The identity of two Irish immigrants who are part of the iconic “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper” photograph, which depicts laborers eating lunch 69 stories above Manhattan sitting only on a hanging beam, has been revealed by an Irish filmmaker.
Séan Ó Cualáin, a filmmaker from Connemara in Co. Galway, believes that two Irish immigrants, Matty O’Shaughnessy and Sonny Glynn, both now deceased, are the bookends on the famous steel girder.
The Irish emigrants’ sons Pat Glynn, 75, and Patrick O'Shaughnessy, 77, both Boston residents, are adamant that their fathers, two brothers-in-law -- are the two men at either end of the famous shot.
“Pat (Glynn) was working and noticed the picture. He saw his father looking right back at him holding the bottle,” Ó Cualáin told the Irish Voice.
“He went to his cousin like a child with a new toy and said his found his father.”
Glynn is wearing a hat on the right end of the beam, staring directly at the camera; he has a bottle in his left hand.
“When O'Shaughnessy saw the image he said that was the picture his father always spoke about it but at the time it wasn’t an important photograph.”
O'Shaughnessy was the man on the left end of the beam, getting a light for his cigarette.
The two emigrants had left Shaneaglish in Galway in the 1920s destined for a new life in America. They ended up working alongside one another on a construction job at New York’s Rockefeller Center.
“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,” says Ó Cualáin.
“It sounds strange but their story adds up,” added O’Cualain, who runs Sonta Productions from his native Galway.
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The black and white image was captured on September 29, 1932 by photographer Charles C. Ebbets as the group of men took their lunch break atop a steel girder 69 floors up on the Rockefeller Center.
As their worn work boots dangled over the edge, the New York skyline provided the backdrop with Central Park in the distance. The picture would later run in the Sunday edition of the New York Herald Tribune.
The true identities of the 11 workmen are largely unknown, although several people have come forward claiming a family connection.
Last Thursday the two cousins made the journey down from Boston where they took a trip to the observation deck on the 70th-floor Rockefeller Center, to gaze at the same view their fathers had enjoyed during their long work days, almost 80 years previously.
“They were honest workers trying to make an honest wage,” reflects Ó Cualáin.
“This was just one day in their fathers’ lives and they are happy that people respect and appreciate their hard work.”
The Galway filmmaker first heard about the Irish immigrant involvement in the picture from a friend who had seen a signed copy of the print hanging in a Galway pub.
Ó Cualáin, who is currently in the U.S. filming a documentary, Ám Lón, meaning “Men at Lunch,” has used the powerful story of these Irish immigrants as the backdrop for his film.
As part of the documentary, producers will employ digital face-mapping technology to prove that O’Shaughnessy and Glynn are the men pictured.
The film is due to be aired next year.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.sgfoster1968 | Sep 09, 2012, 08:57 AM EDT
My grandfather Arthur Collins, who died back in 1999 at the age of 95 is the guy in the center (holding the lunchbox w/ a cigarette in his mouth). He grew up in an orphanage in NY and later moved to Colorado Springs. He also was one of the builders for the Hoover Dam. His parents emigrated from Cork at the turn of the century. Grandpa never understood all the hoopla over that picture; he just said it was just a 'job'.
ciaradexy | Apr 02, 2012, 03:10 PM EDT
I love this picture! Im terrified of heights and everytime I see this I feel really ill but its still amazing to see. How the hell did they get back in off the beam!?
themurphia | Jun 22, 2011, 05:40 PM EDT
Really enjoyed reading these comments...like a conversation between friends...I've got a copy of this print...always makes me a bit sad when I see the hard work and dangerous jobs the gangs of Irish emigrants had to do...still I that's probably what forged the bonds of friendship between them...shame they don't all get a cut of every picture sold...wonder if they were asked if their images could be used..mar dhea..!
Robynlaoi | Jun 19, 2011, 09:32 PM EDT
For some reason Irish Central doesn't allow separated paragraphs in one post. Looks strange.
