Maradona tribute in Dublin

A Diego Maradona mural beside Dublin’s Aviva Stadium has resurfaced online, sending new attention to a tribute first painted in April 2021. (secretdublin.com) The mural sits at Havelock Place in Dublin 4 and was painted by Chelsea Jacobs, an American artist living in Dublin who also works under the name CHELS. Photo agencies captioned the work as newly unveiled on April 12 and April 13, 2021. (secretdublin.com; gettyimages.com; alamy.com) Irish outlets reported at the time that the wall went up months after Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at age 60. The painting includes a Maradona quote about chasing the ball and being happy. (lovindublin.com; fifa.com; secretdublin.com) The Dublin location is tied to Maradona’s own visit to the city. He played for Argentina against the Republic of Ireland at Lansdowne Road on May 16, 1980, in a 1-0 Argentina win watched by a crowd of 30,100. (11v11.com; rte.ie) That match is part of why the mural was placed near the stadium site now occupied by the Aviva. Irish coverage of the artwork linked it directly to Maradona’s appearance in Dublin as a 19-year-old. (secretdublin.com; lovindublin.com) The unveiling also drew official Argentine attention in Ireland. Sportsfile photographs from April 12, 2021, showed Argentine ambassador S. Moira Wilkinson at Havelock Square in front of the mural. (sportsfile.com) Dublin has used football murals before as public memorials, and Irish coverage in 2021 placed the Maradona wall alongside other local tributes, including a Jack Charlton piece at Dalymount Park. (extra.ie) So the image circulating now is less a new artwork than a fresh burst of attention for a five-year-old wall that ties Maradona’s global legacy to one specific night in Dublin in 1980. (secretdublin.com; 11v11.com)