This is an old work colleague Peter Kenny. He had the grade of Paper-keeper and he diligently looked after all our office needs. Many's the time when some impatient buck misfiled urgently needed files Peter came to the rescue. Armed only with a number and a name he delved the depth of permutation and combination until he'd mildly sidle up beside the blushing buck and say "was this the file you were looking for?" and a short explanation as to how the young impatient had made that "mistake that anybody could make" - Peter being anxious not to humiliate the "loser". But that was Peter - patience personified. A humble man too that never ate or drank in the canteen with the rest of the staff...he preferred the cold fresh air of the metal outside fire Escape where he had his perch...an all weather plastic chair, a large mug of Tay and a doorstep sandwich...he felt it wasn't his place to be in the canteen...he knew of course he was always welcome and he was loved by all who knew him. I was in my mid-twenties when I met him and we always got on well. He loved to "have a go" at repairing mechanical watches and anything that required quiet, patience and dedication. He made more of an impact on me than any of my other "educated" colleagues that could well have done with a dose of Peter's humility...I was looking for some old negatives tonight, which i didn't find but I found this hand printed photo I took of Peter for an Exhibition in 1988 which I just copied with my small lumix digital camera. I thought that maybe some of you might be interested in seeing the portrait of another real man...my now departed friend Peter Kenny from fair Finglas in Dublin.
Date: 01/05/1988
Location: Photographic Studio, beresford Place, Dublin.
Photographer: Colm Keating