Top International Irish Artist Gives His Full Support For Liverpool Mural Project

Dear Liverpool Mural Project,

This is just a short note to convey my enthusiastic support for the mural project to celebrate Liverpool as Capital of Culture in 2008. I am aware of some of the people in Belfast that will be involved in the project. I am convinced that with them participating will not only guarantee success, because of their huge experience in this area, but will also underscore the cultural and historical links between Liverpool and Ireland. The theme is an excellent one in that it celebrates not only local links but also the world. I wish the project well!

Yours Sincerely, Robert Ballagh

Robert Ballagh is one of Ireland’s most respected artists. He was born in Dublin and is both a painter and designer. His painting style was strongly influenced by pop art and his paintings are often playful and didactic. He has produced many respected works of art. He represented Ireland at the 1969 Paris Biennale. Among the theatre sets he has designed are sets for Riverdance, Samuel Beckett's Endgame (1991) and Oscar Wilde's Salomé (1998). He has also designed over 70 Irish postage stamps and the last series of Irish banknotes, "Series C", before the introduction of the euro. He is a member of Aosdána, which is an affiliation of creative artists in Ireland.