A DUBLIN MURAL of Greta Thunberg has been repaired after it was vandalised on Wednesday.
The artwork, which was painted on the side of a building on Chancery Street in Smithfield, first appeared on Tuesday, but in less than 24 hours, it had been defaced.
The mural depicts the 18-year-old environmental activist alongside a speech bubble which reads: "The world is waking up and change is coming."
Vandals painted over the Swedish teenager's face, and scrawled misogynistic and abusive language on the wall, with the words "Slut X George Soros Slut" visibly seen.
Sad to see this amazing mural of Greta Thunberg by @emmaleneblake vandalised so quickly. Hopefully it can be repainted. https://t.co/6U5k6soSIG pic.twitter.com/HHImqENg7O
— Ciarán Cuffe (@CiaranCuffe) March 3, 2021
It's understood that the artist, Emma Blake, repaired the artwork herself on Wednesday evening, following news of the damage.
The Thunberg mural is part of a series of murals by Blake across the city, including artwork depicting figures such as Bernie Sanders, Sinead O'Connor, Lizzo, Post Malone and George Floyd.
Ms Blake told RTÉ News that she was inspired to create the mural as "the biggest thing that was in the news before the pandemic was the environment and climate change".
The Covid-19 pandemic means the climate emergency has taken a back seat in the news, Ms Blake added, but when the battle with Covid is over "we are still going to have to face this huge issue, the biggest that humanity has had to face."
A large mural of Greta Thunberg has been painted on a wall in Dublin City centre. Artist Emma Blake said she hoped it refocuses attention on the fight against climate change 🌎 pic.twitter.com/gG0j3grE9j
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) March 2, 2021
