DUBLIN CITY Council have begun legal proceedings to remove two 'unauthorised' murals which have appeared in the city in recent months.
The murals, by Dublin-based artist's collective SUBSET, are based in Portobello and Smithfield respectively, and were ordered to be removed in August of this year.
The city's iconic 'Horseboy' mural has been a striking feature of Dublin's cityscape for a number of years and was permitted as an "exempted development", but the conditions ran out in April 2018 and has since been ordered to be removed.
A petition which urged An Bord Pleanála not to remove the artwork has received almost 6,000 signatures.
Similarly, a mural depicting documentary-maker and environmentalist Sir David Attenborough, which was revealed in Portobello on his 93rd birthday, is also the subject of legal proceedings, as well as a petition to save it.
SUBSET originally began their campaign to create colourful murals in order to tackle Dublin’s ‘grey area’, and those opposed to the removal are claiming that the City Council are destroying artistic vibrancy in the capital city.
The Journal reports that Dublin City Council have taken legal action due to both murals being 'unauthorised developments', having had no planning permission before the works were done, and a hearing has been set for 24 March.
SUBSET has previously had a number of murals removed from the city, most notably a striking portrait of Grime artist Stormzy, which was remnoved in November 2017.
The collective wrote a tongue-in-cheek comment at the time, telling the council "Thank you for removing @stormzy, it has made Dublin a better place".
