwilton Hotel As A Huge Canvas For Some Amazing Murals

• Huge Canvas For Some Amazing Murals
• Two Spacer Murals By Shane Sutton
• The Quays by Dan Kitchener
• Dan Kitchener Overpainted His 2015 Mural
• The Unsigned Mural
• The Keepers Mural Is Overpainted
• Finders Keepers Mural From 2017 To 2026
• The Curious Case of the Vanishing Mural
• One Mural Replaced Another
• Mural By Neto Vettorello
• StayLo - The Glass House Lane Series
• Mural By OMIN At Glass House Lane
• Mural By Marie Balbinot From Brazil
• The Solar Eclipse
• About A Girl A Mural By KEMP
• Waterford Walls August 2025
• The Sister Cusack Memorial Plaque
• Temple Bar Is More Than One Pub

ONE OF THE MURALS IS STILL INTACT

THE LEGACY CATALOG

* In The Year 2008 * In The Year 2011 * In The Year 2017 * Henrietta Back In 2010

A Huge Canvas For Amazing Murals

I used a Sony A1 II and a Sony 24-105mm F4 lens.

The Fitzwilton as an Urban Canvas: Architectural Geometry and the Mary Street Murals

• Long before the Fitzwilton Hotel on Bridge Street became a central fixture of the Waterford Walls international street art festival, its plain, rendered multistory elevations presented a stark, unyielding face to the surrounding streetscape. Offering these expansive surfaces to the festival served a dual purpose: it revitalised an austere building envelope within Waterford's Cultural Quarter and embedded the hotel directly into the city's modern cultural identity, turning private walls into lasting public assets.

• Rather than presenting a flat facade down a wide thoroughfare, the hotel's rear elevations along Mary Street present an intricate, stepped architectural layout:

• The Perpendicular Forward Gable: The outermost multistory wall carries Dan Kitchener’s (DANK) striking portrait of a Geisha cradling a butterfly, framed by blossoms and delicate colour washes. This wall sits at a strict right angle to Mary Street, facing directly across a compressed access gap and car park rather than down the open street.

• The Recessed Nightscape: Set back on the stepped return wall immediately beside it is Kitchener’s classic atmospheric Tokyo night scene, complete with rain-slicked asphalt, glowing vehicle headlamps, and elevated rail structures.

• The Flanking Elevation: Running parallel to Mary Street is the main multistory hotel facade, adorned with continuous figurative and botanical murals wrapping down to the ground-floor underpass.

• For documentary photography, this compressed footprint poses severe compositional challenges. With residential buildings and perimeter fencing blocking any true straight-on vantage, viewing the full verticality of Kitchener's dual murals requires walking deep into the narrow corridor. Even with ultra-wide glass, severe upward perspective distortion and keystoning are unavoidable.

Waterford’s Changing Accommodation Landscape

• Securing accommodation during the August festival run highlights significant structural pressures across the city's lodging sector:

• Shrinking Room Supply: With properties like the Portree Guesthouse withdrawn from the open tourist market to serve alternative state contracts, the pool of central tourist beds has tightened considerably.

• The Value Paradox: As peak August demand allows budget and mid-tier establishments to inflate rates aggressively, the price gap between basic guesthouses and full-service institutions has all but vanished. Staying at an established heritage property like the Granville Hotel on The Quay offers vastly superior value—delivering consistent service, full amenities, and central convenience for effectively the same outlay demanded by stripped-back alternatives.

• The transformation of the entire northern/western side of Bridge Street into a continuous open-air gallery was a multi-year urban renewal project. It was executed deliberately across successive editions of Waterford Walls (organised by The Walls Project), backed by Creative Ireland Waterford, Waterford City & County Council, and private building owners.

How the Bridge Street Transformation Was Organised

• Bridge Street serves as the main vehicular and pedestrian gateway into Waterford when crossing Rice Bridge. Historically, this corridor suffered from visual neglect and dilapidated facades. The strategy to paint the whole street elevation developed in distinct phases rather than all at once:

• The transformation of the entire northern/western side of Bridge Street into a continuous open-air gallery was a multi-year urban renewal project. It was executed deliberately across successive editions of Waterford Walls (organised by The Walls Project), backed by Creative Ireland Waterford, Waterford City & County Council, and private building owners.

