Paddy’s day is made! Corkman to star in New York exhibition

A CORK groundskeeper from Fota Wildlife Park is to feature in an Irish cultural photography exhibition which is scheduled to open outside Grand Central Station in New York ahead of St Patrick’s Day.

A portrait of Fota Wildlife Park groundsman Paddy O’Reilly will feature in the series of ‘Paddy Portraits’ by Irish photographer and filmmaker, Ross O’Callaghan.

The ambitious photography project features 50 portraits of Irish men named Paddy, Pat, Patrick, Padraic and Padraig.

The large scale public exhibition seeks to showcase the diversity of the contemporary Irish man and challenge the global stereotype of the Irish Paddy through a collection of portrait photographs.

Paddy O’Reilly will be flying the flag for Cork and Fota Wildlife Park on his travels to the USA.

On St Patrick’s Day 2021, Ross O’Callaghan, who is best known as TV presenter Hector Ó hEochagáin’s right-hand man behind the lens, launched a unique photography project across Ireland and abroad.

Seeking men named Paddy, Pat, Padraig, Patrick, or any variation of the name, the ‘Paddy Irishman Project’ asked those interested and willing to be photographed to get in touch and share their stories.

Speaking about the project, which seeks to debunk the global stereotype of the Irish Paddy, Ross said: “I tell the true story of the Irish male experience in contemporary Ireland - not the stereotype - through personal stories and lived history across several generations of Paddies, looking at how much has changed and how the values have stayed the same.”

The photography series tells the story of a remarkable intergenerational cross-section of Irish men and promotes a new narrative of contemporary Ireland.

It challenges the idea that there’s any such thing as a typical Paddy and asks the public to question their own assumptions about what it means to be Irish and male in today’s society.

The interactive installation at Pershing Square outside Manhattan’s Grand Central Station will feature Paddies from all walks of life including comedian and TV personality, Patrick Kielty; Dublin-based make-up artist Patrick Blue; gay and differently-abled activist Paddy Smyth; professional, world championship Irish golfer, Padraig Harrington; double bronze Olympic boxer Paddy Barnes, and many more Paddies.

The ambitious project will launch on Broadway, on Tuesday, March 14.

The immersive interactive audio-visual installation, which will be highlighted for two weeks on a giant digital billboard at Times Square, will then open to the public outside Grand Central Station, at Pershing Square, on Wednesday, March 15, where it will be on display throughout the St Patrick’s Week festivities until Wednesday, March 22.

The touring Paddy Irishman Photography Project will later be showcased in the New York Irish Centre in Queens for one week from April 12 to 19, to coincide with the centre’s events commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.