Robynlaoi | Jun 19, 2011, 09:28 PM EDT
Cecil Adam's article is interesting but, out dated and limited. Nothing that hasn't been written in history books and museum pamphlets for years. Even a bit insulting to the many Indian iron-workers that followed those brave first crews. The Mohawks should get credit for being the first Indian iron-workers. They were. After all the first bridges and skyscrapers were built in their part of the country. As pointed out in Adam's article, "They were hand picked and trained." Now days it's just not fair to say "It's not just any American Indian who goes into ironwork, it's mostly Iroquois, specifically Mohawks....." Many Indians from many western reservations became iron-workers as the building of bridges, dams and skyscrapers moved west. Especially after WWII. With their card they could go anywhere in North America and make a good living, difficult to do on most reservations. Again in the sixties and seventies many young Indians upon graduating from The Kicking Horse Job Corp center in Montana (the nations only Job Corp center for American Indians) were recruited into an iron-worker pre-apprenticeship program. My own brother being one. americano-"...that is to say they have no vertical restriction in their bran cells,....." Really? Most of them would tell you at first they were scared sh!tless but also thrilled by those heights. Indians identify themselves first by the tribe they are enrolled with, second by Indian. Actually the old folks say Indin, proudly claiming "I'm Indin." Seldom if ever will an Indian use Native American. A title most likely bestowed upon them by a well meaning white bureaucrat.
americano | Jun 18, 2011, 10:10 AM EDT
It is not a matter of being fearless, it is a matter of their mental state, that is to say they have no vertical restriction in their brain cells, thus they can walk on those high iron beams without balancing and vertigo problems, as a result they are not afraid doing the high-iron job and they have no fear. Looking at the picture of those eleven chaps on the 69th floor iron beam it is clear to note that they are relaxed, have their lunch, drink and smoke, read a newspaper,and chat, thus no fear at all. Nevertheless they were no doubt aware of the fact that their movements on top high-up there had to be planned and carefully controlled and that they did.
Robynlaoi | Jun 16, 2011, 06:51 PM EDT
Antoman, I come from a very large family, going back several generations of Irish, Welsh, and American Indian mix on both sides. My grandpa, father, stepfather, and many, many uncles were all Iron Workers. They would leave the Indian Reservation for long spells, to take those jobs working on skyscrapers and dams, not just for the big bucks (more money than they could make on the Rez or ranching) but also because they were adrenaline junkies. They loved their work. And Wjbltex, I will vouch for them closing up the bars and returning to work a few hours later. I will also bet they never missed a day of work and put in many hours of over-time as well.
grnd10ka | Jun 16, 2011, 11:23 AM EDT
The man far right who is directly staring at the camera with empty bottle of whisky is a slovak man called Gusto Popovic. I have searched an internet sources.
Pittsburghkid | Jun 15, 2011, 09:52 PM EDT
In the south before the Civil War, Irish did most of the dangerious work. The value of a slave was lost, if the slave was injuried or killed in an industrial accident. When an Irish immigrant in the south died from an industrial accident, it did not cost the Southern Aristocrat anything. So it is not a surprise to see Irish immigrants as Iron Workers. (Iron Worker is the American Name for the workers pictured.)
Searlit | Jun 15, 2011, 08:08 PM EDT
Thank-you so much jacersagain, mamaginnty and antoman. Jacersagain it is the pronunciation that is the hardest to learn. I do know about the genitive case, though I'm not so sure when I see other sources that have it wrong. I appreciate you're taking the time to explain it. If I ever get back to Ireland I will have to treat all of you to a cup of tea or a pint, whatever your preference. Slán tamall.
jacersagain | Jun 15, 2011, 05:11 PM EDT
@ conchuhair - it appears ICentral is set up to stop urls being posted by spammers. Try giving the name of a site without using w w w
jacersagain | Jun 15, 2011, 04:57 PM EDT
Searlit - it is spelt ‘Am lóin’ – literally meaning ‘Time of lunch’. No fada on the letter ‘A’ and an ‘i’ before the letter ‘n’. Lunch is Lón (pron Loan) but because Time of lunch is a possessive expression, you put the letter ‘i’ before the ‘n’ to pronounce it ‘lowen’. >>> I saw a very old framed copy of this photograph years ago and the name of every man on the girder was printed below it. They were all Irish. Antoman is right - American Indians and the Irish were noted for no fear of heights and were widely employed on building New York’s Empire State Building and other skyscrapers. I get vertigo just looking at that picture.