1. Strategic Planning and Approvals (2021–2022): The Walls Project team coordinated with Waterford City & County Council and Creative Ireland to secure public funding aimed at revitalising Waterford’s Cultural Quarter. They then engaged directly with individual property landlords, residential block management, and the management of the Fitzwilton Hotel to secure legal permissions for multistory scaffolding, cherry pickers, and permanent wall access.
2. Community Collaboration ("Murals for Communities"): To ensure local buy-in, organisers ran structured workshops with residents living in the Bridge Street apartment complexes and nearby streets (including newly arrived Ukrainian families in the Cultural Quarter). Facilitators gathered residents' ideas, aspirations, and colour preferences to guide the artist briefs.
3. Phased Painting Execution (2018, 2022, and 2023): The street was tackled incrementally across annual festival cycles in August. Once the apartment blocks at Nos. 11 and 12 were completed in 2022, permissions were finalised for No. 9 in 2023, effectively completing the entire row from the quay junction right down along the Fitzwilton Hotel.

Chronological Listing of Bridge Street Murals & Artists

Here is the breakdown of the major murals along this continuous terrace:

• 2018 — The Lower Perimeter Wall (Fitzwilton Hotel:

• Artist: Shane Sutton (Ireland)

• Work: Spacer — Sutton’s signature astronaut drifting against dark, cosmic tones, painted along the low boundary perimeter wall bordering the hotel's entrance.

• 2022 — No. 11 Bridge Street (Residential Facade):

• Artist: Sophie Mess (UK)

• Work: Vibrant, large-scale botanical and floral compositions featuring bold orchids and dynamic gradients that wrap the front elevation.

• 2022 — No. 12 Bridge Street (Apartment Block):

• Artist: Claire Prouvost (France / Ireland)

• Work: Expressive, deconstructed cubist-style figurative murals, designed in direct collaboration with the building’s residents following community workshops.

• 2023 — No. 9 Bridge Street:

• Artist: George Rose (Australia)

• Work: Multi-chromatic botanical and gradient floral work, completing the residential sequence between the older terrace and the hotel footprint.

• 2023 — The Fitzwilton Hotel Main Mary Street / Bridge Street Junction:

• Artist: Dan Kitchener (DANK) (UK)

• Work: Dual multistory gable works featuring the luminous Geisha with Butterfly portrait and the recessed Tokyo Rain nightscape.

• Ground & Lower Perimeter Additions: Botanical and organic embellishments by artists including Curtis Hylton around the underpass and vehicle entry.

THE HOTEL AS IT WAS IN MAY 2016

History And Ownership

The Fitzwilton Hotel is a purpose-built modern development constructed in 2006 during Ireland’s Celtic Tiger building boom.

The Historical Industrial Footprint: The plot where the hotel sits—spanning the corner of Bridge Street and extending back towards Mary Street and Summerhill—formed part of Waterford’s working-class quayside industrial and trade quarter. Historically, this area comprised low-rise brick and stone warehouses, merchant storage, yard enclosures, and light industrial premises that served the busy River Suir shipping docks and the nearby rail approaches.

Urban Clearance: By the late 20th and early 2000s, many of these utilitarian dockland structures and older vernacular commercial premises had fallen into disrepair or dereliction. The site was assembled and cleared to make way for a contemporary four-star urban boutique hotel, designed to revitalise the primary northern entrance into the city immediately off Rice Bridge.

Ownership and Financial Trajectory

The property’s financial history reflects the broader lifecycle of Irish regional hospitality assets over the last two decades:

Post-2008 Receivership: Like many high-spec hotel developments built at the peak of the property boom, the hotel ran into debt distress following the 2008 financial crash and was eventually placed into receivership under the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) era.

2014 Sale & Refinancing: In December 2014, the 89/90-room four-star hotel was brought to the open market with a guide price of around €2 million and subsequently acquired for approximately €3.2 million by private institutional/international property investors (via Strategic Capital Investment Fund / private Austrian investment backing).

