Ollie Byrne R.I.P. and the Friendship of Pets

I was going to write a piece today about the late Ollie Byrne, owner of Shelbourne football club. And this is it, but in a roundabout way, because one of our cats is spending the night on a drip in the vets. We found her yesterday in the front garden with blood on her face and paws, and what seemed to be a broken hip, with another of our cats standing loyally on guard beside her. Raisa is an elderly cat, seventeen years old, so the vet has taken blood tests to figure out if she will even survive trying to heal her leg. Now here is the Ollie Byrne connection. >>>

Prank Letter – First Reply from Ryanair

On Tuesday I posted this prank letter that I sent to Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary, from a postgraduate student with an idea to save even more money running a low-fares airline. It was the start of on ongoing exchange of letters. Here is the first reply that I got from Michael O’Leary: >>>

Eddie Hobbs Falters with Poor Show of Eejitry

In the August edition of You and Your Money, Eddie Hobbs hosted this masterclass in eejitry, posing as a schoolboy, a Money Medic and a pensive guru.

But the September edition shows a marked decline in eejitry and an unexpected move towards emphasising financial advice. Take a look:

The front cover shows only mild eejitry, with Claire Byrne whispering into Eddie’s ear and creating the impression that Eddie has a giant deformed ear. In the Money Medic picture, Eddie is admittedly acting the eejit, but not to the same high standards as in the previous issue. And as for the child with the mortar board and gown – well, let’s be honest, in the previous edition Eddie himself would have posed for that picture. And there’s more: >>>

Prank Letter to Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary

Here’s a prank letter that I sent to Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary a while ago. It is from a postgraduate student with an unusual idea for saving even more money while running a low-fares airline. >>>

Monday Quiz 10 – Cannabis Ban and ‘Childish’ GAA

On this week last year (August 27 to September 2, 2006):

• What reason did Fianna Fail Senator Eoin Ryan give for the Government not legalising cannabis?
• Why did Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness accuse the GAA of ‘being childish’?
• A student from Fermoy, County Cork, was promoting a plan to get himself a free house worth €250,000. What was his plan?
• Novelist Kathleen McGowan, whose mother is from Sligo, claimed that Pat Kenny had dropped her as a guest from the opening show of the new series of the Late Late Show. What was her claim to fame?
• What internationally famous business, which was founded in Mallow, County Cork in 1888, announced that it would be switching all of its machines from diesel to bio-fuel?

Click here for answers: >>>

My New Blog about the 1970s – Bionic Bohs

If you like Irish football and/or cultural nostalgia, I’ve started a new blog this week called Bionic Bohs. It’s about my experiences as a Dublin schoolboy in the 1970s following Bohemian football club, along with some of the flavour of Irish life generally in the 1970s and some of the history and tradition of the other League of Ireland teams of the time. Please have a look and let me know what you think. Here’s the link:

http://bionicbohs.com

Ireland on YouTube Part 2 – Cork

‘It’s alright to say, things can only get better – you haven’t lost your brand new sweater!’ Continuing our trip around Ireland as portrayed on YouTube, here are Cork legends Sultans of Ping with Where’s Me Jumper?

Next comes a worthy rival to the Sultans’ iconic status. Slocum63 has uploaded this video of Cork City fan Finbarr on a trip to Iceland, serenading a woman with a drink-assisted version of Mustang Sally.

Four more Cork videos are just a click away – they include

• Mouse racing filmed sideways in a pub in Kilbrittain
• Ray Lally in a public dance-off with Dancing Dave
• Greg O’Halloran doing an impression of Pat Dolan
• A hard-hitting promotional video called Cork, Like.

Here they are, like. >>>

Promoting the Fictions of God and Astrology

The Roman Catholic Primate of Ireland, Archbishop Sean Brady, had a bit of swipe at some of his rival superstitions yesterday. He slammed horoscopes, astrology, palm-reading, clairvoyance and mediums, pointing out that:

One of the most subtle but disturbing signs of this underlying fear in Irish life is the increasing reliance of people on practices which claim to ‘unveil’ the future… Those who put their trust in them or take them seriously are colluding with an illusion, promoting a fiction.

He’s correct, of course. But he would be just as correct if he had said the exact same thing about Christianity. It too appeals to underlying fears, it too claims to ‘unveil’ the future, and those who take it seriously are also promoting a fiction.

