[PR] Minister Micheal Martin launches 'Pilots without Wings'

Minister Micheal Martin launches ‘Pilots without Wings’

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mr Micheal Martin TD will officially launch a giant mural entitled Pilots without Wings in Parnell Place Bus Station, Cork, on Friday September 15th at 11.30 hrs.

The mural was commissioned by Bus Éireann in association with Triskel and was inspired by the bus drivers of Cork.

Pilots without Wings was designed in collaboration with Bus Éireann staff and celebrates Cork's diversity and its changing status as a thriving multicultural community. The project will give customers the opportunity to see a new dimension to the staff of Parnell Place and will provide a vibrant new focal point in the station.

The 27 metre by 13 metre mural was painted to the back wall of the station by two Scottish artists and can be viewed by the public.

The mural was created by artists Mike Greenlaw and Isabel Donovan from Edinburgh, who worked 11 hour days over a 17 day period to finish the work on time. Both artists spoke to more than 30 drivers before designing the mural. A total of 300 litres of paint were used in the process.

Bus Éireann Area Manager Joe Fitzgerald said: “Bus Éireann employs over 550 people in Cork city and county and over 400 are drivers. Bus Éireann is a supporter of the arts and Pilots without Wings is an exciting opportunity to again show our support for one of the city’s finest cultural institutions, the Triskel Arts Gallery. We are delighted to invite people to view the mural which celebrates both our city and our drivers.

He added: This is the second successful collaboration between Bus Eireann and Triskel and follows the success of ‘Images of Cork – The Bus Project’ which involved featuring different images of Cork city on a bus the city’s year as European Capital of Culture celebration in 2005.”

“It also builds on other successful artistic initiatives in the city by Bus Éireann/CIE, such as the recent ‘CIE Art on the Move’ exhibition in association with the Lewis Glucksman Gallery in UCC, which was an opportunity for art lovers in Cork to view for the first time the hidden gems of the CIE art collection.

Issued by:
Media and Public Relations, Bus Éireann