Management Operations: The hotel was leased and operated under private hospitality management structures, trading successfully as an independent 4-star boutique brand (featuring Chez K's Bistro and the Met Bar Cafe) and positioning itself to capture both corporate traffic and tourists exploring Ireland's Ancient East and the Waterford Greenway.

Future Plans and Structural Proposals

• Over recent years, the hotel’s operators and local authorities have sought to address capacity and urban integration:

• Fifth-Floor Extension Planning: The hotel sought formal planning permission (lodged under planning reference 19409 and appealed to An Bord Pleanála under reference ABP-305863) for the construction of a new fifth-floor extension. This proposal aimed to expand bedroom capacity and capitalise on elevated views over the River Suir and the city skyline.

• Integration into Waterford's Cultural Quarter: Rather than expanding outwards into the dense street network, the hotel's long-term orientation has focused on upgrading its existing envelope and deepening its ties with the Cultural Quarter regeneration. By partnering with The Walls Project, Creative Ireland, and the local council, the hotel effectively turned its previously blank, austere elevations into permanent public art installations, anchoring the Bridge Street gateway and connecting pedestrian flows directly into O'Connell Street and the heritage district.

Artist Economics: Earnings & Festival Funding

Annual Earnings

International street artists and muralists have highly variable annual incomes depending on their career tier and revenue diversity:

Emerging to Mid-Tier Artists: Typically earn between €25,000 and €55,000 per year, largely combining small festival fees, community commissions, private interior jobs, and print sales.

Established Global Muralists: Generally earn between €60,000 and €150,000+ per year. Their income stems primarily from high-end corporate facades, commercial brand partnerships, gallery canvas sales, limited-edition screenprints, and private architectural commissions.

Revenue Breakdown: Pure street art festivals rarely represent the majority of an artist’s income; instead, they serve as high-profile portfolios that attract lucrative commercial and private clients.

Travel & Accommodation Funding

• For official festival bookings it is standard industry practice for travel, accommodation, and materials to be covered:

• Flights & Transit: Curators typically provide round-trip flights or train travel, along with airport transfers.

• Accommodation & Per Diems: Festivals supply local hotel, guest-house, or artist-residency lodging, alongside a daily stipend (per diem) for meals and local expenses.

• Production & Materials: The host organisation furnishes access equipment (scissor lifts, cherry pickers, scaffolding), primers, aerosol paint, and rollers.

• Artist Fees / Honorariums: Reputable festivals pay an artist honorarium (commonly ranging from €1,000 to €5,000+ per wall, depending on wall square-footage and artist prestige).

In contrast, when artists paint in unsanctioned or fringe spaces like Glass House Lane, work is self-funded—artists use leftover spray cans and personal supplies purely for creative freedom and peer collaboration.

€50,000 per year exempt from Income Tax

Under Irish tax law, the Artists’ Exemption (governed by Section 195 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997) permits individuals to earn up to €50,000 per year exempt from Income Tax on profits generated directly from qualifying original and creative works.

Whether this applies to street artists depends on residency status, how the work is legally defined, and how the artist is contracted and paid.

The €50,000 Cap and Statutory Taxes

Income Tax Only: The exemption applies strictly to Income Tax up to the statutory limit of €50,000 per annum. Any creative earnings exceeding €50,000 in a given tax year are taxed at standard marginal rates.

USC and PRSI Still Apply: Earnings are not exempt from the Universal Social Charge (USC) or Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI).

Residency Requirement: To qualify for a determination from the Revenue Commissioners, the artist must be tax resident (or ordinarily resident and domiciled) in Ireland, the EU/EEA, or the UK. An international artist visiting temporarily on a tourist visa or short trip cannot claim this relief.

Qualifying vs Non-Qualifying Street Art Work

To qualify under the visual arts category, Revenue requires the piece to be an "original and creative work" that possesses "cultural or artistic merit" within the definition of "paintings or other like pictures".

What Typically Qualifies:

Fine-Art Murals and Public Art Commissions: Large-scale original installations and curated festival walls where the artist retains creative freedom and conceptual authorship.

Limited-Edition Fine Art Prints: Signed and numbered print editions (strictly capped at 200 copies) derived from street murals or original artwork.

