Christina Boniello was strolling through Times Square earlier this month when a group of three men with Irish accents asked her to snap a photo of them.
They were like any other group bustling around the tourist haven. But they had an unusual request, Boniello, 23, wrote on Twitter.
They said they didn’t have their own smartphones or cameras, so they asked her to use hers.
“We’ll find it someday,” one of them said.
Lads on tour in America
Their faith paid off, thanks to the ancient power of Irish tribal ties now globalized through Internet connectivity, The Irish Sun reported.
About a week after taking the photo, Boniello posted it to Twitter, explaining how she met the men and wondering whether anybody knew them.
In less than an hour, Irish Twitter came up with the men’s identities, and the picture was sent to those Times Square dreamers. The photo was retweeted 5,700 times.
They lads touring the Big Apple were Sean Tighe, Bernie Waldron and John Devanney from the town of Ballyhaunis in County Mayo in northwest Ireland, the Irish paper reported.
And Boniello tweeted later she was able to reconnect with them: “had a quick chat too!” She said the men were “lovely.”
CNN reached out to Boniello, but hasn’t heard back yet.
Boniello’s viral tweet warmed hearts, showcasing the power of technology.
But with great power comes great grammatical responsibility.
“As soon as this started gaining traction, my biggest fear was finding a spelling mistake and having that haunt me forever,” Boniello wrote.