Strumpet City Mural Project
ADW was commissioned by Dublin City Council to create a series of public artworks celebrating Strumpet City. The iconic Irish novel by James Plunkett, written about 1913. The initiative aimed to bring the novel’s powerful themes of poverty, resilience, and social struggle in early 20th-century Dublin, back into the public consciousness through street art.
The Strumpet City Mural project involved painting a series of 12 traffic light control boxes scattered throughout Dublin’s city centre. Each box became a vibrant, hand-painted tribute to the novel’s themes and characters. Weaving historical references and character motifs into the urban landscape.
Completed in under a week, the project quickly drew attention from both locals and visitors. A key interactive feature of each mural was a prominently displayed QR code. This allowed passersby to instantly access more information about Strumpet City. And its relevance to Dublin’s cultural and literary heritage. This blending of art and technology encouraged deeper engagement with the story, and reminded people of how connected our present is to the struggles of the past.
The Strumpet City Mural series not only honoured a cornerstone of Irish literature. It also demonstrated how street art can serve as a living, breathing tribute to history. Moreover, by placing these works throughout the city, the project made Dublin’s cultural heritage accessible to everyone, right there on the streets, where history and daily life intersect.
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