Twenty years ago, graffiti in Ireland was "largely political in nature. Everyone had a political axe to grind back then." Today, it's more of the "Joe-loves-Mary type with a certain level of material aimed at the Garda," says Paul Rainsford, head (and sole member) of Dublin Corporation's Graffiti Removal and Abandoned Vehicle Department.
Central to the graffiti ethos is the risk of being caught. In New York, writers scout for locations and, like vampires, work under cover of darkness. No such extremes are necessary on Dublin's Windmill Lane. An area steeped in pop culture history, "the Wall" first found popularity with U2 fans paying homage to their heroes in the late 1980s.
A decade later, Zoe Developers thought nothing of selling some of this dream on to potential apartment-buyers, in their 1997 brochure for one- and two-bedroomed apartments on Windmill Lane.
Graffiti might sell apartments but in December 1998, Dublin Corporation, mirroring its New York counterparts, declared war on the graffiti writers and sandblasted the length of the lane, bar the "official free wall", a 10-foot by 20-foot space.
One graffiti writer, whose "tag" is Mr Mase1, works on Windmill Lane. Currently studying art - a portfolio-preparation course in Stillorgan Senior College - he "got into the art aspect of it".
A southsider, "Mr Mase1" was introduced to graffiti writing by Res and Eye.d, two northsiders from the Stealth Bombers Crew, whose "chromes" (metallic paints), quick initials or "pieces" (from masterpiece), he first saw in Dodder Park. "They looked so deadly. I didn't really understand graffiti before that and I got hooked on it."
At 14, he did his first piece "down a lane in Rathgar", in broad daylight. Inspired by the New York originals, his work extends to the DART lines and trains. It's "the adrenaline buzz - your name going up everywhere - it's all about recognition, being able to see where your name is". Freight trains make better canvases than public trains: "The DART trains get `buffed' up. Freight trains, it stays on for ages, years. I don't think they clean them at all."
Rainsford of Dublin Corporation is as evangelical about getting rid of graffiti as "Mase.1" is about putting it up. The Windmill Lane clean-up was the Corporation "drawing its toe in the sand". It wanted "to make it clear to all and sundry, whatever the artistic merits of this type of work, it shouldn't be placed where it's not wanted. Most of the graffiti", he adds, "had nothing to do with U2. The rest is `street art' for want of a better description." Such "street art", he estimates, comprises" 20 - 30 per cent of the capital's current graffiti, and "tagging", the placing of a graffiti writer's signature "in prominent places for his friends and buddies to see", etre, is also common.
Pop culture or no pop culture, graffiti is an offence. Under the Criminal Damage Act of 1991, graffiti artists can be arrested. Under the Litter Pollution Act of 1997, such artistic endeavours can result in a fine. The Corporation's preferred penalty is to follow the axiom of "making good your damage" - forcing offenders to remove the graffiti. Most graffiti removal by the Corporation is by sandblasting but, in extreme cases, steel grit or copper slag may be used.
"Graffiti breeds graffiti," believes Barry Kenny, Irish Rail's press officer. "The kids like to see their trophies riding up and down the tracks, trains daubed in their particular slogan. That is their achievement." Irish Rail takes its lead from the mass cleansing of New York's subway lines in the mid-1980s: "reacting swiftly to the problem" and "removing it immediately". "When an (Irish Rail) carriage is defaced, it is taken out of service and cleaned up. Because we stamp it out quickly, there are only isolated instances." However Irish Rail's "zero tolerance" approach to graffiti does not extend to the current Eircell-branded DART which, ironically, emulates New York's finest "oldskool" styles. This, however, is advertising, money in the coffers of the rail company and Kenny stands his ground insisting it "does not emulate New York style at all".
Meanwhile in Drogheda, The Dark Angels (TDA) crew holds an annual graffiti festival, The Bridge Over Troubled Waters Aerosol Art Fest. Graffiti in the town has being "going full strength since 1985 or 1986, all the way to the present day," according to the festival organiser, Gary Maguire. Writers from all over Ireland and several crews from the UK attend. Held under "The Bridge of Peace", a motorway bridge across the River Boyne, it takes place over the bank holiday weekend of August 4th-6th.
Not everyone will actually get to paint on what is essentially a "Hall of Fame" or free wall. Rascal, a member of TDA, vets potential artists' work. If a writer wants to get on the main wall, they send photos of their work to him. Mr Mase1 has entered his work several times, but to date, he's hasn't been successful.
Is it something they grow out of? "I'm not sick of it yet. The older you get the better you get." While Mr Mase1 has had several legitimate offers of work for his graffiti, for the moment it remains a hobby. Indifferent to the branded DART, he insists the only reason he writes on the trains is: "It's nice to see your piece moving. It's nice to get on the DART and see your name up."
For details of the Bridge Over Troubles Waters Aerosol Art Fest, contact Gary Maguire or Darren Finnegan on 086-8044410 or email tda@hotmail.com
To view Irish graffiti online, visit www.artcrimes.com and go to Eiresol style