| I had understood that graffiti was something that was carried out without the permission of the owner of the property and without him knowing of it being applied. I always imagined graffiti as something that was carried out quickly to avoid apprehension. I always liked the notion aroused by ‘FAR AWAY IS CLOSE AT HAND IN IMAGES OF ELSEWHERE’ that was on the wall of the railway in London and carried out one night. On two occasions recently have I come across the term, ‘stone graffiti’, and have had to change my understanding as stone engraving cannot be carried out that fast – can it? At a recent talk at the Ennis Archaeological and Historical Society on the IHS tiles in Galway, Eamonn Fitzgerald commented on stone graffiti where between 1812 and 1817 by J. Healy where the IHS lettering was engraved on buildings – quite a number of building. Then earlier, I was reading on Louise Nugent’s blog of medieval stone graffiti at Cahir Castle. I was then told that there are two similar engravings at the old Ennis Friary. I need to either appreciate how quickly stone engraving can be executed or else amend my understanding as to how long graffiti can take……… |  Galway  |
