BACK IN MAY 2025 IT WAS THE LARGEST MURAL IN IRELAND
A FLEETING RECORD - CAPTURING IRELAND'S LARGEST MURAL BEFORE IT WAS DETHRONED [MAY 2025]
It seems that every time I visit Belfast, it rains. May 2025 was certainly no exception; the weather was particularly atrocious. I had arrived with two new cameras in tow, both ostensibly weatherproof, though I suspect the Leica might have held up better against the heavy deluge I encountered.
Before returning home, I had scheduled a session to photograph the mural at what locals often refer to as 'Days Hotel' (the Holiday Inn). I selected the Fujifilm GFX100RF for the task. While the camera performed admirably, I did not fare quite as well. I ended up soaking wet and was forced to abandon the session before I could capture images of the quality I needed.
However, not to worry. I am due to visit the area again next week. You might well think, "If he claims it rains every time he visits, why does he believe it will be any better in December?" It brings to mind the definition of insanity: "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." This famous observation is often attributed to Rita Mae Brown, first appearing in her 1983 novel, Sudden Death. Perhaps there is a method to my madness ... wait and see.
The Speed of Street Art
There is a funny thing about records—they are often broken by the time you get around to discussing them.
I photographed this striking piece by the Dublin artist Aches back in that rainy May of 2025. It dominates the side of the Holiday Inn in Belfast’s Linen Quarter, acting as a vibrant splash of colour on Great Victoria Street. At the time, the hotel staff proudly informed me that I was looking at the largest mural in Ireland.
And here is the kicker: they were right. But only just.
The world of street art moves fast, whereas my editing process, admittedly, moves a little slower. As I work my way through a backlog of 8,000 images from my Belfast research, I realised that this photo now captures a very specific moment in time—a brief window where this artwork held the heavyweight title.
The Tale of the Tape
Unveiled in October 2024, the Aches mural stands 32 metres high and 14.5 metres wide, covering a massive 464m². For approximately ten months, it was the undisputed king of surface area on the island, surpassing previous record-holders such as the Lú mural in Dundalk.
But records, as they say, are made to be broken.
This past August (2025), whilst these photos were sitting quietly in my catalogue, the title moved south to Dublin. The new champion is Bláthú by Sean Atmos at Bolands Mills. It is a staggering nine storeys tall and covers 724m², blending the industrial history of the mills with the natural flora of the nearby Irishtown.
Why It Still Matters
Does losing the title make the Belfast mural any less impressive? Not at all. Aches is renowned for his signature "glitch" style—superimposing RGB layers to create a sense of movement and vibration. Seeing this technique executed on such a massive scale is breathtaking. Designed to celebrate the diversity of the people passing through the Linen Quarter, and standing at 32 metres tall, it remains impossible to ignore.
So, here is to the former largest mural in Ireland. It may have lost the record, but it certainly hasn’t lost its impact.
It seems that every time I visit Belfast, it rains. May 2025 was certainly no exception; the weather was particularly atrocious. I had arrived with two new cameras in tow, both ostensibly weatherproof, though I suspect the Leica might have held up better against the heavy deluge I encountered.
Before returning home, I had scheduled a session to photograph the mural at what locals often refer to as 'Days Hotel' (the Holiday Inn). I selected the Fujifilm GFX100RF for the task. While the camera performed admirably, I did not fare quite as well. I ended up soaking wet and was forced to abandon the session before I could capture images of the quality I needed.
However, not to worry. I am due to visit the area again next week. You might well think, "If he claims it rains every time he visits, why does he believe it will be any better in December?" It brings to mind the definition of insanity: "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." This famous observation is often attributed to Rita Mae Brown, first appearing in her 1983 novel, Sudden Death. Perhaps there is a method to my madness ... wait and see.
The Speed of Street Art
There is a funny thing about records—they are often broken by the time you get around to discussing them.
I photographed this striking piece by the Dublin artist Aches back in that rainy May of 2025. It dominates the side of the Holiday Inn in Belfast’s Linen Quarter, acting as a vibrant splash of colour on Great Victoria Street. At the time, the hotel staff proudly informed me that I was looking at the largest mural in Ireland.
And here is the kicker: they were right. But only just.
The world of street art moves fast, whereas my editing process, admittedly, moves a little slower. As I work my way through a backlog of 8,000 images from my Belfast research, I realised that this photo now captures a very specific moment in time—a brief window where this artwork held the heavyweight title.
The Tale of the Tape
Unveiled in October 2024, the Aches mural stands 32 metres high and 14.5 metres wide, covering a massive 464m². For approximately ten months, it was the undisputed king of surface area on the island, surpassing previous record-holders such as the Lú mural in Dundalk.
But records, as they say, are made to be broken.
This past August (2025), whilst these photos were sitting quietly in my catalogue, the title moved south to Dublin. The new champion is Bláthú by Sean Atmos at Bolands Mills. It is a staggering nine storeys tall and covers 724m², blending the industrial history of the mills with the natural flora of the nearby Irishtown.
Why It Still Matters
Does losing the title make the Belfast mural any less impressive? Not at all. Aches is renowned for his signature "glitch" style—superimposing RGB layers to create a sense of movement and vibration. Seeing this technique executed on such a massive scale is breathtaking. Designed to celebrate the diversity of the people passing through the Linen Quarter, and standing at 32 metres tall, it remains impossible to ignore.
So, here is to the former largest mural in Ireland. It may have lost the record, but it certainly hasn’t lost its impact.
THE LARGEST MURAL