In 1829, James O’Connell’s ship sank off the coast of the Pacific island of Pohnpei. Making his way to shore, the Dubliner was welcomed by the island natives and treated as one of their own. That included a marriage to the leader’s daughter. And importantly, being the recipient of traditional tribal tattoos.
Not wanting to stay on the island forever, James caught a passing ship some years later and travelled to New York, where he found himself labelled “The Tattooed Irishman”. Tattoos were such a rarity in the Western world at the time that O’Connell’s full body tattoos caused shock, fascination and disgust wherever he went.
James joined the infamous Barnum’s American Museum as an attraction. By the time of his death in 1854, it’s estimated as many as 20 million people had seen James in person as a result of his touring on the freakshow circuit.
Find out more about the fascinating life of James O’Connell in The Documentary On One: The Tattooed Irishman.
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