A south Galway publican has solved part of the mystery surrounding the identity of 11 construction workers who were captured in a world-famous image dating from 1932.
Until very recently, New Yorkers believed that men relaxing on a beam hundreds of feet above ground in Charles Ebbets's immortal Lunch Atop a Skyscraper were Italian immigrants.
However, Shanaglish publican Michael Whelan says that at least two of them were from his parish - and he has the evidence to prove it. A print of the Ebbets image hanging in his premises includes a caption signed by the son of one of the men on the girder.
"As promised; note photo far left, Matty O'Shaughnessy lighting cigarette. My father Patrick (Sonny) Glynn far right, holding bottle in hand (water, I assume in bottle)," wrote Pat Glynn, son of Patrick (Sonny), in correspondence with Mr Whelan more than eight years ago.
Mr Glynn, who lives in the US, had returned to the birthplace of his father and had vowed to send the publican a copy of the famous photograph when he got home.
Matty O'Shaughnessy and Patrick (Sonny) Glynn left south Galway for the US in the 1920s, and among their construction jobs was work on the Rockefeller Center - providing Ebbets with his image, taken from the 69th floor of a nearby building. The photograph took on a new life after the attacks of September 11th, 2001, when Italian artist Sergio Furnari made a life-size sculpture of it.
The metal, fibreglass and cement artwork depicted all 11 workers originally framed by Ebbets. It was displayed at Ground Zero as an inspiration to those trying to recover bodies from the Twin Towers and was then taken across the US by truck on tour.
The artwork was in storage in Furnari's premises in the New York suburb of Queens last week when a break-in took place. Curiously, the figure on the extreme right of the piece was removed. New York Police Department is said to be investigating the theft, and the missing figure, now confirmed as Patrick (Sonny) Glynn, has been valued at €7,500.
The village was the subject of intense media attention almost a year ago, when former bishop of Galway Dr Eamon Casey took up residency in the presbytery. Last year, actor Anne Kirkbride (Deirdre Barlow in the television soap Coronation Street) visited the pub when she returned to trace her roots for an ITV documentary.
Mr Whelan's pub, which has been in his family since 1860, is being sold, but he says this is nothing to do with the recent controversy over rural pubs losing business over drink-driving laws.
"It hasn't affected us. I have four daughters; myself and my wife have worked hard for 35 years and it is time to take a step back." However, the famous photograph will remain hanging in the pub at Pat Glynn's request, he says.
