Giving Greystones Train Station The Birds

Mary-Kate Hardy THURS10APR25

aving already brightened up Greystones train station with a 45ft mural depicting local landmarks and a few local yokels, Mary-Kate Hardy is back all this week to put some finishing touches to her striking landscape scene.

This time, the lady is going clean round the bend, to add a series of much-loved Irish birds.

And a big cherry blossom tree too, just to weave in a little extra magic.

That Mary-Kate is adding to something that she’s already very proud of makes this return a sweet one. Especially given that an artist’s work tends to have just a moment in the sun before being filed away and possibly even forgotten.

With the town’s train station mural, this work forever has its moment in the sun.

And the rain. And the wind. But, hey, the fact that it’s always there, and Mary-Kate has seen people taking selfies with the mural as their backdrop, “That’s a real kick…”

Having spent the last few years working on film sets, it was in January of this year that Ms Hardy took a step back and started painting purely for pleasure again. And adding to the transformation of Greystones train station into an outdoor art museum – complete with portraits of some of the town’s most famous denizens – means all the work here is highly personal.

As witnessed by the recent unveiling of the Ronnie Drew portrait, which has now been followed swiftly by the selection of the totem that will house the Bridie Mooney tribute. This train station makeover is not only about celebrating the town’s history but who we are as people…

That such personal tributes will hit home with the people of today’s Greystones means their impact will no doubt last that little bit longer than your average movie set make believe…

You can check out Mary-Kate’s initial work on our station mural here, those totem tributes here, and join the crowdfund for Bridie Mooney’s place in the sun here.