Artists represent Limerick at international street art festival

Two artists, Róisín Clothier and Michelle Urban, represent Limerick at the 2024 Waterford Walls festival, painting alongside some of the world’s biggest Street Artists. Photo: Cian Reinhardt/ilovelimerick

Two artists who represent Limerick are bringing colour to the streets of Waterford Walls Festival, Ireland’s largest international street art event

By I Love Limerick Editor, Cian Reinhardt

Two talented artists bring their Limerick connection to Ireland’s largest international street art festival as they put their unique creativity on display at the 2024 Waterford Walls Festival. 

Róisín Clothier and Michelle Urban proudly fly the flag for Limerick as they work among the many street artists from all over the world attending the festival this year.

In 2023, more than 40 national and international artists participated, creating large-scale murals across Waterford City and its surrounding areas and as this year’s festival is in full swing, Róisín and Michelle build on that tradition bringing their distinct styles and Limerick roots to the festival.

For Róisín Clothier, a Limerick native who now resides in Bristol, balancing her career in animation with mural painting has come naturally to her with her journey into street art starting with painting small electrical boxes in Dublin before progressing to larger murals including a well-known piece at Crew Brew in Limerick.

“Michelle’s also got a Limerick connection, so I don’t feel so alone in representing Limerick,” Róisín told I Love Limerick, adding, “It’s really cool, everyone’s from around the world, it’s just, it’s nice to be able to talk about Limerick. You do get a bit fonder of it when you’re away from a place; you come back and you see all the familiar haunts and spots. So, it’s nice to share information if someone’s passing through, get to recommend things, get all excited.”

With her mural at this year’s festival, Róisín continues to explore a theme she loves to work with as she paints a tall seagull standing on a pile of chips; city birds. 

She said, “I enjoy painting city birds because they’re characters you see all around. Pigeons and seagulls, in particular, have such distinct personalities, they’re everywhere, and when you stop and look at them, they’re actually very funny.”

She explains she enjoys capturing the humour in everyday moments, saying she hopes it will encourage people to celebrate local wildlife and “find a bit of humour in what’s already around us.” 

Michelle Urban, originally from Hamburg, Germany but now deeply connected to Limerick after studying at the Limerick School of Art and Design, is using her space to celebrate five years in Ireland by incorporating elements from various aspects of Irish life, with Limerick’s own Riverfest getting a look-in.

For Michelle, the sense of community she found in Limerick has been crucial to her artistic development noting it “felt like a family” and saying, “The community is incredible, and I still have many friends from there.”

Urban’s connection to street art began in Germany, where she grew up near one of the world’s largest graffiti walls. Now, in Ireland, she finds it exciting to represent both her German roots and her adopted Irish home at the festival, she told I Love Limerick, “Ireland is great for giving more space to the arts. Waterford, Dublin, and Limerick have been very supportive in creating opportunities for street artists, allowing art to reach people in a very accessible way.”

Michelle took a moment to mention Draw Out Project which has also been an inspiration as she noted the iconic Dolores O’Riordan Mural on King’s Island with world-renowned artist Aches.

She said, “I felt like It’s important to put art to places where there isn’t any yet or kind of make everyone feel part of the same community because we are in the same community. I think that’s specifically important as well to not take it away from anyone, not to keep it in the city centre, have it in areas where there’s nothing yet or create something new.”