James McClean says he is "honoured and humbled" after a mural of the Republic of Ireland star was unveiled on a popular Derry street close to where he first kicked a ball.
The artwork - in the Creggan area - has been created by Dublin-based artist Aches, who also created the Derry Girls mural in Derry City Centre.
The mural shows the former Derry City, Sunderland, West Brom, Stoke and now Wigan winger wrapped in his Ireland colours, reports My Derry.
Sharing a picture of the mural on Instagram, McClean wrote: "Incredible! I am honestly honoured and humbled by this, everyone knows that i am soo proud to be a Derry man and soo proud to be a Creggan man, for me to be honoured by this mural in a place where I have been born and raised is something that will always mean soo much, not just for me but for my family also and for me to be able to show my wains this will be a special feeling because that is where their daddy spent his childhood.
"To the artist @achesdub what an amazing talent
"To finish i just want to say thank you!"
A source of great inspiration for young people in the area, McClean's mural has been commissioned by Féile Derry’s ‘Graffiti on the Walls’ initiative.
“Lots of people asking who the artist is behind the new mural on Central Drive, Creggan," a Féile spokesperson said.
"The artist is Aches, one of the finest artists working in Ireland or anywhere today.
“We are honoured to have Aches in Derry this week to create a new artwork for Creggan."
Donal Doherty, from Peaball Arts, is also involved in the project. He said the mural was fitting for a "real hero" of the local area.
"When we got the chance to do this mural we jumped at it because this is an opportunity to show young people in the area what they can achieve," Donal said.
"James played in the Bishop Field pitches which is right next to where the mural is and that should be a source of inspiration for any young kid kicking a ball in that field.
"Why can't a young boy or girl from Creggan now not see the mural and think to themselves that they can reach the heights that James McClean has?
"And that's the thing with all the street that we're doing. We want to show young people no matter what their ambition that they can achieve it and they can become elite at whatever they set their minds too."
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