At Home and Abroad

Ross has already taken some photos of gay and disability activist Paddy Smyth;  musician Paddy Mulcahy, and a regular Paddy from Dublin, 68 year old Paddy Byrne.

Ross is photographing men named Paddy, Pat and Patrick from all walks of life for a stunning collection of portraits that capture what it’s like to be Irish and male in contemporary Ireland.   The aim is to challenge the stereotype of a ‘Paddy Irishman’ and showcase the diversity of Ireland and the Irish male at an Exhibition of Paddy Portraits in New York on St Patrick’s Day 2022.

Ross, or ‘Rosco’, who is best known as Hector's right-hand man behind the lens and who worked with U2 in his early career, has filmed in over one hundred countries, on all continents, making commercials, documentaries, sports, reality and lifestyle programming for RTE, TG4, BBC, UTV, Channel 4, NBC, SKY, HBO and MTV, amassing many awards along the way. On his travels, Ross says he has lost count of the times that he’s been called Paddy, which he feels is something many Irish men will relate to, and this provided some of the inspiration behind his project.  

Ross is now recruiting Paddies interested in getting involved.  “This is a study of Irish men called Paddy from all walks of life through the medium of portrait photography.  I want to tell the story of Ireland’s oldest and youngest Paddy, of Paddy the farmer, the celebrity, the binman, the Paddy from abroad who has settled in Ireland or who has an ethnic heritage and identity. I want Paddy the activist as well as Paddy in prison, the traveller, the diplomat, the local legend and – if we can find him – Paddy the Drag Queen. It could also be Paddy Irish Man who’s now Paddy Scotsman – someone born in Ireland who is now living abroad.”