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wrote a tribute to McGinty in the course of which he said, "Thom McGinty's magic has to do with his ability to mesmerise his audience, to lure them out of their busy city selves and to take them away into that land of perfect stillness where marvellous dreams are as normal as Bewley's sticky buns."
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McGinty died on 20 February 1995 after a sudden decline, aged 42. His coffin was carried the length of
Grafton Street by his friends past a large crowd, and was accompanied by long and sustained applause. In 1997, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Brendan Lynch, renamed a corner of Meeting House Square in
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He was charged with breach of the peace and with wearing a costume which could offend public decency, on 15 June 1991, for a street performance in which he wore nothing but a skimpy loin cloth that failed to cover his buttocks. McGinty called himself a "stillness artist" and "a human statue".
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McGinty specialised in standing in the street –stock still, in complete silence, and in costume – for long periods of time like a living statue. He would disturb his immobility only to perform his trademark broad, saucy, pantomime wink to reward anyone who put money at his feet.
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told him to move along for causing an obstruction in the street when crowds gathered to watch him, McGinty developed an extremely slow-motion walk that was really immobility in motion. Most of his costumes were exuberant and fanciful, and he appeared in such guises as the framed
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as "The
Diceman's Corner", where a plaque commemorates him. There was a tribute to McGinty in May 2001 when an exhibition of twenty of his most creative and colourful costumes, made mostly by Aidan Bradley and Kathy Kavanagh/Showtime.ie, was held during a
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proposed in 2005 that
Grafton Street should have a statue of the performer. A song called "Diceman" was released by Rocky de Valera and the Gravediggers in 2007. A plaque in memory of McGinty was unveiled at the
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on 1 April 1952, to Thomas and Mary McGinty (née O'Hara), both of whom had previously lived in
Ireland. Thom was of Scottish-Irish nationality: at least one of his parents were of Irish origin – Mary was born in
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at which he was crowned High King of
Ireland, and money was raised to buy medicines, and to pay for his funeral. Two weeks later, he openly discussed his struggle with AIDS on
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or otherwise performed in costume, to advertise the
Diceman shop. When that went out of business, he was hired to advertise various other establishments, including
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and one of the country's most popular street performers. He appeared in various plays and films, and through his work promoted political causes including
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591:. 21 April 1994. Retrieved 19 February 2021. "A person born abroad of an Irish born parent is entitled to Irish citizenship automatically."
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193:– which granted him Irish citizenship. He had a brother and two sisters; the family would holiday each summer in Mary's hometown.
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204:. The name "The Diceman" came from one of McGinty's employers, The Diceman Games Shop, which was located first in an arcade on
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607:. Retrieved 15 January 2021. "If you or your parent were born on the island of Ireland before 2005, you are an Irish citizen."
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239:. During the 1980s and early 1990s, he became well-known and popular for performances on Grafton Street where he worked as a
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to have been "a brave move at a time when few people were prepared to admit in public that they had caught the AIDS virus".
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His first public performances in Dublin were as the "Dandelion Clown" at the
Dandelion Market, a former bohemian market on
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156:. Born in Scotland of Irish parentage, McGinty spent much of his life and career in Ireland, where he became a landmark
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McGinty was diagnosed with HIV in 1990. At
Halloween 1994, a tribute and benefit event was held in his honour at the
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courthouse during the
Baltinglass Street Festival on 27 August 2010. There is another plaque dedicated to him in
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399:. Two poems about McGinty appeared in 2002: one called "Diceman" by Liam O'Meara, and the title poem of
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McGinty served as an altar boy and considered becoming a priest. Instead, he studied accountancy at
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Video-slideshow of McGinty at work, curated for the
Gallery of Photography, Ireland
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This article is about the Scottish-Irish mime. For the American journalist, see
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dubbed him "Ireland's most famous street performer and an integral part of
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McGinty during 1971 rehearsals for a student production of "Sweeney Sodd"
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815:(poetry magazine) at The Saison Poetry Library. Retrieved:2012-01-06.
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café, and he also promoted political causes through his work such as
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Rocky de Valera and the Gravediggers Radio at Myspace, 28 June 2007.
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310:(1990). He was a guest, twice, on the television chat programme,
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in County Galway where he formed The Dandelion Theatre Company.
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259:. He lived for a time in the early 1980s in Baile Éamon behind
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Gavin Friday talks about McGinty's final days and his funeral
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Kelly, Brian (22 February 1995). "'Diceman' Thom McGinty".
499:"All hail The Dice Man, the High King of Grafton Street"
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McGinty was considered an honorary Dubliner despite his
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Wake Forest University Press. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
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Gavin Friday – The Making of the 'catholic' Cover Photo
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labelled McGinty a "Dublin institution", as well as a "
759:"From Anne Doyle to The Diceman - Ireland's gay icons"
168:". He died in 1995 at age 42, from complications of
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920:McGinty during the 1971 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
737:Diceman Living Visuals. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
635:Diceman Living Visuals. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
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403:'s collection, "Dharmakaya", is also about him.
16:Irish–Scottish actor and street mime (1952–1995)
883:Google Street View of McGinty plaque in Tralee.
781:. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
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623:. 24 February 1995. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
981:AIDS-related deaths in the Republic of Ireland
583:"Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill, 1994"
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617:"Grafton Street stands still for the Diceman"
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765:. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
180:Thomas McGinty was born in the outskirts of
148:(1 April 1952 – 20 February 1995), known as
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858:VisitWicklow.ie. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
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849:Baltinglass Street Festival This Weekend!
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409:in the anarchic flow, the street's
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266:In 1989, he appeared in the
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131:Actor, model, street artist
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198:Strathclyde University
44:McGinty as The Diceman
530:"What, Another Year?"
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257:human rights in Tibet
162:gay rights in Ireland
854:31 December 2010 at
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407:become a still pool
237:St. Stephen's Green
101:Cause of death
94:Republic of Ireland
905:The Diceman Cometh
692:, 26 October 1994.
659:Sunday Independent
505:. 20 February 2020
425:, for Thom McGinty
411:unceasing carnival
374:The Late Late Show
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353:Death and tributes
313:The Late Late Show
286:Edinburgh Festival
873:, 17 August 2010.
871:Irish Independent
811:by Liam O'Meara.
763:Irish Independent
718:, 19 August 2005.
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690:Irish Independent
473:The Evening Times
336:Irish Independent
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735:The Diceman
568:19 February
542:19 February
509:20 February
442:Baltinglass
363:Baltinglass
306:(1989) and
272:Oscar Wilde
241:mime artist
187:Baltinglass
150:The Diceman
123:The Diceman
112:Nationality
23:Tom McGinty
965:Categories
588:Oireachtas
452:References
423:Dharmakaya
388:Temple Bar
361:Plaque in
300:Jean Genet
249:gay rights
60:1952-04-01
809:"Diceman"
536:Hot Press
430:The poet
326:Hot Press
308:Corkscrew
295:The Maids
222:Mona Lisa
215:When the
139:1976–1995
852:Archived
633:About Us
416:—
341:gay icon
245:Bewley's
166:gay icon
72:Scotland
944:YouTube
837:Diceman
797:YouTube
261:Spiddal
226:Dracula
182:Glasgow
68:Glasgow
446:Tralee
435:Actor
277:Salome
255:, and
251:, the
217:Gardaí
90:Dublin
224:, or
915:IMDb
570:2021
544:2021
511:2020
170:AIDS
154:mime
106:AIDS
79:Died
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