St Patrick's Day: Irish portraits in New York to tackle stereotypes

The portraits of 50 Irish men are being displayed outside Grand Central Station as part of the city's St Patrick's Day celebrations.

Dublin-based film-maker Ross O'Callaghan is behind the project that has been years in the making.

One of his main aims is to counter common Irish stereotypes.

Last week the longstanding US Comedy show Saturday Night Live attracted some criticism ahead of the Oscars for a sketch featuring impressions of Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.

It included jokes about Irish people's consumption of alcohol and portrayed the Irish accent as incomprehensible.

Speaking about his exhibition, Mr O'Callaghan said: "I wanted to tell the true story of the Irish male experience in contemporary Ireland.

"Through personal stories and lived history across several generations of Paddies, looking at how much has changed and the values have stayed the same."

'I'm humbled by it'

The search for participants began in March 2021 but the ambition had always been to bring the exhibition to New York when it was completed.

A large-scale immersive experience of the portraits was launched on Broadway this week ahead of the exhibit opening.

Examples of the audio-visual installation are also displayed on a giant digital billboard in Times Square.

The 50 portraits are now open to the public outside Grand Central Station, at Pershing Square.

Slaughtneil-based architect Paddy Bradley is among those who feature and he was the inspiration for the project.

He said when the artist first told him about the idea "he talked about the idea of different Paddies who have all done interesting things".

"I'm humbled that the idea came from my story," he continued.

"For me to say, 'I'm a Paddy from Ireland', I think it's one of the greatest things you can say," he added.

"We are a friendly people but we all strive to better ourselves."

The completed series of portraits feature several people from Northern Ireland, including Olympic boxer Paddy Barnes.

Comedian and TV presenter Patrick Kielty, from County Down, said it was a natural fit for him.

"When I think about it I probably could say I'm peak Paddy," he said.

"I was called Patrick, went to school in St Patrick's Grammar in Downpatrick and it was another Paddy - Pat O'Hare, my teacher - who got me into performing."

Commenting on his involvement, he said: "When you hear the word Paddy abroad you don't think of an Irish disability activist who's gay so I love Ross's vision for this project.

"I'm Paddy many things, and modern Ireland is diverse."

The exhibition will also be showcased in the New York Irish Centre in Queens from 12 to 19 April to coincide with the centre's events commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

-bbc