There’s only one Barry Keoghan – but Dublin found two dead ringers at a competition on Sunday.Grand Canal Quay in Dublin was braced for a flood of men saying “ciao” with their baby blue eyes, as the start of the Barry Keoghan lookalike contest drew near – with its grand €20 prize.The competition was announced in a viral social media reel, with posters appearing around Dublin city. But given the competition from the All-Ireland men’s football final, the turnout wasn’t all that was hoped for.The competition was the brainchild of one Jack Lawrence. The 26-year-old from Tullamore, Co Offaly, has been posting on TikTok for years, documenting his journey as a competitive Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner.In recent years, however, as Barry Keoghan has grown in popularity and risen to acting stardom, Lawrence began to be told that he looked quite like the Saltburn actor.Photograph: Alan Betson
“I always get comments saying like, ‘Oh, it’s the Meal Deal version of Barry Keoghan’ or the ‘Barry Keoghan from D4′.”The comments, which started online, have now escalated to a daily occurrence when he walks down the street.“The last few months have been crazy. Anywhere I go in public, I get ‘recognised’,” he said. At a recent gig in Whelan’s, he was approached multiple times by people looking for a selfie with “Barry Keoghan”.He is constantly asked to repeat classic lines from Keoghan’s stardom.“‘Ciao Valentino’ is a classic,” he said. Along with the famous scene from The Banshees of Inisherin – “You probably wouldn’t ever want to, I don’t know ... to fall in love with a boy like me, would ya?”Initially, the clamour became a bit of an insecurity for Lawrence, who said he wants to be recognised for being “Jack” and for his ju-jitsu success.Irish actor Barry Keoghan. Photograph: Getty Images “I guess if it’s going to happen already, I can’t really change that. So, I just have to embrace it. I’m embracing it full scale by doing this contest.”A side benefit, he said, is that while the celebrity has admitted to avoiding the public eye due to social media comments about his appearance, Lawrence and his other lookalikes can “celebrate looking like Barry Keoghan”.On Sunday he was joined by fellow lookalike Patrick Collins (23). Originally from Athlone Town, Collins lives in Dublin where he works for a non-governmental organisation.About 10 friends of his, he said, sent him links to the contest before it popped up naturally on his social media feed. Almost resigned to his fate, Collins said he knew he had to go along.Having seen posters in Dame Street, an assortment of Trinity College Dublin students decided to ditch their master’s theses and trudge down to attend the most important competition in Dublin on Sunday.Along with assorted passersby and innocent bystanders, the group became the de facto judges, but were split on who the winner should be.Engineering students Natasha Sultan (24) from Canada; Nathalie Montress (23) from the US; and Sorya Gerhard (25) from Germany were convinced the TikTok star should be the winner.Their friends, German screen studies student Carolina Faulhaber and Belgian climate adaptation engineering student Marie Da Froidmont (both 25) disagreed.Suddenly involved, having been chatting on a nearby bench, Eoghan Farrell (25) from Portlaoise, Co Laois, and Vincent Bohol (27) from Clongriffin, Co Dublin, sided with Collins. Between the two lookalikes, it was a close affair. Lawrence and Collins, each sharing strong similarities in their features to the renowned actor, were neck and neck going down to the final judge.Having split the vote among the assembled crowd of students and bemused onlookers, the organisers approached one final person – hospitality worker and Budapest native Gréta Dusnoki-Zsebők.The 25-year-old, whose eyes lit up in recognition at the mention of Keoghan, cast the deciding vote in favour of Collins.In his victory speech, Collins said it was a “true honour” to be compared to the great Irish actor, encouraging anyone who looks like a celebrity to “embrace it”.Lawrence was a gracious loser, raising Collins’s hand in a final tribute.
