Eoin Butler: writer, journalist and Mayoman of the Year
Tripping Along The Ledge
bertie ahern
Are Fianna Fail scuppering their own recovery by denying us our Portillo moment?
It looks like game over. The most successful political party in the history of the state is virtually an ex-parrot. But it would be rash to go writing Fianna Fail’s obituary just yet. Today’s polls show party support steady at about 15%. Considering our present predicament, that suggests one-seventh of the electorate would vote Fianna Fail even if the local candidate were standing at their front door with an axe in his hand and a murderous twinkle in his eye.
From here, really, the only way is up. Read the rest of this entry »
Published: Irish Times, May 22 2010One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This
THE GALWAY BAY HOTEL in Salthill has never seen anything like it. It’s seven o’clock on a Friday morning and about 120 people are packed into the downstairs bar. The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show is in town and receiving a very vocal welcome from an audience of dedicated fans. They’ve scoffed their complimentary bacon butties, sipped their cups of tea and coffee and they’re ready to be entertained. Read the rest of this entry »
‘A German audience will stare at you stony-faced for the entire gig and then buy every T-shirt you have’
My wife likes to make a show of me by getting me to list the weirdest jobs I’ve had. When I was a kid I worked in Dunnes Stores in town. There was a strike on and I was supposed to be on strike duty. But I got a little nixer on the side, guarding a giant inflatable can of 7Up in the car park outside The Square in Tallaght. There were legions of kids harrassing me “What is it, mister?” “Can I kick it, mister?” “Can I burn it?”Read the rest of this article here.
‘A German audience will stare at you stony-faced for the entire gig and then buy every T-shirt you have’
THE MIGHTY STEF
Ireland’s last rock n’ roll hero: he sings, he plays, he makes beds
We’re in the middle of a recession. The music industry has all but collapsed… So how does a rock and roller earn a crust these days?
In Dublin? You don’t. I scrape a living by frequently touring abroad. Germany would be one of my main markets. I have a small label over there that puts out everything I’ve done. If I go away for three weeks, and play my cards right, I might come home with a couple of months wages. That’s standard industrial wages. I also do the odd residency where I play folk music anonymously.
What, like Scarborough Fair?
No, not that kind of folk music. I mean, I play acoustic sets. Mostly covers – I do everything from Phil Spector to Bob Dylan. There might also be occasional “DJ” set [he mimes the quotation marks] here and there, which really involves just putting a CD in the machine and pressing play. Basically, I hustle for a living. The wages are modest, but at least I’m doing what I love to do. Read the rest of this entry »
Unfinished Christy Moore song
“Now the politicians in the Dail are smokin’ crystal meth
And Charlie Haughey’s on the lawn, playin’ chess with death
The CIA are on line three, lookin’ for Bertie Ahern
Sayin’ there’s men in orange jumpsuits escaped into the Burren,
Singin’ ooohhhh…” Read the rest of this article here.
THE VOID
Hasta la Victoria Siempre, readers! Greetings from Buenos Aires! Yes, after months spent battling the forces of the hated GENERAL RODRIGUEZ in the mountains by day, and instructing my ragtag band of guerrillas in the basic tenets of Marxist-Leninism and beard grooming by night; having survived 37 assassination attempts by the C.I.A. and two by the International Red Cross; and with only the fiery and enigmatic “TANYA” for female companionship (her passion for social justice is surpassed only by her passion for yours truly!); deliverance has finally arrived. Read the rest of this article here.
“Mary Harney is a total Geebag!”
It’s two o’clock on a blustery afternoon in early March and I’ve just been shootin’ the shit with An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. We’re in his constituency office, St. Lukes, on the Lower Drumcondra Road. In a few moments, the Mercedes outside will whisk him off to a meeting of the British-Irish Inter Parliamentary Body, where he’ll deliver an address on prospects for power-sharing in the North. For my part, I’ll be taking the 16A back to town, where I’ll have to decide whether birthdays or Coco Pops top this month’s What’s Hot list. Before we go our separate ways though, I offer him two copies of Mongrel for his commute. Read the rest of this entry »
THE VOID
Hasta la Victoria Siempre, readers! Greetings from Buenos Aires! Yes, after months spent battling the forces of the hated GENERAL RODRIGUEZ in the mountains by day, and instructing my ragtag band of guerrillas in the basic tenets of Marxist-Leninism and beard grooming by night; having survived 37 assassination attempts by the C.I.A. and two by the International Red Cross; and with only the fiery and enigmatic “TANYA” for female companionship (her passion for social justice is surpassed only by her passion for yours truly!); deliverance has finally arrived. Read the rest of this article here.
Miscellaneous Amusing Items I’ve Come Across #2
When Bertie Ahern stepped down as Taoiseach last May, I think it sent out a clear message to the world: the Irish people will not stand for their leaders murdering Polish people. Brian Cowan, take heed!
(Incidentally I once interviewed Bertie.)
Published: Mongrel Magazine, February 2006 – December 2007(THE BEST OF) THE VOID
Hasta la Victoria Siempre, readers! Greetings from Buenos Aires! Yes, after months spent battling the forces of the hated GENERAL RODRIGUEZ in the mountains by day, and instructing my ragtag band of guerrillas in the basic tenets of Marxist-Leninism and beard grooming by night; having survived 37 assassination attempts by the C.I.A. and two by the International Red Cross; and with only the fiery and enigmatic “TANYA” for female companionship (her passion for social justice is surpassed only by her passion for yours truly!); deliverance has finally arrived. Read the rest of this entry »