Residents back new community mural at Davys Street

The mural depicts several themes synonymous with Carrick, including its medieval and maritime heritage.

Located on the south wall next to the green on Davys Street, the piece was competed last week.

It is located not far from a more contentious image of a masked gunman beside the words “progression requires inclusion”.

Attributed to the UVF, the earlier mural appeared in June 2013.

Speaking at the time, East Antrim MLA Stewart Dickson said the image was a form of “territorial marking”.

However, development of the most recent artwork was led by Davys Street Residents’ Association, which indicated the aim was to provide a positive image for those living in the area.

Al Creighton, secretary of the association, said: “Committee members met and decided that we would paint the south wall on the green as it was generally being covered in graffiti.

“We kept having the graffiti removed with the help of the PUP and the decision by committee was to seek funding to have a ‘pleasant’ looking mural put on the south wall. We asked residents if they would oppose a suitable mural and not one person opposed us.

“Most were very happy to have a mural on the wall to brighten the area up. It was also thought that in time, we could approach the organisations who have political murals on other walls and ask them if they could help improve the look of the area, but we do respect the political messages and situations.”

The association applied for a grant from Carrick Council’s Good Relations Office, with a workshop arranged to gather ideas from residents on what was to be included in the mural.

Settling on a nautical theme, work began almost immediately on the project. “Most passers-by were very interested and happy to find out we were trying to give the community something more pleasing and uplifting to look at,” said Al. “Now we have budding artists of all ages wanting to ‘improve’ the looks of the area.”