Dublin Dossier Pat Keenan on happenings in and around the capital
A bald statement on South Great Georges Street..
The famous ‘why go bald’ sign in Georgia Street, Dublin, one of my first neon works
‘I saw you on the Nine O'Clock News last night,’ There were many phone calls and people stopped me in the streets. Fame at last. There is the oft-quoted Andy Warhol prediction: ‘Everyone will be famous for 15 minutes’. My television debut (...and swansong) fell short of that by as much as fourteen minutes. Less quoted but perhaps more appropriately, Warhol added: ‘art is what you can get away with’ It was one of those lighter wrap-up pieces RTÉ often use to end the nights news.
The sign had ceased to function, and the owners decided it may have fulfilled its purpose and the costs to repair were too high. They decided to have it removed and dumped. This prompted a preservation group called the 20th Century Trust to start a campaign to have it saved and restored. They organised public support, rallied the help of some influential names and finally managed to get Taylor Signs, who originally built it in 1962, to have it fully restored free of charge.
The year was 1999 and there I was on the telly, bald headed, being interviewed in front of the flashing 'Why Go Bald' neon sign at the corner of South Great Georges Street and Dame Lane. ‘A landmark well-known to Dubliners over nearly four decades has been restored to its former glory’ intoned Ann Doyle, ‘the city centre neon sign, which had been destined for the rubbish tip, was switched on this evening for the first time in five years. I hadn't quite realised just how renowned it had become. The news mentioned it was used as a background in movies, the likes of A Man of No Importance and Educating Rita. And to settle the matter conclusively, they announced it was U2's Bono's favourite Dublin landmark.
All those years ago, just fresh out of school I was trying to start a career in advertising or design. I managed to secure a job in Taylor Signs as a salesman. I was a terrible salesman, just hadn't the brass neck for cold canvasing. But thankfully Taylors recognised I had some artistic skills. So I became a salesman/designer. One day a sign enquiry came in from the the Universal Hair and Scalp Clinic and Taylors despatched me to meet and discuss signs with Sydney Goldsmith who had just opened his Dublin clinic. He already had two hair and scalp clinics in Britain - in Liverpool and Brighton. In essence he wanted a snappy and memorable neon sign with a 'why go bald' message,,, and the rest is history.
46 Senior Times l May - June 2021 l www.seniortimes.ie
