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Column The untold story of two Irish workers… and this iconic picture

A chance discovery in a tiny Galway village set Seán Ó Cualáin on a voyage that led to the Rockefeller Center – and a new film.

AT THE HEIGHT of the Great Depression, eleven workers with their boots dangling sit side by side on a steel beam eating lunch – Central Park and the misty Manhattan skyline stretching out behind them.

In the 80 years since it was taken, this counterpoint of the epic and the mundane has become one of the world’s most famous images – a cultural icon and an indomitable symbol of the working man. And yet, in all that time, the identity of the eleven men has remained a mystery: their names – like that of the photographer that took the picture – lost in time, subsumed by the fame of the image itself.

But then, at the start of the 21st century, the photograph finally began to give up some of its secrets. One of which surfaced in the south Galway village of Shanaglish outside Gort. The locals here are convinced that two of the elusive men photographed on the beam in 1932 hailed from their village.

Part homage, part investigation, our new film Lón sa Spéir/Men at Lunch is the revealing tale of an American icon, an unprecedented race to the sky and the immigrant workers that built New York.

My brother and I were in South Galway a few years ago researching a documentary on the blind poet Raftery and we called into Michael Whelan’s pub in the village of Shanaglish. While there we noticed the famous Lunch Atop A Skyscraper image, but we took real interest in a note beside the picture. The note was from Pat Glynn from Boston, Massachusetts – the son of a Shanaglish emigrant.

On the note he stated that the man on the far right holding the bottle was his father Sonny Glynn, and the man on the far left was Matty O’Shaughnessy his uncle-in-law. We realised very quickly that there was a great untold story here. We spoke to Michael Whelan the owner of the pub who gave us Pat’s contact. From there we built up a good relationship with the two families and both the Glynns and O’Shaughnessys are featured in the documentary.

Parallel stories

Very early in the process of making this documentary I became aware that this film called for storytelling on many levels. Firstly, in order to set and maintain the theme, there’s the wider context – the glory of the skyscraper age and the building of the iconic Manhattan skyline.

Secondly there’s the parallel story of the Irish and other European immigrants who arrived in New York during the roaring twenties and were living there during the Great Depression, which had just begun to bite when the two Irishmen Sonny Glynn and Mattie O’Shaughnessy landed jobs at the Rockefeller Centre.

Finally the mystery surrounding the photograph also had to be investigated and told. Was it a fake? Who took the photograph? And who might the men be?

The main challenge for me as director was to interweave these parallel stories to portray a time just as steeped in sweat and misery as it was in glory and grandeur. The Irish families claim to the men on the beam were key to this. They represented the missing link between the famous image and the reality of life for the men it features.

The director of photography, Reamonn Mac Donncha and I were very conscious of the fact that we were filming a documentary in the most photographed location on Earth. It was very important to us that we did not film film it like a tourist would, we were extremely conscious of the framing and composition of each shot

We have been working on this project since 2007, it will be a strange experience next Monday when the film has been shown and the storytelling process is no longer part of our daily schedule. We are however hopeful that the film like the image itself will take on a life of its own and be seen worldwide.

Lón sa Spéir – Men At Lunch premieres at the Galway Film Fleadh tomorrow at 1pm. Seán Ó Cualáin is the director of the film and will attend the screening. You can follow updates on the film on Twitter.

The Irishmen on the beam?
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  • The Irishmen on the beam?

  • The Irishmen on the beam?

  • The Irishmen on the beam?

  • The Irishmen on the beam?

  • The Irishmen on the beam?

All photos courtesy of Sónta Films.

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    Mute Noel_KanturkButcher
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    Apr 14th 2015, 1:44 PM

    Pulled pork is amazing. Love crackling. Can’t beat it.

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    Mute mcgoo
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    Apr 14th 2015, 1:48 PM

    As a butcher, do you pull your own pork Noel?

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    Mute Noel_KanturkButcher
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    Apr 14th 2015, 2:04 PM

    Haha no. I can get you pork belly of you want?

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    Mute Stuart
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    Apr 14th 2015, 2:09 PM

    for 10 hours? be red raw…

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    Mute Mary Lyons
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    Apr 14th 2015, 2:29 PM

    Last Christmas instead of boring turkey I cooked belly of pork for about 20 people.
    It was such a hit they are all doing it next year.
    The secret is to marinate it overnight with your favourite spices and then cook slowly for about 4 hours. Raise the temperature of the oven for the last 15 mins to ensure your crackling is crackly enough!!!!
    It is so much more tasty than turkey which makes it much more fattening of course!!!!

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    Mute Brendan Hughes
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    Apr 14th 2015, 1:08 PM

    Damn im starving now.

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    Mute Ken Donegan
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    Apr 14th 2015, 1:21 PM

    I make a cracking pork dinner with lots of crackling it was that good my mother in law wanted the recipe I’m the perfect son in law for a week

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    Mute Emily Elephant
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    Apr 14th 2015, 1:47 PM

    Pork steak stuffed with black pudding will end up pretty dry. Throw some sliced apple in there with it. Alternatively you could stuff it with mozzarella, sage and chutney. Or with apricots and prunes, then roll it in olive oil and paprika.

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    Mute stephen
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    Apr 14th 2015, 1:46 PM

    Spare a thought for the Pig, very intelligent animal. Gets a bad press because it rolls around in its own filth. If I saw a pig and a man drowning in a river I’d rescue the pig first.

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    Mute Damien McDonnell
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    Apr 14th 2015, 1:56 PM

    So would i Stephen……..then eat the pig!!!!

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    Mute Mary Walshe
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    Apr 14th 2015, 6:04 PM

    Actually, it doesn’t. It rolls in mud to cool down in warm weather but in a loose house, it keeps its bed very clean and has a separate area for eating and toilet

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    Mute stephen
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    Apr 14th 2015, 6:14 PM

    Thanks Mary, my love of pigs knows no ends.

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    Mute John Doyle
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    Apr 14th 2015, 1:46 PM

    Shoulder of Pork – 3 hours at around 260 – 290.

    Cover the port in a mustard or honey ‘glaze’.F ill the baking try to about 1/2 with water for our gravy or to your taste. Put some mustard into the water along with two whole peeled white onions.

    After 2 and half hours. Take the pork out of the baking try and put it on a flat try for another half an hour. This will crisp up the crackling. Serve with the Gravy you made.

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    Mute neuromancer
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    Apr 14th 2015, 4:14 PM

    Pork neck is bleedin’ delish.

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    Mute Paul Roche
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    Apr 14th 2015, 2:03 PM

    Someone’s dating Miss Piggy?

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    Mute fergal ohagan
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    Apr 14th 2015, 7:14 PM

    My wife makes seriously delicious pork burgers. Delicious I tells ya. Get your butcher to mince some chops for you next time. The burgers are much juicier than beef burgers. Make sure to grate some apple into the mix before making the patties

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    Mute Steve Tracey
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    Apr 14th 2015, 7:24 PM

    What about bacon butties, sannies, call em what you want

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    Mute Steve Tracey
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    Apr 14th 2015, 7:23 PM

    Goulash, cubes of pork, onion fry add some water let it simmer then throe in some red cabbage, sliced Apple season with salt, pepper and paprika. Tomato purée gives a deeper colour serve with pasta which has bee seasoned with sal and nutmeg. Cheap and easy people I know who don’t normally like pork have loved this.

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    Mute Kieran Tubs Tobin
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    Apr 14th 2015, 4:35 PM

    Tofu is so much better… :)

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    Mute Garry Hayden
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    Apr 14th 2015, 5:48 PM

    Said nobody ever

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