Waterford Walls Festival - How Street Art Saved An Irish City
Written by Ethan Rooney
Photos by DGM Photographic
Published on September 15th, 2026
The Waterford Walls Festival took place in the city of Waterford in the South East of Ireland from August 7th to 16th. In total 52 street artists were commissioned to paint across the city. Alongside the murals there were talks, workshops, film screenings, live music and events. This street art festival has become one of the biggest events in the city’s calendar. The festival began in 2015 and has transformed the entire look and reputation of Waterford.
The festivals origins
When Waterford Walls began in 2015, Ireland was still emerging from the worst economic crisis in generations. Waterford had been particularly badly hit. Empty buildings and vacant sites were visible throughout the city, while unemployment, crime and economic decline had contributed to a perception of Waterford as a city in trouble.
A local primary school teacher, Edel Tobin, had been to Tunisia earlier that year and had witnessed the Djerbahood project in Erriadh where Tunisian-French artist Mehdi Ben Cheikh had brought around 150 artists from around the world to paint murals throughout the community. The concept was to treat neglected walls as an opportunity for brightening up a space. Tobin couldn’t accept the sight of beautiful historic buildings in her home city of Waterford deteriorating and so began working with Waterford City Council to make a change.
Tobin couldn’t accept the sight of beautiful historic buildings in her home city of Waterford deteriorating and so began working with Waterford City Council to make a change.
Tobin, along with city authorities began building relationships with property owners and identifying walls that could be transformed. The first festival took place in August 2015 and around 25 artists were invited to paint murals on unused walls and buildings. Among them were artists including Anna Doran, James Earley, Danleo, Joe Caslin and London-based artist Louis Masai. The first year was a huge success, the murals brightened up the cityscape immensely and created a fun, buzzy festival for the population. The entire city was the gallery, not tucked away inside some museum.
When graffiti becomes regeneration
There was something interesting about the choice of medium. For decades, graffiti had generally been associated by authorities with vandalism, anti-social behavior and the degradation of public space. Waterford Walls effectively turned that argument on its head.
The early festival was small, but the effect was immediate.
The early festival was small, but the effect was immediate. In 2016, the project expanded to 40 artists painting 40 walls across Waterford. By 2018, that had grown to around 50 artists, while the festival itself had expanded from a three-day event into ten days. Workshops, food trails, live music and other events began to develop around the murals.
One of the most recognizable early works was Joe Caslin’s enormous mural on the former Ard Rí Hotel, created during the 2016 festival in support of Pieta House and A Lust for Life. The giant black-and-white work dominated the Waterford skyline and still does.
Other major artists began to get involved in the festival. Australian artist Smug brought his extraordinarily detailed photorealistic style. French artist Mantra became known for his enormous wildlife and portrait pieces. Canadian artist BirdO transformed walls with his intricate birds. Irish artists including Dan Leo, Aches, Omin, Caoilfhionn Hanton and Anna Doran all became regular presences.
Then there were international names such as Arcy, Fintan Magee, Rocket01, MonkeyBird, Lost Optics and Louis Masai. By 2019 the festival had welcomed more than 130 artists since its creation. The scale was beginning to become difficult to describe as simply a festival. It has now become a permanent collection visible for all visitors to Waterford.
A city that keeps changing
The open-air gallery that is Waterford city is constantly changing. As murals fade and buildings are redeveloped, much of the older pieces are now disappearing with new ones reemerging constantly.
In 2015, Louis Masai told the Irish Times that a piece could last years or minutes.
In 2015, Louis Masai told the Irish Times that a piece could last years or minutes. He was painting endangered species in Waterford, creating an interesting contradiction: the subject of his work was endangered but so too was the artwork itself.
Some murals have survived for years and become landmarks whereas some only exist for a very short time. This constant turnover means that even people who live in Waterford can experience the city differently from one year to the next.
The project has now begun to spread beyond the traditional city center. In 2018, organizers expanded into Ballybricken, while commissions and projects increasingly are reaching surrounding communities.
The Walls Project, the organization that grew out of the festival, has developed a year-round program of public art, workshops, commissions and creative projects. In 2018 it received €90,000 in Creative Europe funding to help develop the project, becoming the only Irish project selected for that particular funding program.
From portraits to local history
Waterford Walls places great emphasis on telling the city of Waterford’s stories. In 2024, American artist JEKS created a large-scale mural of Irish sprinter Rhasidat Adeleke, celebrating one of the country’s most prominent young athletes. The work joined murals depicting Irish mythology, wildlife, abstract art and other subjects across the city.
In 2026 along Dock Road in Ferrybank, Portuguese artist Mariana Duarte Santos has been working on a 150-metre mural based on Waterford’s history. The project draws on maps, census records, newspaper articles and photographs held by Waterford City and County Council’s archives. The result is intended to recreate 29 scenes depicting the area’s past, including its industrial heritage and the lives of railway workers, stevedores and local families.
The 2026 program included live painting alongside children’s workshops, a Graff Jam, a panel discussion at Waterford Gallery of Art, an artist talk, film screenings and a community mural project involving Irish-language artwork. The official program listed 52 street artists from across the world. Among the artists involved were Marie Balbinot, Mul, Nol, Dan Leo and Niall O’L, who collaborated on this year’s limited-edition festival shirt.
It is a long way from those first 25 artists and 25 walls in 2015 and perhaps the greatest achievement of Waterford Walls is not the number of murals, artists or visitors it has attracted, but that it has changed the way people look at the city.
A blank gable end can now be seen as an opportunity rather than an eyesore.
A blank gable end can now be seen as an opportunity rather than an eyesore. The entire cities reputation has been changed, and Waterford has now become one of the most visually interesting cities in Ireland.
Street art has lifted the city and transformed it. Every summer, artists from around the globe are now gathering in this small city in the South East of Ireland and truly highlighting the potential of street art to resuscitate a city.
Ethan Rooney is a journalist from Dublin focusing on subcultures and international conflict. You can find more of his work on his website.