Studio Canvases and Original Works: Physical paintings and studio pieces sold via private collectors, exhibitions, or gallery representation.

Arts Council Grants and Direct Bursaries: Public funding and stipends awarded specifically to facilitate the production of an original creative work.

What Does Not Qualify:

• Commercial Branding and Advertising: Murals commissioned to promote a corporate brand, commercial product, storefront signage, or marketing campaign.

• Signwriting and Utilitarian Painting: Decorative, trade-based, or functional exterior painting where the primary purpose is civic maintenance or commercial shopfitting.

• Hourly Labour or Tradesperson Rates: Standard day-rate services where an artist works under direction without copyright retention or creative autonomy.

• Commercial Merchandise: Mass-produced apparel, stickers, postcards, non-limited posters, or commercial licensing fees.

The Determination Process and Practical Realities

• Formal Revenue Approval Required: Revenue does not grant automatic tax-exempt status. An artist must submit an application form along with a portfolio, evidence of public exhibition, and testimonials to secure a formal determination for their work.

• Scrutiny on Urban Murals: Outdoor public art and utility-box projects are assessed carefully. Projects classified as purely decorative, functional, or community-maintenance tasks can be refused if they fail to meet the threshold of standalone artistic or cultural merit.

• Payment and Invoicing: The exemption applies only to income received by an individual sole trader directly from the qualifying work. It does not apply to fees billed through a limited company or intermediary production agency.

International Artists

Zabou (France)

• Style & Career: Based in London, Zabou is internationally renowned for her striking, high-contrast figurative realism. She uses spray paint to blend portraits of real, expressive humans with bold color fields and graphic components.
• Key Visuals: Highly detailed portraits featuring dramatic side-lighting and emotional intensity.

VILE (Portugal)

• Style & Career: Rodrigo Miguel (VILE) is famous for his mind-bending 3D transparent/cut-out graffiti technique. Using precise shading, stencil work, and perspective tricks, he renders his name as if it were carved directly through solid concrete walls, revealing the empty background space behind them.

TELMO MIEL (Netherlands)

• Style & Career: The artistic duo Telmo Pieper and Miel Krutzmann are globally celebrated for their large-scale surrealist photo-realism. They fuse layered imagery, overlapping human forms, and dreamlike elements into a single cohesive piece.

MR CENZ (UK)

• Style & Career: A staple of the London street scene since 1988, Mr Cenz creates distinctive futuristic female portraits. His signature aesthetic blends classic graffiti lettering, photorealistic faces, neon hues, and abstract translucent flow-lines.

MR.DHEO (Portugal)

• Style & Career: Self-taught artist known for hyper-realistic narrative portraiture. His work often tackles political commentary, pop culture, and social critique with crisp lines and dramatic contrasts.

Fintan Magee (Australia)

• Style & Career: Frequently referred to as "the Australian Banksy," Magee is a world-class muralist whose work explores social issues, climate change, migration, and the working class.
• Key Visuals: Large, painterly figures rendered with soft light, atmospheric texture, and water reflections.

Dan Kitchener / DANK (UK)

• Style & Career: DANK is legendary for his atmospheric cinematic street scenes, particularly rainy, neon-soaked nightscapes of Tokyo, Hong Kong, and London.
• Key Visuals: Wet pavement reflections, glowing light blurs, and dramatic rain effects rendered with incredible speed using spray paint.

L7MATRIX (France/Brazil)

• Style & Career: Known for combining raw graffiti lettering with fine-art realism. His most famous subjects are hyper-vibrant, exploding birds and animals that seem to dissolve into dynamic splatters, lines, and movement.

Fio Silva (Argentina)

• Style & Career: Dynamic, organic murals featuring wild birds, flora, and fauna. Her style relies on heavy black line work, bold color blocking, and sweeping lines that flow along the architecture of the wall.

DAN FERRER (Spain)

• Style & Career: Ferrer’s work blends figurative realism with allegory and childhood symbolism. He often depicts larger-than-life children breaking through limitations or exploring dream worlds.

CONSE (Spain)

• Style & Career: Master of hyper-realism and portraiture. He focuses heavily on capturing subtle skin textures, deep expressions, and intimate human moments on massive scales.

