Tattoos becoming more acceptable, convention organiser says

People are increasingly choosing to express themselves through tattoos because it has become increasingly acceptable to do so, the organiser of the Dublin International Tattoo Convention hs said.

“It’s just an expression of how people are these days, the whole thing of the biker, the sailor, the criminal having tattoos that’s all gone out the window. We have people in there who are barristers, lawyers, doctors, and they are all tattooed up” Paddy O’Donoghue said.

“[Tattoo culture] is growing because of all a couple of things but the main one would be its acceptance. 50 years ago I’d walk into bar and they’d say ‘no we can’t have someone like you in here”.

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Andy Cooper from Swords, Dublin at the Dublin Tattoo Convention. Photograph Nick Bradshaw

He was speaking as Convention Centre played host to the Dublin International Tattoo Convention at the weekend with 110 booths of tattoo artists, body painting, and piercings. According to Mr Donoghue the convention has been growing over the past 15 years from its beginnings in the SFX centre. “It’s the first time we’ve done it in a place this big,” he said with hopes of up to 7000 attending over the weekend.

A constant buzzing of the tattoo needles greets you as walking down the aisles of the convention as fresh ink is applied to blank skin. Rows upon rows of people getting new tattoos, artists drawing their latest creation and people trying to find their latest addition.

Among the varios acts and events over the weekend are the tattoo wars. Mr O’Donoghue explains that it is a competition between two artists. They have three hours to complete a piece on a person, if they don’t finish they are disqualified. After this the works are judged by the public.

Attending the convention are several famous faces from the world of tattooing including Chris Garver, from the TV show Miami Ink, Phil Kyle, from London Ink, and Paul Booth who has been the tattoo artist to many US based rock bands such as Slayer and Slipknot. The convention also serves as a place for the artists to showcase their work.

Jenna Hayes is a tattoo artist from Belfast who last November opened a studio called Hand and Dagger.

“Well a lot of my customers are friends that I’ve taken down from Belfast so I’ll be continuing on those pieces and doing a few more pieces on friends and clients from up north” said Ms Hayes, “I actually tattooed a really great image yesterday on a friend, she got one almost like a really angry nun, it was like a pin-up girl.”

Ms Hayes notes that the tattoo industry has really boomed in recent years, “I’m pretty sure there was a spike maybe 5 to 6 years ago and it’s been steadily getting busier from then.

“It’s really busy in Belfast, picking up loads and it’s been pretty much flat out since we opened in November” said Ms Hayes.

One of the ideas that kept getting brought up during the tattoo convention is that tattoos told a story about the person’s life. Mr O’Donoghue said in reference to his own tattoos “I’m a tattoo collector, every country I go to I get a tattoo there. You could read me, you know what I mean this is when I did this, this is when I did that”.

Lesley Brown from Kildare was attending the convention and she came away with a new skull tattoo which she described as an impulse buy. "We just wandered around, we you come in the door you kind of want something, if you don't have something pre-arranged you end up wanting something" said Ms Brown.

Ms Brown has been getting tattoos for 18 years and she describes them as story of your life. “I just always liked tattoos to be honest, they end up telling a story of your life, I mean a tattoo will always mean something to you, it will always mark a significant time in your life.”