Starry Plough

Starry Plough (2019)
Water-based acrylic and spraypaint
Dimensions: 4 x 4m

The artwork references the history of the area (Smithfield horse market and Collins Barracks museum). The humble horse drawn plough was an icon used in the first Irish Citizen’s Army flag overlayed with stars forming the constellation The Plough. The flag was titled ‘Starry Plough’. James Connolly, co-founder of the Irish Citizen Army with Jack White and James Larkin, said the significance of the banner was that a free Ireland would control its own destiny from the plough to the stars. My family also has links to the Collins Barracks museum where my great grandfather Michael Tannam’s gun from The Easter Rising is displayed.

The mural occupies the courtyard of The Hendrick Hotel, Dublin
Funding: Dublin Loft Co.

Photo credits: Eoin Holland