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Dublin
City centre 'Do Not Remove' mural removed by council after graffiti tags painted on surface
The artist behind the mural said he hadn’t been contacted by the council as the process took place.
LAST UPDATE | 24 Sep 2025
ONE OF DUBLIN’S best-known street murals was painted over by the city council in recent weeks after graffiti tags were painted on its surface earlier this year.
Dublin City Council painted over most of the ‘Do Not Remove’ mural at the Ormond Quay site with black paint in recent weeks. It’s understood a number of complaints had been submitted about the state of the artwork.
Temporary NFL-themed street art has been installed at the site ahead of an American football game in Croke Park this weekend. A number of artists have been commissioned to install related pieces across other city centre streets.
The mural had stretched across a two-storey hoarding on Ormond Quay. It depicted a man with bricks covering his head, with the words ‘Do Not Remove’ painted on one of the bricks.
The site is the derelict Ormond Hotel, which famously featured in the Sirens episode of James Joyce’s Ulysses.
The hotel fell into disuse in the early 2000s, though planning conditions for its redevelopment stipulate that it must reopen as a hotel and retain the Ormond name.
In 2022, Brazilian artist Neto Vettorello and Dublin artist Asbestos collaborated on the Do Not Remove mural.
Commissioned by the Association of Brazilian Families in Ireland, with support from the Brazilian Embassy, site owners Monteco Holdings Ltd, and Dublin City Council, the project marked 200 years of Brazilian independence and was presented as a “gift” from the Brazilian community to Dublin.
The striking, colourful piece blended both artists’ styles while delivering a commentary on dereliction and the housing crisis.
Now, only fragments of the mural remain.
The removal comes as part of the wider rollout of football-themed installations across the city, including works on Tara Street, Dame Street, and Barnardo Square, where a giant helmet has been erected.
Sunday’s game is expected to draw in thousands of US visitors, as the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Minnesota Vikings.
The temporary NFL artwork received a mixed reception from passers-by with one man describing it to The Journal as “gaudy-looking”. The installation will be erased after this weekend’s match.
Artist Neto Vettorello said that he had not been contacted by Dublin City Council over the plans to black out his mural.
“It’s quite ironic, since the title of the piece was actually ‘Do Not Remove’,” Vettorello said.
“The Council just did what they usually do: keep the city grey, silent, and stripped of colour and voice.”
He added that the NFL theme was disappointing, and quizzed the US influence on the Dublin artwork.
“Nobody questions it, because we live in apathetic societies where public art is rarely created as a form of questioning. That’s what made the Ormond Quay mural special, it wasn’t decoration or advertising, it was a dialogue.
“I was celebrating female symbolism and independence, while Asbestos raised the issue of how stories are constantly erased.”
Dublin City Council has been contacted for comment.
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