mamaginnty | Jun 15, 2011, 04:12 PM EDT
Automan..Searlit might have lunch time in irish near enough, my kids used to say ám lón when getting thier lunch box ( brown paper bag ) for school. I also remember years ago seeing pics of native americans scaling the heights on skyscrapers. I have taken a pic..of this pic and will get it enlarged, I think it is great.
paricaliswishes | Jun 15, 2011, 03:58 PM EDT
When i first saw it i thought it's a fake and amazingly some people are not bothered by hights at all.The Mohawks being among those and is there any rational explanation for it?
antoman | Jun 15, 2011, 03:44 PM EDT
LOL! Slainte :)
Searlit | Jun 15, 2011, 03:38 PM EDT
@ antoman, I suppose a pint of guinness at mid-day will do then. Sáinte! :)
conchobhar | Jun 15, 2011, 02:20 PM EDT
Antoman: If you're interested in a little more info on the Mohawks who work construction, go thestraightdope.com. The article you'd be looking for is from '92, "Why Do So Many Native Americans Work on Skyscrapers?" I responded to you hours ago and tried to cut and paste the url, but my post didn't come online, for whatever reason.
oldboreen | Jun 15, 2011, 01:39 PM EDT
This iconic photo is loved the world over!
antoman | Jun 15, 2011, 01:00 PM EDT
Bia anseo.
antoman | Jun 15, 2011, 12:36 PM EDT
We go from breakfast directly to dinner.To save a few shillings like.God help the poor bastids that has a hore's breakfast...a cigarette and a cup of coffee.
antoman | Jun 15, 2011, 12:32 PM EDT
@Searlit-Technically there's no Irish for lunch.Anyway we can't afford it now and we certainly could'nt in times past.
Searlit | Jun 15, 2011, 11:40 AM EDT
My Son and his wife have a poster size print of this photograph. Looking at the faces, I would say most of them looked like Irish men. A brave lot, whoever they are. Correct me if I'm wrong - doesn't Ám Lón mean lunch time? I'm not criticizing, I want to get it right, as I'm a learner of the Irish language.
antoman | Jun 15, 2011, 11:39 AM EDT
Thank you wjb1tex.
conchobhar | Jun 15, 2011, 11:13 AM EDT
An amazing picture of amazing men. It was one year, to the day I believe, from demolition of the old Waldorf Astoria Hotel onsite, to the official opening of the ESB. There's another iconic picture, former NYS Governor (and first Catholic to run for President) Irish-American Al Smith cutting the ribbon. Standing next to him is a curly-headed young boy who would grow up to become Augustinian Fr. Arthur Smith, my high school history teacher. Antoman, you're right, but it's not just any Native Americans (many, if not most of whom, I've found, call themselves Indians) it's Mohawks, members of the Iroquois Confederation, also known as the Six Nations. http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/659/why-do-so-many-native-americans-work-on-skyscrapers
wjb1tex | Jun 15, 2011, 11:04 AM EDT
The Mohawk Indians found in upstate New York and on up to Quebec Canada were masters of working on the high iron. I lived in Rochester New York at the time and the Indians would come in to work on new buildings from time to time. Of course they were only 10 or 20 story buildings but none the less still high enough to kill one from a fall. I was a bartender at the time, and in addition to my awe at their incredible lack of fear, I was amazed at their ability to party at the bar until closing time (2 AM) and then at 7 AM would be walking a narrow beam 15 stories above ground.
carrickcourt | Jun 15, 2011, 10:25 AM EDT
A family history gem is that photo.
johntaraking | Jun 15, 2011, 10:20 AM EDT
Great photograph. Makes a lot of sense that some of the men would be Irish emigrants. Fearless fellas.
cillowen | Jun 15, 2011, 09:50 AM EDT
wouldn't catch me dead up there
antoman | Jun 15, 2011, 08:46 AM EDT
Interesting article.I remember hearing or reading years ago that Native American Indians would work at such heights because they were fearless or something.Perhaps some of our American friends who visit this site can confirm that.