Irishmen in Perth recreate iconic New York City ‘Lunch Atop a Skyscraper’ photo

Picture of Irish immigrants in Australia imitates the famous 1932 image

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KERRY O'SHEA,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

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Irishmen in Perth recreate iconic New York City ‘Lunch Atop a Skyscraper’ photo

Photo by Joe.ie

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A group of Irish workers in Perth, Australia recreated an iconic photograph while on their construction job during the weeThe original ‘Lunch Atop a Skyscraper’ photograph, which features several Irishmen, was taken in 1932 above the RCA building, now the GE building, in New York City’s Rockefeller Center.

The ‘Lunch Atop a Skyscraper’ photo has become the focus of a lot of speculation and research in recent times. While some believe that the photo may have been a publicity stunt, others have spent time discovering the histories of the men on the steel beam in the original picture.

Two of the workers, Matty O’Shaughnessy and Sonny Glynn, were found to be Galway natives. 

“Economics drove those men onto the beam in the middle of the Great Depression. Millions of people now look at that picture all over the world,” said Séan Ó Cualáin, a filmmaker from Connemara in Co. Galway who researched the NYC photo for a documentary.

Oddly enough, the Irishmen photographed more recently in Perth, Australia reflect the economic state of Ireland that is a driving force of emigration to places like Australia, England, Canada and the US.

A side-by-side edition of the original photo and this week’s shot reads “Irish Abroad. Still Building the World,” a nod to the Irish immigrants who have helped to build some of the world’s most famous structures.

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