The mural of Savita Halappanavar, which was the focal point for supporters of a Yes vote in the referendum on the Eighth Amendment, has been removed for preservation.

The messages that were left by the public at the mural are to be digitised and preserved by Dublin City Library and Archives.

The mural, outside the Bernard Shaw pub in Portobello in Dublin city, was painted by artist Aches the day before the historic vote on 25 May.

Aches will be touching up the mural early next week and a decision will then be made as to its permanent home.

The mural became a focal point for supporters of a Yes vote, with people leaving flowers and messages at the site to honour Ms Halappanavar, who died from sepsis at Galway University Hospital on 28 October 2012.

Ciarán Quigley of Bodytonic, the company which owns the Bernard Shaw pub on South Richmond Street, said people had started to write on the painting and it was feared that rain would destroy the notes.

The notes were taken down this morning by Together for Yes volunteers and the originals have been sent to Savita's parents.

In an Instagram post today, the pub said: "Just to let everyone know, we will be moving the Aches mural of Savita to somewhere a little more safe, permanent, but still in view of the public tomorrow morning. 

"We've been in touch with Together for Yes about preserving all the notes you have left. Thank you to everyone who left flowers, wrote notes, lit candles, and left messages. You have left a beautiful tribute."

Ms Halappanavar died one week after she was admitted to the hospital when she was 17 weeks' pregnant and after being denied an abortion during a protracted miscarriage.

Dublin City Council has said that in keeping with its collections policy, Dublin City Library and Archive commissioned a photographer to take pictures of the mural and the notes on 29 May.

It estimated that there were approximately 1,200 cards on the mural on that date, though not all were completely legible due to their positioning. 

The plans are to preserve, catalogue and add these images to the library's online digital collections, which "will provide a valuable sampling of the content for future generations", the council said.

Ms Halappanavar's family had called for people to support a Yes vote in the referendum on the Eighth Amendment.

Her parents appeared in a video ahead of the vote, with her father saying: "I hope that people in Ireland will remember the fate of our daughter Savita on the day of the referendum and vote Yes so that what happened to us won't happen to any families. And by doing this you will be paying a great debt to the departed soul."

The chair of the inquiry into Ms Halappanavar's death said the Eighth Amendment played a major role in her death.

Professor Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, former president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, spoke to RTÉ's Morning Ireland during the referendum campaign, saying Ms Halappanavr's life could have been saved, if doctors had acted before she went into septic shock.

Prof Arulkumaran said if doctors treating Ms Halappanavar had not been concerned with the foetal heartbeat, she would have been treated much earlier.

This has been disputed by doctors who were in favour of retaining the Eighth Amendment.

In the referendum 66.4% of the electorate voted to repeal the amendment.

An RTÉ Exit Poll found that 8% of those questioned decided how they would vote following disclosure of the Savita Halappanavar case.

Following the referendum, Ms Halappanavar's father Andanappa Yalagi told local media in India that he was "very happy".

He added: "We've got justice for Savita. What happened to her will not happen to any other family.

"I have no words to express my gratitude to the people of Ireland at this historic moment."

In a statement, the council said that a more complete project would be to scan each individual note and to preserve the original cards themselves.

Dublin City Library and Archive will accept either a donation of the original cards or accept the cards on temporary loan for scanning purposes should the Together for Yes and other stakeholders wish to proceed with such a project.

It said: "As well as scanning the notes as archival quality image files, we would also capture important catalogue information, and ensure the long term preservation and accessibility of the digital image via our membership of the Digital Repository of Ireland."

Additional reporting John Kilraine