A portrait photograph of Fermanagh’s Dr. Patrick Treacy is currently featuring in an exhibit of 50 ‘Paddy Portraits’ which opened in New York City ahead of St. Patrick’s Day.

On St. Patrick’s Day, 2021, photographer and filmmaker Ross O’Callaghan launched the unique photography project across Ireland and abroad.

Seeking men named Paddy, Pat, Padraig, Patrick, or any variation of the name, the Paddy Irishman Project asked those interested and willing to be photographed to get in touch and share their stories.

The aim was to showcase the diversity of the contemporary Irish male, and to challenge the global stereotype of the ‘Irish Paddy’ through a stunning collection of portrait photographs.

Now, three years in the making – and more than a thousand applicants later – Ross and the creative team at the Brill Building, led by creative director Roisin Keown, opened the ambitious large-scale public exhibition on March 14, introducing 50 Irish Paddies in the heart of New York City, ahead of St. Patrick’s Day.

A portrait of Garrison-bred Dr. Patrick Treacy features in the series. Dr. Treacy is a pioneering aesthetic surgeon, who was cosmetic doctor to Michael Jackson when he came to live in Ireland.

Dr. Treacy was named Global Aesthetic Medical Practitioner Winner of ‘Best Aesthetic Doctor’ World Award in 2019.

He is currently in New York for the exhibition and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which he and the Paddy Irishman Project team have been invited to participate in.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter ahead of his New York trip, Dr. Treacy explained that although he used to live in the US city, he has never celebrated St. Patrick’s Day there.

“I’ve celebrated many things in New York, but I don’t think I’ve celebrated St. Patrick’s Day,” he said, noting that he is looking forward to the experience and seeing the exhibition: “It’s nice for me to head back to the States for that reason.”

After being selected to take part in the Paddy Irishman Project, Dr. Treacy was asked by Ross to attend The Hyde Gallery in Dublin, where he had his photograph taken in front of a bust of Michael Collins.

Dr. Treacy’s portrait will be featured in an interactive installation at Pershing Square outside Manhattan’s Grand Central Station, alongside Paddies from all walks of life, including comedian and TV personality, Patrick Kielty; Dublin-based make-up artist Patrick Blue; gay and differently-abled activist Paddy Smyth; and professional, world championship Irish golfer, Padraig Harrington, to name but a few.

The aim of the series is to tell the story of a remarkable intergenerational cross-section of Irish men and to promote a new narrative of contemporary Ireland.

It challenges the idea that there’s any such thing as a ‘typical’ Paddy, and asks people to question their assumptions around what it means to be Irish and male in today’s society.

 

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