Jude Collins

Wednesday 2 October 2013

Five things we learnt from last night's 'Prime Time'.



  1. Miriam O’Callaghan is no Pat Kenny.  While Pat Kenny was awful as presenter of The Late Late Show  but very good presenting Frontline,  Miriam O’Callaghan is a blonde waste of space on any programme (and no, Virginia, I’d still say that even she’d snuggled up to Martin McGuinness and given him a big kiss a couple of years back). She spent most of her time  last night saying “Wait ‘til he finishes” and “I’ll let you come in after” as Richard Bruton and Micheal  Martin ignored her and went on shouting stuff across her.
  2. They don’t build lecterns like they used to. First Micheal Martin dropped his notes and tried surreptitiously to paw them back within grabbing-distance, using his foot. Richard Bruton dropped his notes as well but pretended not to notice, but came within a whisker of sending his pen pinging across the studio. 
  3. The referendum for the abolition of the Seanad is a ferocious waste of public money. They’re printing and delivering a pamphlet about it to every single home in the twenty-six counties, including the tens of thousands of families who don't know how they'll keep a roof over their head. Even if the decision is taken to abolish the Seanad, it won’t kick in for two years or more. 
  4. The best metaphor of the night came from a man opposed to Seanad abolition. He said that because a fire-escape wasn’t used didn’t mean you broke it up and sold it off as scrap metal. Which is true. If irrelevant.
  5. The Seanad is and always has been an anti-democratic waste of money. It represents 1% of the people in the south; and it pays senators over €60,000 a year for aping Britain’s House of Lords. It’s about as much use as a fire-escape on a bungalow and should be sold to a willing scrap-metal dealer, not in two years’ time,  but within twenty-four hours of Friday's referendum which will (I hope) consign it to the scrap-heap of history. 
Footnote: I say all this as part of the 1% who actually has a Seanad vote.

19 comments:

  1. Presumably any abolition of the Senate has to be done by way of referendum .Because of a court challenge years ago,are there not strict rules about the distribution of information to the voting public?Despite your disavowal, I don't think you'll ever forgive Miriam for asking Martin what you considered inappropriate questions.

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    1. Do the math - how much to abolish, how much to keep? As for forgiving Miriam for what you appear to think was an appropriate question - have I got that right? - it says just about everything re her journalistic standards

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  2. how lovely jude..."a blonde waste of space".I wonder what goes on in that space between your ears. but thats irrelevent like the fire escape. well its still keeping up with your usual high standards of blogism.

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    1. Gee thanks. I was worried you mightn't approve. My mind is set at ease. Remind me to take you on a guided tour of my skull sometime...

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  3. Despite your more than charming description of Miriam O'Callaghan at least you had the begrudging courtesy to describe the republic of ireland as the 26 counties and not a statelet.

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    1. How do you know it was begrudging? Besides, what's wrong with saying 'statelet'? My dictionary says a statelet is "a small state, esp. one that is closely affiliated with or has emerged from the breakup of a larger state." Seems reasonable to me.

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    2. Unfortunately ive a 1985 "pre adams" edition of Collins dictionary so will accept your description as mine dosen't list statelet. Though im still im in the dark regarding the large state that broke up. what i don't need a dictionary to explain is that sinn fein had its fingerprints all over the document that "cleverly carved up" the two little statelets.But then they didn't read the small print too cleverly. Whats wrong is your use of it as a term of derision. On a brighter note lets hope Mirian has recovered from her shock.

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    3. A pre-Adams dictionary? New one on me, I'm afraid. The large state that was broken up - you can take your pick. UK, Ireland, whatever you're having yourself. Re fingerprints: as I remember my history, Lloyd George held a gun to the head of the Irish signatories - "immediate and terrible war" - so that might have something to do with signing on the dotted line. As to 'derision' - what makes you think I'm deriding it?

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    4. They didnt claim to have signed it through imtimidation. In fact Collins said the only coercion involved were the facts. And Jude i do believe we're both reading the same history books if not the same dictionaries. We irishmen always had a great passion for cleverly carving up Ireland with the english. In fact it was a great pastime with gaelic chieftains. so lets stop continually pointing the proverbial finger at london. I think narrative is the new " in word" and hopefully statelet is out. Whats that dictionary you're using as mine seems to be a little outdated. Plenipotentiaries, cabinet, dail and people are still in it though. Damn Lloyd George he scared the hell out of Collins.

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    5. If I wasn't hurrying to watch a foreign game on telly I'd give you a history lesson - Lloyd George's words are quoted again and again - must be something in them. As to we Irishmen carving up Ireland 'with the English' - you have something there but not all of it. The missing bit is that we're England's last little colony and we need to learn to let go, even she doesn't. ...Cmon, City!

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    6. Never had you down as a City supporter!Presume you are being ironic.If not commiserations.

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    7. My son is so I feel I should support him. They just had an off-day (tries not to weep)

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    8. Exactly, continually re-quoted and you're still at it, Well we'll accept you're the teacher. I take it that you do accept that sinn fein did do the dirty "statelet" deal with the foreigner, but wont keep you back.

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    9. Wish you had now - kept me back, that is. And just to keep the record straight, I'm no longer a teacher. Alas. If that line is wrongly worded or was never said, I'll be happy to admit my ignorance and error. Certainly happier than I was at the efforts of Man City last night. Gawd, those bloody Germans...

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  4. We are not told anything about the hair colour of Pat Kenny, Michael Martin, Richard Bruton, or indeed Martin McGuinness.
    Are their tresses not relevant for some reason?

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    1. Serious oversight on my part, Gio - tá bron orm. The answer is greying, mousey, greying and faded ginger - in that order.

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  5. Is that a picture of the aforementioned Miriam O'Callaghan you posted Jude?
    She looks like a 'hooker' waiting for a client.
    Young folks today seem to have little to no modesty. Wow, just wow!

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  6. Could you give us a few examples of who you think would be good presenters of Prime Time?

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    1. Well, apart from me of course, Pat Kenny, that Richard chap on RTÉ is also good, there's Roisin Duffy formerly of this parish, ditto Pat Coyle ...the world is such a big place and has so many people in it who are not airheads

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