SPEKER (Italy) & SILYME (Italy)

• Style & Career: Traditional graffiti writers turned muralists who specialize in technical wildstyle lettering, sharp geometric angles, dynamic color gradients, and complex letter construction.

NOL (Netherlands)

• Style & Career: Distinctive for his whimsical, retro-cartoon character designs. NOL uses bold black outlines, playful narrative themes, and bright primary colors.

ADOR (France)

• Style & Career: Illustrative, satirical, and story-driven. ADOR creates imaginary worlds populated by quirky, long-nosed humanoid characters engaged in chaotic or humorous scenarios.

KMG (Scotland)

• Style & Career: Illustrative street artist known for her cheeky, humorous, and bold character-based work that frequently pokes fun at modern society and pop culture.

WRN (Brazil) & MARIE (Brazil)

• Style & Career: Bringing South American tropical street aesthetics, rich patterns, and vibrant color palettes rooted in Brazilian urban culture.

Irish & Northern Irish Artists

DAN LEO (Ireland)

• Style & Career: One of Ireland's most recognizable street artists. Dan Leo's work is characterized by heavy black outlines, sharp geometric partitioning, and vibrant graphic depictions of animals and wildlife.

ROB HILKEN (Northern Ireland)

• Style & Career: Belfast-based artist and curator whose work focuses on geometric abstraction, color field theory, and structural symmetry that interacts with urban architecture.

SHANE HA (Ireland)

• Style & Career: Galway-born visual artist (often signing as Torc_art) whose style blends illustrative geometry, Celtic knotwork elements, and modern pop-surrealist characters.

RASK (Ireland)

• Style & Career: A veteran of the Irish graffiti scene, Rask is renowned for his technical prowess in classic lettering, complex wildstyle, and large-scale collaborative pieces.

SOAK (Ireland)

• Style & Career: Longstanding Irish writer and muralist known for versatile lettering, character design, and heavy involvement in the grassroots national graffiti scene.

STAYLO (Ireland)

• Style & Career: Focuses on contemporary lettering, bold color choices, and clean vector-like spray execution across urban landscapes.

MUL (UK/Ireland)

• Style & Career: Known for the ubiquitous "Heart" and continuous-line characters, MUL focuses on rapid, high-impact graphic iconography that interacts playfully with urban infrastructure.

OMIM (Ireland), NOVICE (Ireland), RO (Ireland), NIALLOL (Ireland), LAIDBACK (Ireland)

• Style & Career: Core contributors to the evolving Irish street art circuit. Their styles range from raw freehand graffiti and calligraffiti to contemporary character-driven compositions.

EMBER (Ireland), KONE (Ireland), KAROL (Ireland), HMC (Ireland), ANDYMC (Ireland)

• Style & Career: Represents a mix of established writers and emerging Irish crews. Expect high-energy lettering, sharp fill-ins, and complex color schemes designed to pop against weather-worn stone and concrete.

Ailbhe Larsen (Ireland)

• Style & Career: Illustrative artist whose work leans toward fine-art storytelling, fine linework, and soft, organic motifs that contrast sharply with raw urban brickwork.

Photographic Field Strategy

• Hyper-Realism & Portraits (Zabou, Conse, Mr.Dheo, Fintan Magee): Photograph these with a mid-to-telephoto focal length (50mm–85mm) to avoid field distortion and preserve exact facial proportions.
• 3D Illusion & Perspective Works (VILE, Telmo Miel): Stand directly at the artist's intended "vanishing point" (usually offset slightly from center) to capture the intended optical depth effect.
• Wide Architectural Gables (Dan Kitchener, Fio Silva): High-resolution wide-angle lenses (15mm–24mm) are essential in Waterford's tighter medieval laneways to capture the full scope of multi-story gable end pieces without perspective clipping.

