Barry achieves greatness with new mural at Strabane school

‘TOGETHER We Achieve’ – that’s the slogan of St Mary’s Primary School, a slogan which was brought to sparkly, colourful life recently when it was immortalised in mural form by local artist Barry McGowan.

The mural, which spans the length of the senior school’s playground wall, was a project commissioned by the school, after seeking funding from Derry City Strabane District Council for music therapy, an art mural, yoga, a relax kids scheme and football nets for the children.

As Barry explains, “Sinead Collins at St Mary’s contacted me to see if I would be interested in a project to paint a mural in the playground and I was only too happy to do it. given free reign with the mural which I decided would be something fun, bright and a bit anarchic. As it’s something which represents the school and the children, I thought it only right to speak to them to gauge their ideas and see what I could incorporate into the finished product. I wanted to reflect the diverse interests of all the pupils.

“I came up with the idea of having each letter of the slogan painted in a different font against a different background, like something off a Sex Pistols album or a ransom note you might see in a movie, each letter taken from a different source. Some of the suggestions I received included desert and underwater scenes. There were a lot of gamers who suggested using a ring from the Sonic the hedgehog games as the ‘O’ in the slogan which I thought was a genius idea,” Barry explained.

“The wall itself is quite old and has a few cracks which I also incorporated into the mural so there is Frankenstein-style stitching, a dragon’s egg hatching and the moon being cracked open to reveal a pizza.

“Those cracks allowed me to get even more creative. I’m extremely proud of the mural. ”

The mural took four weeks to complete and would have been finished sooner had inclement weather not interrupted works after two weeks of glorious sunshine, with Barry completing work one Saturday when the rain broke.

“I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t get to see the kids’ faces once I had it done as it was a weekend, but once they were back at school, I went back and invited them to make their mark by putting handprints on the mural. I felt a bit sad when I was done to be honest, because I got to know some of the pupils really well while I was spending time at the school.

Pupils and staff at St Mary’s were equally delighted by the artwork. Donna Bogle, who works at the school explained, “The mural sums up the spirit of St Mary’s primary.

“The children absolutely love the mural, and it was great to see them getting involved. They were really inspired by Barry; his work is fantastic.”

Also wholly impressed were pupils Ryan and Emma O’Doherty who described it as ‘creative, bright artistic and colourful.

Maureen McGranaghan, Parent Teacher, and Friends Association (PTFA) treasurer said, “I went into the school to see the art mural and it is so bright, fun, and engaging for all the children. The detail is just phenomenal.

“As a parent it is especially important that we support the school and children by helping to fund projects which aren’t funded by the Education Authority. The PTFA and the school staff would like to extend their thanks to Barry for all his work and to the Derry City and Strabane District Council for funding the project.”