A MURAL in Dublin city of a heart reading 'Repeal the 8th' was removed yesterday after Dublin City Council said it violated planning control.
The artwork, featured on the wall of the Project Arts Centre in Temple Bar, was carried out by street artist MaserArt and commissioned by The HunReal Issues, an Irish website set up to promote women's issues.
In a statement issued yesterday, Sarah Pierce, Chair of the Board of Project Arts Centre said they had "taken the decision to remove the mural artwork after receiving a warning from Dublin City Council Planning Department that the work is in violation of the Planning & Development Acts (2000 - 2015)".
In the three weeks since it was first unveiled, 50 complaints were lodged against the artwork.
Artistic Director of the Project Arts Centre Cian O'Brien said they have received an "astonishing response" to the mural, and while they do not wish to "censor or silence an artist", they understand the legal obligation Dublin City Council is under.
Dublin City Council said the mural violated the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as "murals and other artistic designs require planning permission when applied to the external part of any structure".
Repeal the 8th refers to calls for a referendum to repeal the 8th Amendment to the Constitution of the Republic of Ireland.
Ireland’s strict abortion law is protected under the eighth amendment, which acknowledges the right to life of the unborn.
After the artwork was removed, people took to Twitter to express their upset and anger over the council decision...
They can take it off a wall in Temple Bar but we can keep sharing it here. At least that's something. #repealthe8th pic.twitter.com/N2l1FhEx0A
— PJ Gallagher (@pjgallagher) July 25, 2016
Here today & gone tomorrow. @MaserArt Street Art #repealthe8th art piece removed for political reasons in Dublin pic.twitter.com/Rxu78Zd9LD
— Street Art (@GoogleStreetArt) July 25, 2016
Within minutes of the removal, #RepealThe8th began to trend on the social networking site, with many saying the action has triggered a "Streisand Response" - an attempt to hide, remove or censor a piece of information has the unintended consequence of publicising the information, usually facilitated through the internet.
Bye bye #repealthe8th mural 👋🏻 Hello Streisand effect. Silly anti-choice peeps. pic.twitter.com/4OOzs4BF4m
— James Kavanagh (@JamesKavanagh_) July 25, 2016
I do love that in a bid to try and censor #Repealthe8th, they've actually made us shout even louder.
— Ronzo Teilifís Eireann (@ronronzo) July 25, 2016
Whilst many have called to have the artwork reinstated, The HunReal Issues who commissioned the piece have announced they will be releasing 'Repeal the 8th' T-shirts next week.
To all the gorge peeps who love @MaserArt's mural @projectarts, we'll have tees of it next week. ❤️❤️ #RepealThe8th pic.twitter.com/JS2bq5thU8
— The HunReal Issues (@HunRealIssues) July 15, 2016