Railway Stations

* Clontarf Railway Station * Docklands Railway Station * Malahide Railway Station

Examples Of Waterford Walls Murals

• Huge Canvas For Some Amazing Murals
• Two Spacer Murals By Shane Sutton
• The Quays by Dan Kitchener
• Dan Kitchener Overpainted His 2015 Mural
• The Unsigned Mural
• The Keepers Mural Is Overpainted
• Finders Keepers Mural From 2017 To 2026
• The Curious Case of the Vanishing Mural
• One Mural Replaced Another
• Mural By Neto Vettorello
• Bugs Bunny Mural By ADRE
• StayLo - Unofficial Mural
• A Really Really Long Mural
• Mural By OMIN
• Mural By Marie Balbinot From Brazil
• Artist At Work
• DeLaSalle Hall Mural By Eoin O'Connor
• Mantra By Torbe36
• Mural By Sonny Sundancer August 2017
• Another Mural By Sonny Sundancer August 2021
• Mural By Dan Leo At 2 Park Road In Waterford
• Mural By Mr Cenz
• Waterford Murals Photographed in July 2018
• Mural By Alex Senna Photographed In August 2025
• A Scribble Grid In Action
• Animalitoland's Mural From 2018 Waterford Walls
• Flowers On The Street By Lula Groce
• Nerone The Artist And His Art On Display In Waterford
• Mural By Laker And Land
• Laura A Mural By Taquen
• The Same But Different By Zabou

Waterford Walls 2025 Locations

Ballybeg Park

• EMIC – 157 Ballybeg Park

Mount Sion Avenue

• KMG – Swans of Lir (No. 85)
• MR. BLOB – Mount Sion Avenue

Stephen Street

• Magda Karol – Stephen Street
• Nickie Harrington – Stephen Street
• Gabriela Joyce – Stephen Street

Thomas Street

• Novice – Thomas Street
• Omin – Thomas Street
• PENS – Thomas Street

O'Connell Street

• Nerone – O'Connell Street

Parnell Street

• Blu Heron – Parnell Street

The Forum Hub

• Kohneshia – The Forum Hub

Multi-Site & Citywide Installations

• Dotmasters – 9 installations across Waterford City
• Blackdoors – 5 installations across Waterford City

Waterford Walls 2024 (10th Anniversary Highlights)

O'Connell Cultural Quarter (O'Connell St / George's St / Gladstone St)

• Aches – Large-scale portrait / chromatic aberration piece (O'Connell St)
• Curtis Hylton – Flora and fauna mural (Gladstone St)
• Curtis Hylton & Shane O'Driscoll – Collaborative installation (George's St)

The Glen / Ballybricken

• Smug One – Photo-realistic character piece (The Glen)
• KinMx – Mythological & botanical figure (Ballybricken)

The Apple Market / Railway Square

• Zurik – Dynamic geometric lettering (Railway Square)
• Dan Leo – Bold graphic wildlife illustration (Apple Market vicinity)

Millers Marsh / Waterside

• Kitsune Jolene – Atmospheric portraiture (Waterside car park)
• French & Mottershead – Site-responsive installation (Millers Marsh)

Waterford Walls 2023 Highlights

New Street / Apple Market

• Rustam Qbic – Surreal narrative mural (New St Car Park)
• Juliette Viode – Figurative piece (Apple Market lane)

O'Connell Street & Cultural Quarter

• Anna Lina – Botanical & nature installation (O'Connell St)
• Street Art Frankey – Playful micro-installations (Various Cultural Quarter spots)

Stephen Street / Mayor's Walk

• Peachzz – Wildlife and floral theme (Mayor's Walk)
• Garreth Joyce – Contemporary graphic mural (Stephen St)

The Mall / Waterfront

• Signs of Power (Amime) – Typographic / lettering mural (The Mall)
• Taquen – Minimalist nature study (Quayside approaches)

Waterford Walls 2022 Highlights

The Glen & Green Street

• Mojo – Contemporary portrait (The Glen)
• Lost Optics – Retro-futuristic abstract patterns (Green St)

Ballybricken

• Sonny Sundancer – Large-scale endangered wildlife mural (Ballybricken Green)
• James Earley – Stained-glass inspired abstraction (Bull Post area)

Barrack Street / Mount Sion

• Mister Copy – Classical figurative study (Barrack St)
• Shane Sutton – Spacer/astronaut series (Mount Sion area)

City Centre & Quays

• Dan Kitchener (DANK) – Rainy night urban cityscape (Quayside)
• Thinker – Abstract graphic mural (The Quay car park wall)