In the spring of 2023, an image captured the Irish zeitgeist with the force of a lightning bolt.

Created by the anonymous artist Spicebag, the artwork depicted Gardaí in riot gear conducting an eviction—an image that would become emblematic of Ireland’s housing crisis and a powerful addition to the nation’s modern mythology of resistance. The piece resonated deeply with the collective consciousness, mirroring the raw emotion and frustration surrounding the growing issue of housing inequality.

Just as the paintings of the 1840s Great Famine crystallized the collective trauma of a nation, Spicebag's artwork has become a totem for contemporary Irish dissent. Drawing inspiration from a 19th-century painting by Cork artist Daniel MacDonald that depicted a Famine-era eviction, the image taps into a deep well of historical memory. Where once British landlords’ agents oversaw evictions, today black-clad gardaí enforce the will of corporate landlords and international investment funds, creating a stark continuity between past and present injustices.

The parallel between historical British colonial power and modern neoliberal forces is striking. In the past, the British Empire extracted wealth through land ownership and tenant farming; today, international investment funds and corporate landlords employ more sophisticated, yet equally effective, methods of wealth extraction. The gardaí, once symbols of independent Ireland’s sovereignty, are now depicted as enforcers of global capital—a new form of colonial power. Spicebag's work is particularly potent in its fusion of traditional Irish protest imagery with contemporary social media aesthetics, creating a viral visual statement that echoes the political cartoons of 19th-century Irish nationalism. In this way, the artwork transcends its immediate context, becoming part of Ireland's evolving mythology of resistance against the commodification of housing and the human cost of treating homes as financial assets rather than fundamental rights.