New mural celebrates Welsh town’s Hollywood connection 70 years on

Amelia Jones  

A striking new mural celebrating one of Fishguard’s biggest links to Hollywood has been unveiled as the town prepares to mark 70 years since the release of Moby Dick.

Created by local graffiti artist ‘Lloyd The Grafitti,’ the blue-toned artwork features a dramatic image of the sea and the giant white sperm whale, alongside the dates “1956–2026” – marking seven decades since John Huston’s film was released.

The Hollywood production has a lasting connection with the area. Moby Dick, starring Gregory Peck as the vengeful Captain Ahab, was partly filmed in Fishguard and Goodwick in 1954, with filming also taking place at nearby Ceibwr Bay.

The production brought a major Hollywood presence to the town, with Peck and other cast members among those staying locally while filming took place.

Lloyd said he was “over the moon” to have been commissioned to create the mural, which forms part of the On Land’s Edge festival celebrating the town’s cinematic and maritime heritage.

The festival gets underway with a lantern parade on Friday, followed by a weekend of events exploring Fishguard’s connection with the iconic film and its wider relationship with the sea.

The celebrations will also include a special staged reading of Orson Welles’ Moby Dick – Rehearsed at Theatr Gwaun on Friday, September 25 at 8.30pm.

Written by Welles in 1954 while he was working on the film, the play takes audiences behind the scenes of a theatre company rehearsing a production based on Herman Melville’s famous novel.

The story brings the Pequod’s voyage to life, following Ishmael, first mate Starbuck and the obsessive Captain Ahab as their search for whales becomes a desperate hunt for the giant white whale.

You can get tickets for the event here. 

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