RESIDENTS of St Fiacc’s House, Graiguecullen, have a view filled with trees, flowers, animals and fields, thanks to a new mural officially unveiled on Friday 16 October.
It has brought colour and creativity to an area in the grounds of the nursing home that changed when Lidl built its new premises on the boundary of the St Fiacc’s grounds.
Artist Magdalena Czerska created the wonderful mural which was supported by Lidl Ireland.
Artist Magdalena Czerska in front of the mural she painted in Fiacc’s House, Graiguecullen
St Fiacc’s provides a care home offering low-dependency residential services to people over 65 in the Carlow/Laois area. It also runs a nurse-led day care service and a meals-on-wheels service which delivers meals freshly cooked on site.
Manager Joan Doogue explained that the new Lidl building now forms a boundary wall at a spot that once looked out on greenery.
“Their new building is a boundary wall where we used to be looking at grass and trees; the mural was planned so that the residents weren’t just looking at concrete,” she said.
“In fairness to Lidl, they supported us to do the mural,” said Joan while staff from the supermarket company also attended the grand unveiling.
Joan was full of praise for the artist. “Magdalena has done a fantastic job. We gave her free rein, but said we wanted to be looking at nature scenery so we have trees, flowers, animals, fields, a bench under a tree, a little girl on a swing – it couldn’t have been nicer,” she said.
“Each panel of the mural has a different story,” she added.
Magdalena also added a personal touch for each resident. She asked every resident to name their favourite flower, then painted each one with that resident’s name inside a single petal.
Fr John Dunphy blessing the mural with manager, Joan Doogue
She also painted a fairy door onto the tree. There are plans to add a tiny wreath around Christmas time for festive cheer.
The mural complements the residential garden at St Fiacc’s which was created and sponsored by MSD last year.
