Che in Ireland

  1. Dr Mindbender
    While I knew Che was of Irish descent, I found this interesting as i never knew he actually visited the country.

    From Wikipedia
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_image

    In 1967, Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick was also using Korda's image as a basis for creating his own stylized posters.
    The first image I did of Che was psychedelic, it looks like he is in seaweed. His hair was not hair, it was shapes that I felt gave it an extra dimension. That was the image I produced for the magazine and that was done before he died and that is the important thing about that image. At first it did not print. It was considered far too strong and revolutionary. I was very inspired by Che's trip to Bolivia. He went there with the intent to overthrow the intensely corrupt government, helped by the Americans at the time, and that's where he died. I thought he was one of the greatest men who ever lived and I still do in many ways. And when he was murdered, I decided I wanted to do something about it, so I created the poster. I felt this image had to come out, or he would not be commemorated otherwise, he would go where heroes go, which is usually into anonymity.
    —Jim Fitzpatrick, 2005

    To create the image Fitzpatrick made a paper negative on a piece of equipment called a grant. They were then printed in one color black and one color red, and he handpainted the star in yellow. Fitzpatrick "wanted the image to breed like rabbits" and hand printed thousands of images to give away to anyone for free in London, in addition to getting friends to pass them out while encouraging others to make their own versions. He printed about a hundred copies at a time to fulfill the demand of political groups in Ireland, France, and Holland who began requesting the image. A batch was also sent to Spain, where they were seized by Franco's police.
    Because of the high demand, Fitzpatrick formed a poster company called Two Bear Feet and produced a variety of posters in 1967 using the Korda image. All of them were created without copyright, because Fitzpatrick wanted them to be reproduced. One of these posters would be published in the satirical magazine Private Eye. The most well known was printed on silver foil and was exhibited in an exhibition in London called "Viva Che" at the Arts Laboratory, curated by Peter Meyer. This show was originally to be held at the Lisson Gallery in 1968 and illustrates how fast the image moved from protest into the realm of the fine art.
    Because of Fitzpatrick's desire for the photo to reflect something of himself, he raised Che's eyes more and added his initial, a reversed "F" on the shoulder. It was not until the 40th anniversary of Che's death, that Fitzpatrick admitted to this fact stating "I’m a bit mischievous, so I never told anyone." At this time Fitzpatrick said that "I love the picture and wherever I am in the world, if I see it, I take a photo of it. I always have a chuckle when I see that little "F". I know that it's mine." In November 2008, Fitzpatrick announced that he would be signing over the copyright of his Che image to the William Soler Pediatric Cardiology Hospital in Havana, Cuba. In announcing his reason for ensuring all future proceeds would go to the children's hospital, Fitzpatrick stated that "Cuba trains doctors and then sends them around the world ... I want their medical system to benefit." Additionally, Fitzpatrick publicized his desire to gift the original artwork to the archive run by Guevara's widow, Aleida March.

    Meeting Che in Ireland

    According to Fitzpatrick, in 1962 while a teenage student at Gormanston College he worked a summer job at the Marine Hotel pub in Kilkee, the remote town of his mother's birth. One day Che Guevara walked in with two Cubans and ordered an Irish Whiskey. Fitzpatrick immediately recognized him because of his interest in the Cuban revolution. Knowing about the Irish diaspora and history in Argentina, Fitzpatrick asked Che vaguely about his roots. Che told Fitzpatrick that his grandmother was Irish and that his great-grandmother Isabel, was from Galway, with other family being from Cork. Guevara's father also bore the Irish surname "Lynch." Fitzpatrick describes Che as "curious" about Ireland "from a revolutionary point of view" and remarks that Che proclaimed his "great admiration" for the fact that in his view, Ireland was the first country to "shake off the shackles of the British Empire". Apparently Che was stranded on an overnight flight from Moscow to Cuba, and had touched down at Shannon airport, where the Soviet airline Aeroflot, had a refueling base. Unable to depart because of thick fog, Che and his accompanying Cubans took the day off for an "unofficial" visit. It was this experience according to Fitzpatrick, that gave him the impetus to follow the future actions of Che, including his ill-fated mission to Bolivia.
  2. Redmau5
    Redmau5
    I think Che also stayed at Hanratty's Hotel in Limerick.
  3. Jorge Miguel
    There's a video of him being interviewed by RTE somewhere. Translation was by an air hostess from Air Lingus.
  4. Dr Mindbender
    that bloke that served him the whiskey mustve spoke fluent spanish. Impressive.
  5. brigadista
    brigadista
    i heard that che and fidel consulted tom barry's book
  6. Dr Mindbender
    There's a video of him being interviewed by RTE somewhere. Translation was by an air hostess from Air Lingus.
    here it is.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLKUjVdAlVQ
  7. pastradamus
    pastradamus
    Good stuff!
  8. Jolly Red Giant
    Jolly Red Giant
    According to Fitzpatrick, in 1962 while a teenage student at Gormanston College he worked a summer job at the Marine Hotel pub in Kilkee, the remote town of his mother's birth.
    Jim Fitzpatrick's uncle had a pub in Kilkee for decades - could even still be there.

    Apparently Che was stranded on an overnight flight from Moscow to Cuba, and had touched down at Shannon airport, where the Soviet airline Aeroflot, had a refueling base.
    Aeroflot didn't have a refuelling base in Shannon until 1980 - but Che's flight did stop there for minor repairs and fuel in 1962.