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He is already known as the man with the clock. When bartender Fergus McGinn took a photo of one of his customers and put it on his Facebook page, he hadn’t expected the interest it would generate.
The photograph shows his elderly customer drinking a pint of Guinness, his “substantial” meal finished in front of him. He is looking into space.
It is the alarm clock that comes to you. The man in question, unlike most of us, does not have a cell phone or watch to mark the time, so he brought his alarm clock so that he does not exceed the allotted time of an hour and 45 minutes in the pub as a result of Covid-19 restrictions
It was taken at McGinn’s Hop Store in Woodquay, Galway City, on Monday night by the pub owner on his mobile phone.
“I only did it for our own Facebook page because I’m not very popular on social media, but it got tweeted and got massive coverage,” McGinn said.
“At first I was scared for the old man in particular. When it went viral, I thought it would upset him, but I spoke to the neighbors this morning. I was happy “.
McGinn said he did not want to name the man in question, but he is local, born and raised in Galway City and worked at what is now Galway University Hospital for nearly 50 years.
One brother died serving in the United States Army in Korea and another sister lives in the United States.
“He was aware of the time and wanted to keep track of it. That was the moving part. He only had both [pints] anyway, ”he said.
“I wouldn’t go out too often. She had some business in town. That’s why I was away from home. I had not seen her during the confinement. “
When asked for his contact tracing details, the man said he did not have a phone, but gave his home address instead.
McGinn said the photograph has been interpreted by many people, including himself, as the symbol of a “generation that missed all that social activity during the confinement and that interaction with people.”
The photograph was described as the “Carravaggio for this time” by the poet Rye Aker, who was commissioned by Galway 2020 to record the year in poetry.
He was so captivated that he immediately wrote the poem, The Man with the Clock.
He concludes: “But for now, there is the mild satisfaction of a little washed down with a good pint. A Ta Siad Ag Teacht for the age in him, and a clock stopped to keep the world from speeding up like it does. “
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