A new film, which opens tomorrow in Irish cinemas, examines the background to the much-copied 1932 photograph of eleven work-men seated on a girder above Manhattan, as they take a break from building the Rockefeller Center.
In the iconic image, the band of contented-looking steel-workers casually settle down to their repast on what seems like a crisp, sunny September day, 80 years ago.
The documentary Lón sa Spéir (Men at Lunch) traces the history of this photograph, taken 69 floors above ground.
In 2007 a framed copy of Lunch Atop a Skyscraper - as it was captioned in the New York Herald Tribune at the time - was spotted in Whelan’s pub, Shanaglish, Co Galway by film-maker brothers Eamonn and Sean Ó Cualáin. Their curiousity led them to track down the stories of two local men, now deceased, who are believed to be among the group photographed on the iron beam.
Publican Michael Whelan of Shanaglish told the Ó Cualáin brothers that the photograph had come from a man named Pat Glynn. Pat features in the film along with his cousin Paddy O'Shaughnessy. Both men are convinced that their fathers - both first cousins - were seated at either end of the beam in the iconic photograph in question.
Their fathers emigrated from Shanaglish in the 1920s and found work on the construction sites, as the city spread upwards, at the height of the Depression.
Éamonn Ó Cualáin is the producer of the documentary Men at Lunch, (Lón sa Spéir) which is funded by TG4, the Irish Film Board, and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. Eamonn's brother Sean directed the 68-minute film, which has English and Irish language versions. Narration is by veteran Irish actress Fionnula Flanagan.
The film was premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh in July 2012, and has also been shown at the Toronto International Film Festival. There were sold-out screenings at DOC NYC, New York’s documentary festival and at Amsterdam’s IDFA, the largest documentary festival in the world. Men at Lunch will be presented at further film festivals in the coming year.
The film opens tomorrow at Irish Film Institute, Dublin, Movies @ Swords, Dublin, Movies @ Dundrum, Dublin, Omniplex, Screen Cinema, Dublin, Omniplex Wexford, Omniplex Galway, MovieWorld, Gorey, Co. Wexford, MovieWorld, Castlebar, Co. Mayo. February 1 to 7.
