In Irish folklore, a rainbow leads to a pot of gold.
In Dorchester, it leads to a pint of Guinness at McGonagle’s Pub & Restaurant. That is, if the rainbow you’re following is the one featured in Jenna Lenore Wells’s new 19-foot by 39-foot mural on the side of the Neponset Avenue pub.
The newly-painted scene pairs the iconic gas tank, historic Boston Light, and city skyline with John Gilroy’s “Lovely Day for a Guinness,” along with famous Guinness toucans. It’s a nod to both the pub’s neighborhood and owner Oran McGonagle’s Donegal roots.
Wells also painted an indoor mural coastal village of Moville in the restaurant’s main dining room before it opened, almost two years ago now.
“Oran and I have been friends for a really long time,” Wells told The Reporter this week. “He’s been so successful in opening his own spots and managing all these restaurants, and when he gets something cool in the pipeline, he always lines me up to help him out with it.
“We had talked about [the mural] months and months ago. He sent me a very rough idea. He wanted the Guinness birds and the tank, kind of like Dorchester themed, and pretty much let me run with it,” she said.
In mid-July, between heat waves and some rainy days, Lenore began to bring those ideas to life.
“The wall was black when we started,” Wells said. “It took like two days just to prime it and get it ready for it to be painted, which in 90-degree heat isn’t super fun.”
Once the nearly 722-square-foot space was primed, Wells was left with a blank canvas she planned to turn into a “vintage postcard-looking design.” Instead of seeing the wall’s imperfections as a challenge, she said the texture adds to its charm.
During the first week of work, Lenore had help from friends and fellow artists Sarah Eagan and Caitlin Southwick, as well as her father David Wells. Some kids in the community, including Conor Devlin, Garrett Fenton, Stephen McGrath, Logan Wallace, and Gavin Woods, got in on the action too.
“The kids walking by on their way to summer camp and stuff, they helped me a couple of times,” said Wells. “They painted a little bit with me, which was really cute, and they were cheering me on every day when it was super hot.”
She added: “Everyone walking by was super pumped. I’ve had a lot of great conversations with people in the neighborhood who are just excited that there is some art up there.”
Wells finished the mural this week and encourages those walking or biking by to stop and take a closer look. There they will find “little Easter eggs” like the Donegal Crest at the top center and the name of the vintage fishing boat.
Jenna Lenore at work on the mural last week. Cassidy McNeeley photo
“We actually named the boat the ‘Foyle Star,’ which is a boat that Oran’s friend’s dad took them out on when he was younger,” explained Wells.
And just above the boat are three toucans flying over the harbor with Guinness on their beaks.
The entire mural is complete with a gold border that perfectly matches the front of the building.
“I feel like murals bring foot traffic to local businesses. It’s just this one-time investment for marketing that catches people’s eye and makes them check it out,” said Wells. “Hopefully for Oran and everybody at McGonagle’s, it brings more people in. It’s literally shouting, ‘ Come in for a Guinness, come hang out with us.’ It creates this happy vibe and this energy outside.”
Wells hopes to do more projects like this in the community. She can be reached on Instagram @jlenoredesigns and through her website https ://www.jlenore.com/.
