Ireland— Tattoo scenes & cities

An Irish sailor, James F. O'Connell, was the first man to display his tattoos in the United States. Shipwrecked on Pohnpei, in the Caroline Islands, he received, according to his account, a full-body tattoo, the pelipel, which made him "fully human" in the eyes of the islanders. Arriving in New York in 1835, he performed in melodramas and circuses, then at Barnum's in 1842.

In Irish prisons of the late 19th century, records describe inmates' tattoos. They were more common in men's prisons than in women's, often linked to occupations, with maritime or military motifs, and more widespread among repeat offenders. The authors of a study published in 2015 see in them a form of defiance of prison authority.