Fury over painting’s erasure ‘like we were knocking down Shandon Bells’

The new owner of a landmark building in Cork has defended his decision to erase one of the city’s most iconic pieces of street art.

Philip O’Connor said he expected some reaction to his decision to paint over the striking image of a woman on the wall of the former Kino cinema on Washington St — but he said some of the commentary on social media has been over the top.

“I expected a bit of a backlash but you’d swear we were knocking down Shandon Bells,” he said.