I USED A SONY A7RVI WITH 24-70MM LENS
I used a Sony a7RIV and a Sony Fe 24-70mm lens
I had difficulty photographing this in August 2026 so I checked by back-catalog and discovered that I managed to photograph it back in August 2021 and that the photographs were usable.
Artwork & Location Identification
Artist: DECOY (Dublin-based contemporary muralist and visual artist).
- Title: Untitled (Botanical Façade at Trade Coffee).
- Location: 112 The Quay, Waterford City (decorating the multi-storey exterior of Trade Coffee & Barista Training).
- Date of Creation: Painted in August 2020 as part of the Waterford Walls International Street Art Festival.
Visual Style & Composition: The mural wraps around the upper storeys and corner of the building, featuring Decoy's signature graphic, botanical motifs. It juxtaposes delicate, monochrome line-work leaves against bold abstract blocks of magenta, violet, deep charcoal, and vibrant accent lines.
The Artist: Background & Career
- Education & Early Practice: Decoy is an Irish artist who graduated with a degree in Fine Art from the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in Dublin.
- Transition to Muralism: Having a foundational background in sculpture and fine art, he transitioned into large-scale public murals to work on a monumental architectural scale.
- Collaborations & Collectives: Early in his public mural career, he frequently collaborated with Dublin street art collectives, including Subset, before expanding his solo practice.
- Artistic Style: His portfolio is characterised by vivid, multi-layered abstract compositions, geometric interplay, and stylised nature forms. He focuses on injecting colour and visual respite into urban environments dominated by advertising and concrete.
Major Festivals & Projects: Across Ireland and the UK, Decoy has produced major commissioned works for:
- Hit the North (Belfast)
- Dún Laoghaire Anseo (Dublin)
- Limerick City Build
- Urban regeneration initiatives across Banbridge, Lisbon, London, and Paris.
Involvement with Waterford Walls
- Festival Contributor: Decoy has been a featured participating artist with Waterford Walls, contributing both large-scale exterior street pieces and interior venue works.
Site Context (Trade Coffee): When commissioned for the 2020 festival edition, his work transformed the landmark building at 112 The Quay, extending visually into the interior space of Trade Coffee—which historically served as a central hospitality hub and meeting point for festival crew, volunteers, and visiting international artists during Waterford Walls.
Longevity: Unlike many transient street art festival walls that are rotated or repainted every one to two seasons, this piece has been carefully preserved by the venue and property owners, remaining fully intact on the Waterford waterfront.
Coffee House Lane
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Coffee House Lane holds a notable place in Ireland’s commercial and social history:
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Birthplace of Irish Coffee Culture (1690): The lane is historically recognised as the site where Ireland's first recorded coffee house opened in 1690, operated by merchant John Aikenhead.
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Port of Waterford Trade Connection: Positioned directly off the riverfront quays, the lane served as an immediate point of entry for merchant cargo arriving by ship. Green coffee beans were unloaded from merchant vessels, transported into the lane, and then hand-roasted, brewed, and served on-site.
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17th- & 18th-Century Commercial Hub: During the late 17th and 18th centuries, coffee houses around the port functioned as informal commercial exchanges where ship captains, merchants, customs officials, and traders met to negotiate shipping manifests, arrange cargo insurance, and exchange overseas maritime intelligence.
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Modern Continuity: The lane's three-century roasting lineage directly inspired the naming of local artisan roaster Coffee House Lane, while TRADE Coffee (where Decoy’s mural wraps around the corner) maintains the site’s historical function as an active specialty coffee house.
MURAL AT THE OTHER END OF COFFEE HOUSE LANE
THE LEGACY CATALOG
* In The Year 2008
* In The Year 2011
* In The Year 2017
* Henrietta Back In 2010
Railway Stations
* Clontarf Railway Station
* Docklands Railway Station
* Malahide Railway Station
Examples Of Waterford Walls Murals
Waterford Walls 2025 Locations
Ballybeg Park
Mount Sion Avenue
- KMG – Swans of Lir (No. 85)
- MR. BLOB – Mount Sion Avenue
Stephen Street
- Magda Karol – Stephen Street
- Nickie Harrington – Stephen Street
- Gabriela Joyce – Stephen Street
Thomas Street
- Novice – Thomas Street
- Omin – Thomas Street
- PENS – Thomas Street
O'Connell Street
- Nerone – O'Connell Street
Parnell Street
- Blu Heron – Parnell Street
The Forum Hub
- Kohneshia – The Forum Hub
Multi-Site & Citywide Installations
- Dotmasters – 9 installations across Waterford City
- Blackdoors – 5 installations across Waterford City
Waterford Walls 2024 (10th Anniversary Highlights)
O'Connell Cultural Quarter (O'Connell St / George's St / Gladstone St)
- Aches – Large-scale portrait / chromatic aberration piece (O'Connell St)
- Curtis Hylton – Flora and fauna mural (Gladstone St)
- Curtis Hylton & Shane O'Driscoll – Collaborative installation (George's St)
The Glen / Ballybricken
- Smug One – Photo-realistic character piece (The Glen)
- KinMx – Mythological & botanical figure (Ballybricken)
The Apple Market / Railway Square
- Zurik – Dynamic geometric lettering (Railway Square)
- Dan Leo – Bold graphic wildlife illustration (Apple Market vicinity)
Millers Marsh / Waterside
- Kitsune Jolene – Atmospheric portraiture (Waterside car park)
- French & Mottershead – Site-responsive installation (Millers Marsh)
Waterford Walls 2023 Highlights
New Street / Apple Market
- Rustam Qbic – Surreal narrative mural (New St Car Park)
- Juliette Viode – Figurative piece (Apple Market lane)
O'Connell Street & Cultural Quarter
- Anna Lina – Botanical & nature installation (O'Connell St)
- Street Art Frankey – Playful micro-installations (Various Cultural Quarter spots)
Stephen Street / Mayor's Walk
- Peachzz – Wildlife and floral theme (Mayor's Walk)
- Garreth Joyce – Contemporary graphic mural (Stephen St)
The Mall / Waterfront
- Signs of Power (Amime) – Typographic / lettering mural (The Mall)
- Taquen – Minimalist nature study (Quayside approaches)
Waterford Walls 2022 Highlights
The Glen & Green Street
- Mojo – Contemporary portrait (The Glen)
- Lost Optics – Retro-futuristic abstract patterns (Green St)
Ballybricken
- Sonny Sundancer – Large-scale endangered wildlife mural (Ballybricken Green)
- James Earley – Stained-glass inspired abstraction (Bull Post area)
Barrack Street / Mount Sion
- Mister Copy – Classical figurative study (Barrack St)
- Shane Sutton – Spacer/astronaut series (Mount Sion area)
City Centre & Quays
- Dan Kitchener (DANK) – Rainy night urban cityscape (Quayside)
- Thinker – Abstract graphic mural (The Quay car park wall)