However, he is wrong when he describes horoscopes, etc, as ‘the new Irish superstition’. And here is why. >>>

Prank Letter – Reply from Cunard Cruise Line

On Tuesday I posted this prank letter that I sent to Cunard Cruise Line, from an Irish lottery winner with a peculiar requirement for a cruise. Here is the reply that I got from Cunard: >>>

Five Great Irish Links on StumbleUpon

Here are five great Irish links from an hour on StumbleUpon. Warning: do not try this at home. Seriously. To find these, I had to wade through a sea of leprechauns, green beer, diddly-eye music, and jokes about our legendary drunken stupidity. But it was worth it to find these gems: >>>

Prank Letter to Cunard Cruise Line

Here’s a prank letter that I sent to Cunard Cruise Line a while ago. It is a query from an Irish lottery winner with a peculiar requirement for a cruise. >>>

Monday Quiz 9 – Lost Luggage and Criminal Assets

On this week last year (August 20 to August 26, 2006):

• Ryanair confirmed that they had located a piece of lost luggage belonging to an Australian passenger. What was it?
• Figures showed the pass rates for driving tests in different parts of the country. Where was it easiest, and where was it hardest, to pass the driving test?
• A survey showed that how many household chores were waiting to be done throughout the country? (things like changing lightbulbs, putting out rubbish, DIY jobs, checking up on people, etc.)
• The Galway Gay Pride festival started. But what problem did the organisers have on the morning of the event?
• The annual report of the Criminal Assets Bureau was published. How much money and assets had it seized from criminals in the previous year?

Click here for answers: >>>

Radio Nova 1983 Closedown NostalgiaFest

A couple of months ago I posted this series on Irish pirate radio from the mid seventies to mid eighties:

Radio Dublin 253 | Doctor Don Moore | Fighting the Law | The Big Three
Radio 2 Cominatcha! | Sunshine Radio | Radio Nova | A.R.D. Closes Down
Nova Northside | The 1983 Raids | We’re Jamming | Rambo’s Law
Century Radio | End of an Era | An Irish Tradition

Today, YouTube user Lazerweb has posted a batch of videos covering the emotional closedown of Radio Nova in 1983. Here’s one showing the moment of the closedown:

And you’ll find another eight related videos at Lazerweb’s Videopage. Enjoy!

John Aldridge Sings for Footballing Judges

How bizarre can you get? Here’s John Aldridge singing his You’re a Star entry Ring of Fire on Sky Sports, with commentary from four judges with similar musical expertise – Matt Le Tissier, Phil Thompson, Charlie Nicholas and Ian Rush.

And the Glasgow Celtic Won’t be There!

I assume they’re going to rewrite the old Hail Hail song to end with:

We don’t care if we’re playing at all
What the hell do we care?
For it’s all we know
That there’s going to be a show
And the Glasgow Celtic won’t be there!

Last night, a group of Irish Celtic fans went to Dalymount Park to celebrate their Irishness by cheering a Swedish Member of the British Empire, who was playing for a Swedish club against an Irish club, because that Swedish MBE used to play for a British club that has Irish connections: >>>

Prank Letter – Reply from Trevor Sargent

On Wednesday I posted this reply, from Eamon Ó Cuiv, Minister for Gaeltacht Affairs, to this prank letter that I sent to him proposing an Irish Texting Dictionary for young people. I also sent the same letter to Trevor Sargent TD, then Green Party Leader, and here is his reply: >>>

Liberal Anti-Lifers and Sodomite Alliances

Having last week reviewed the first issue of the fantastic Hibernian magazine, edited by a former IRA man, here are my highlights from issue two, published in June 2006. This issue includes my favourite piece of political propaganda yet, a dramatic exposé of, and I quote:

The homosexual/paedophile mentality of the liberal anti-lifers.

But that’s not all! Read on and be enlightened! >>>

Prank Letter – Reply from Minister for Gaeltacht

On Monday I posted this prank letter that I sent to Eamon Ó Cuiv, Minister for Gaeltacht Affairs, proposing an Irish Texting Dictionary for young people. Here is the Minister’s reply: >>>

Vikings Return Today, No Rape or Pillage Expected

If you’re near Custom House Quay in Dublin this lunchtime, you can see the homecoming of the Viking boat Sea Stallion from Glendalough, followed by a Viking Age craft display and battle re-enactments in the afternoon.

The original Sea Stallion was built in Dublin in 1042, and sank in the Roskilde Fjord in Denmark. It has now been reconstructed, using the same materials and tools and methods of a thousand years ago, and has been sailing to Dublin for the past few weeks. Here is today’s programme of events: >>>

Prank Letter to Minister for Gaeltacht

Here’s a prank letter that I sent to Eamon Ó Cuiv, Minister for Gaeltacht Affairs, a while ago. It is a proposal for promoting the Irish language among young people by developing an Irish Texting Dictionary. >>>