The screening at 18.30 on February 1st will be in Irish (with English subtitles) and attended by the filmmakers, Sean and Eamon O’Cualain, who will take part in a Q&A hosted by Cilian Fennell of Stillwater Communications. The showing at 18.20 on February 5th will also be in Irish (with English subtitles).

Taking the instantly familiar and oft-parodied black and white photograph of 11 construction workers eating lunch perched comfortably atop a beam suspended hundreds of feet above street level in 1930s’ New York as its focus, Men at Lunch considers the social and historical backdrop to this popular but nevertheless enigmatic image, as well as its evolving legacy both in the States and further afield.

While two of the iron-workers have recently been claimed as hailing originally from Shanaglish, Co. Galway, no certainty exists regarding the identity of any of the figures in the picture, or indeed of the easily forgotten daredevil photographer, but Seán Ó Cualáin’s documentary effectively captures the picture’s resonance for generations of immigrant families who identify with the sense of mettle and camaraderie that this iconic image conveys. An Irish as well as English language version of the film will screen here this month (see below for more details), both of which are expertly narrated by actress Fionnula Flanagan. (Notes by Alice Butler.)