James Cooper got his first tattoo the day after he turned 18 and over the years since has acquired an additional 16 tattoos.
The first one, he says, was an act of rebellion. “I had wanted to get one for years but wasn’t allowed so as soon as I turned 18 I went in and got them to tattoo a Viking’s head and a longboat on my shoulder.”
Now 25 years old and running a painting and decorating business in his native Waterford, Cooper has tattoos on his back, legs, feet, chest, arms and side.
Some of them are straightforward – for example, he has his wife’s name in Arabic tattooed on his arm and the names of his two children on his back.
Some of them are more elaborate like the Polynesian-style design made up of 49 individual tattoos that stretch all the way from his left knee to his toes.
Although he has spent a total of 25 hours “in the chair”, it is not immediately apparent when you meet Cooper that he has any tattoos as most of them are hidden beneath his clothes.
Does he hide them away on purpose?
“Yeah, I have put most of them in places where they can’t be seen because people judge you when you have visible tattoos. I have a shaved head and if people see a shaved head and tattoos they immediately think they know who you are. They put you in a category.”
I tell him that 25 hours spent getting tattoos sounds like medieval torture. Does it hurt? “It depends on where the tattoo is. It doesn’t bother me when it’s on soft tissue, but when it’s close to bone and you can feel the bone rattling, that absolutely kills me.”
We discuss the problem of tattoo regrets – he says he doesn’t have any. “I have so many of them at this stage I couldn’t get them removed even if I wanted to.”
What about health implications?
“I go to Joe Myler in Waterford and he has a wall full of awards and certificates. They are really professional and very concerned about hygiene. I have never had any reactions to the ink or anything like that. “The worst you get is some bruising at first and it’s also very itchy because it is healing.”
People’s reactions to his tattoos vary. He was once refused entrance in to a pub in Cork because of his tattoos. Occasionally, he says, old ladies shake their heads in disgust. Young kids point and stare or sometimes ask questions. “My own kids love them though. My son Jamie who’s four draws tattoos all over my arms with a pen.”
I tell him that one of the things that bothers me about tattoos is just how permanent they are. That, he says, is exactly what he loves about them. “All of my tattoos mean something to me and you take them with you forever.”