The infamous ‘portal’ that connected Americans with the Irish by sharing ‘a moment in time’ will soon return, despite controversies leading to it being shut down the last time around.
You’ll probably recall the video portal that was set up between Dublin, Ireland’s capital, and New York City. It was launched in May before eventually being taken down in September after its liberty was abused.
The project was part of a series of similar ‘portals’ which were put in place by Lithuanian artist, Benediktas Gylys.
It features a large circular screen which shows video from a camera on a second screen in another location. The screen is built to look like a portal has opened up between the two places which you could almost step through, as if it was really a magical portal.
But sadly, it was closed down on September 2, with a statement being issued by Dublin City Council at the time.
It read: “Unfortunately, we have also been witnessing a very small minority of people engaged in inappropriate behavior, which has been amplified through social media.
“While we cannot control all of these actions, we are implementing some technical solutions to address this.”
The portal connecting Dublin and New York City was shut down after ‘inappropriate behavior’ was recorded (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Some examples of this inappropriate behavior included one person in Dublin showing New Yorkers a picture of the twin towers smoking during the 9/11 attacks on their phone.
Again, over in Europe, someone also played pornography on their phone and put it next to the screen so it could be seen on the display over in New York.
But the US wasn’t completely innocent, as an OnlyFans model decided to give the Irish counterparts more than they bargained for by flashing them.
But it isn’t all doom and gloom as almost two months on from it being shut down, it has been announced that the portal is going to be making a come back.
This time, it will be connecting Dubliners with residents of Philadelphia and will be found inside Love Park, officially known as JFK Plaza.
The portal will soon be connecting Dublin with Philadelphia (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Michael Newmuis, 2026 Director, City of Philadelphia, said: “The Portal’s arrival in the heart of Philadelphia is an exciting moment for our city that offers a new way to engage with the world.”
But how will organizers stay on top of those previously seen bad habits?
Well, not long after the video portal was closed before being reconnected, the designers updated the software to blur anything that comes too close to the camera – so flashing up close and showing the portal your phone would ultimately be useless.
Which may be a good thing to hear if you’re a Pennsylvanian citizen who just wants to use the device the way it was designed for… as unfortunate as that sounds to pranksters.
The Dublin Portal installation has been extended until January 31, 2025, and is now broadcasting from 8am-8pm daily.
