Secret planning, hugs, Henrik Pedersen and families: Inside Barry Bannan's Sheffield Wednesday mural unveiling
Barry Bannan was back in Sheffield on Sunday, attending the unveiling of a new mural at The Park pub, located just a stone’s throw away from Hillsborough. George Smith reports.
Almost an hour after a mural celebrating his Sheffield Wednesday career was due to have been unveiled, Barry Bannan arrived.
Driving into The Park pub car park, located just a stone’s throw from Hillsborough, the former Wednesday captain had not even had the chance to shut his car door before he was immediately surrounded. After all, this was not just any former Wednesday player returning to his former parish.
Bannan made 477 appearances for Wednesday during ten-and-a-half years at the club, putting him sixth on the Owls’ all-time appearance list. Arriving in S6 as a 25-year-old looking to put down some roots, he left Hillsborough for Millwall in January, having established himself as a modern-day club legend.
From the euphoria of Wembley in May 2023 to the low of administration last October, Bannan experienced it all in his Hillsborough career. His love and passion for Wednesday, though, never waned.
With an inflatable bouncy slide and an inflatable football net keeping the youngsters entertained, and the bar staff rushed off their feet to keep the adults hydrated on what was a sweltering afternoon, all eyes were on Bannan when he arrived shortly before 3pm. Applause and cries of his name could not be missed as he made his way to a private area, located in front of the soon-to-be-unveiled mural with his wife, Chloe, children, Elsie and Wilf, and wider family.
With Bannan’s family settled on picnic benches inside the VIP enclosure, which had been cordoned off with Scotland flags, Bannan started making his way round the perimeter, posing for photographs and signing autographs. After one youngster asked him to sign the back of his iPhone, an older gentleman asked him to sign his Wednesday-themed prosthetic limb. Bannan joked he’d never signed one of those before.
Shortly before the unveiling of the mural, Henrik Pedersen’s wife, Isabella, and their two sons arrived. The Owls boss arrived around 20 minutes after the mural had been unveiled, having raced back to Sheffield in an Uber from Manchester Airport.
After making his way through the car park, trundling his suitcase behind him, there was a heart-warming embrace between the Dane and his former captain on the patio area that overlooks the car park. Pedersen then proceeded to mingle with the fans and chat to anyone who wanted a natter, highlighting how embedded he has become within the community.
There was a real family feel about the event, highlighting the feel-good factor that has been created in S6 following the recent takeover.
As for the mural itself, it was produced by Sheffield artist Paul Staveley, who had created Liam Palmer’s mural on the other side of the pub almost two years ago.
On the mural, Bannan, speaking exclusively to The Star, said: “It’s good. I’ve got a lot of hair in it! It was the first thing I noticed. It made me look like I have got a good head of hair. I enjoyed that.
“Obviously, I am a big family man; everything I do is for my wife and my kids. For them to be a part of it as well is the most touching part.
“If it was just me and my moments at Wednesday on my own, it probably wouldn’t hit home as much. But because my wife and kids are in it, it was a really nice touch.”
Bannan’s wife, son and daughter have also been big parts of the Wednesday family in recent years, establishing themselves as genuine Wednesdayites. His daughter, Elsie, became a well-known character, and her outpouring of love for the Owls was there for everyone to see when she flung her arms around Ozzie Owl for a hug in a way that was reminiscent of old friends being reunited.
The Bannan family was also presented with gifts from the club. Elsie and her younger brother, Wilf, were given T-shirts with their father’s face on them, and they could not get them on quickly enough.
The mural had been many months in the making, with plans first being discussed before Bannan left Hillsborough to join Millwall. The Park had teamed up with Bannan’s wife to celebrate his Owls career. It was a secret mission that everyone had tried to keep from the Scot.
Bannan added: “It was an amazing Father’s Day gift from my wife. She did an unbelievable job of hiding it from me.
“But it is a massive honour. This club has been a massive part of my life for ten-and-a-half years. To come and see that today, and see all the fans turning out again to celebrate it with me, it was an amazing feeling driving in.”
The Park wanted to do something to celebrate Bannan’s Wednesday career, reaching out to the club and then the midfielder’s wife earlier this year.
Natalie Briggs, landlady of The Park, told The Star: “January was when the plan started coming about. We knew that we needed to do something for how long he'd been at the club, but it was before it was announced that he was leaving.
“We started looking at it in January and we started talking to Chloe about it in January. Then, obviously, he had to leave the club, so it just had to go on the back burner a little bit.
“It wasn’t going to be as hard trying to find a date because there were matchdays that we could have used, but when he ended up playing for Millwall and not Sheffield Wednesday, we had to try and find a day outside of football that everybody could work to, and that's why Father's Day came about.
“I'd spoken about it with some of the club staff and they mentioned it to Chloe. Chloe was then over the moon about it and said: ‘Pass my phone number onto Natalie’, and that's how it all came about.”
Briggs, who has been the landlady at The Park for 11 years, is proud to have had more Wednesday artwork added to the pub’s grounds amid the popularity of the venue on matchdays.
“It wasn’t commissioned by anybody as such; it was just sort of like, ‘let's do it, we're raising some money to put towards it and the pub has paid for the rest’. We see it as a bit of an investment, really, and it's just nice.
“We're so close to the ground. On matchdays, we are a Wednesday pub, and it's nice to have those areas outside where people can come and take pictures. It’s just a reminder of our heritage of where we are.”
Although Sunday wasn’t a matchday, it was an event that served as a reminder of Wednesday’s potential and the unity and togetherness of this fan base. Everyone had congregated to celebrate Bannan getting an honour nobody could begrudge him. Additionally, the event, at the time of writing, has raised around £1,500 for the Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity - a charity Bannan became an ambassador for back in January 2024.
Bannan spent ten-and-a-half successful years at Hillsborough, and his and his family’s love for the Owls was just as forthcoming as the supporters’ love and appreciation for him. His delayed arrival was, in the end, well worth the wait.