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Has tide gone out on Crookhaven’s flame-haired, topless mermaid?

March 27th, 2020 10:10 PM

By Jackie Keogh

The owners of O’Sullivan’s bar want to know if their topless mermaid has had her day and what customers think.

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O’SULLIVAN’S Bar in Crookhaven is seeking customers’ thoughts on its controversial mural.

For years, the gable wall of O’Sullivan’s has featured a topless mermaid prettily perched on a rock in the shadow of the Fastnet Lighthouse.

But with works scheduled to take place on the exterior of the building, the owners are keen to know if the time has come to remove the mural of the flame-haired beauty.

The owners admit that discussions on the subject have veered into the territory of ‘a great family dispute’ so they decided to throw the question open to the public.

‘Would anyone really be sad to see the end of the mural with the topless mermaid?’ they asked their thousands of followers on Facebook.

The owner, Dermot O’Sullivan, explained: ‘We have to get the gable end of re-rendered and it is a heated debate within the family.’

He said some village dwellers have taken him aside and confessed it would be ‘no loss’, but some men in the village don’t necessarily agree with that point of view.

Dermot threw the issue wide open when he said: ‘We welcome your feedback.’

And one of the 100 or more who replied included some of their regular customers, like Len MacCarthy.

Mr MacCarthy suggested the ‘lady’ be replaced with Dermot in a mankini, but Dermot has definitely ruled that out as an option.

Some have called for a new painting of the Fastnet Lighthouse, but James Burke wants ‘a few more mermaids’ to keep the existing mermaid company.

Madeleine McKeown said: ‘I think it is fabulous. Every time I sit in Nottages, I am compelled to take yet another photo of the wall to show people where I am and how much I am enjoying myself.

‘Unless you can come up with something equally as eye-catching then I would leave it where it belongs!’

We’ll keep you up to date on this fishy story!

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