New artwork by local artist unveiled at The Banks, Balbriggan

Fingal County Council has unveiled a new public artwork for Balbriggan.

The work titled “Wish you Were Here” by local artist Dave West has now been installed at the prominent Banks site at Balbriggan Harbour and was officially launched by Mayor of Fingal Cllr Howard Mahony on Tuesday, February 14.

This work has been made possible through the ongoing partnership with Iarnród Éireann, Balbriggan and the Our Balbriggan Regeneration Programme.

“Early in 2022, the artist in collaboration with Irish Rail and Our Balbriggan announced a call to action from the community, where they were invited to submit viewpoints to the artist Dave West on what everyone loves about Balbriggan,” a Fingal spokesperson said.

“The call out was delivered in the form of a postcard and billboard campaign and distributed across our libraries, community hubs, the Balbriggan train station and the central Our Balbriggan office. The entries received formed the inspiration of the artists new work for the location.”

Mayor of Fingal Councillor Howard Mahony advocates that “Art and artists play a vitally important role in bringing our towns and villages to life for local communities and visitors alike.

“This ‘Wish You Were Here’ project is an example of how our Fingal Arts Office support the creativity of artists like Dave West and it also encourages community engagement with public art and I am delighted to see it coming to fruition to be enjoyed by all.”