Tattoos for Saint Patrick’s day

Local tattoo parlor marks the occasion with fresh ink

By FRITZ MAYER

NARROWSBURG, NY — Janet’s Rivertown Tattoo shop was buzzing on Friday night with a half dozen people chatting and checking out the tattoo patterns that line the walls of the bright and colorful establishment.

Vinny Reilly is lying back in a chair as Janet Wilgus, the proprietress, plays the needle over his skin, gradually inking in an image of a shamrock and a leprechaun. The needle buzzes like a locust and Riley’s jaw is clenched tight. Is it painful? “I’m not going to lie to you. Yeah, it’s a little painful” he said.

“Especially in this spot,” said Wilgus, “the underside of the arm.”

Reilly is 19 years old. He got his first tattoo when he was 16. This latest one is a gift from his mom and dad, and reflects the family’s pride in their Irish heritage. He said his interest in tattoos probably started with his father. “He’s got, like, 20 tattoos,” Reilly said.

Even so, his mother was not really thrilled when he wanted to get his first tattoo. But she came to accept and appreciate it.

Reilly is a college student studying criminology. Asked if he is concerned that his tattoos might get in the way of his career, he said, “If they don’t like tattoos, I’ll find something else.”

Reilly’s father, standing nearby, said, “They’re a lot more acceptable than they used to be.”

In some circles, tattoos are downright fashionable. A Harris poll conducted two years ago found that one in six Americans has at least one tattoo. And of those, 83 percent have no regrets at all about the permanent decorations on their skin.

Celebrities have added a certain cache to the art. Angelina Jolie has at least a dozen tattoos on her body, including a large tiger on her lower back, and the words “know your rights” on the base of her neck. When Goldie Hawn was celebrating her 60th birthday in Tahiti last month, she and her entire family decided to get tattoos. Hawn got a small heart on her foot.

In the Rivertown Tattoo shop, Michel Dyer, a plumber and firefighter, has on his mind an image that is much larger than a little heart. Janet’s husband Larry Wilgus has been working to adorn Dyer’s back with a two-foot-tall Celtic cross. Inside the cross are the words to a traditional Irish blessing and toast. The design is based on a smaller cross that Dyer found in a store in Middletown more than a year ago. “Then minute I saw it, I knew this was what I wanted for my back,” he said.

Wilgus has worked about seven hours on the cross, and there are another three or so to go. The letters will be finished off darker and thicker, and background shading will be added.

Dyer has seven tattoos. He got his first one when he was 20. It was a gift from his girlfriend. Now he is 26 years old, and this latest tattoo will certainly be the most meaningful. He plans to add the names of people that he cares about as they pass away. He will have the names tattooed next to the base of the cross. “I already have two names waiting,” he said.