“Well…the tourists are gonna get an eye-full!”

(WARNING - This is a rather long post. But it needs to be, so toughen up!)

(That’s me there. No, to the left of her. Bit further. Yeah, there I am!)

Well…that was certainly the most bizarre experience of my life. Though quite which part of the whole experience was the most bizarre is something I haven’t figured out yet. Being naked in a field with 1100 other naked people – everyone bent over double, desperately not wanting to look up for fear of what we might see in front of us – was definitely weird. Seeing it talked about all day today in the media, aware that I am one of those naked people they’re showing on the news bulletins is also very very strange. Seeing Ray D’Arcy naked – a man who played such an important role in my television viewing youth – is also immensely odd.

I arrived at Blarney Castle with my bravest friends – Mike, Jamie and Niamh – at 3am. There were protesters at the gates. But when we got closer, we realised they were a bunch of lads, dressed as priests. Their placards bore the immortal words: “Down with that sort of thing!” and “Careful now!” That’s when it began to dawn on me how crazy this whole thing was going to be.

Life Imitating Art Imitating Life

I know it might be odd that this is the second time I’ve featured Garret Fitzgerald on the blog, but I noticed this last night as I happened to flick over to The Week in Politics and saw footage of him giving a speech to the Joint Houses of Congress. He reminded me of someone, but for ages I couldn’t put my finger on who.

I may not be the first person to point it out, but:

Dr. Strangelove and Dr. Garret Fitzgerald

Think about it. Have you ever seen them in a room together?

One Of Life’s Odd Little Moments #34 – The Former Taoiseach

So there I was, walking home from UCC (I was there for a table quiz, not – as other people seem to think – to try and feel like I belong to a real college again), making my way down Barrack St., avoiding the dodgy looking drunks spilling out from the IRA pub. Passing one of those dingy little taxi offices, I glanced in at the people sitting in the ragged brown chairs. “Hmmm…that old man looked a little like Garrett FitzGerald,” I thought as I passed. Suddenly, someone called my name from inside the taxi office. Taking a few step backwards, I saw it was Ross Frenett, Auditor of the UCC Philisoph. And sitting next to him was, indeed, former Taoiseach, Dr. Garrett FitzGerald. I said hello to both of them and had a short conversation, before Dr. FitzGerald’s cab arrived.

As Ross later pointed out, there were two main Taoisigh in the 80’s: FitzGerald and CJ Haughy. Could anyone honestly imagine Haughy agreeing to chair a university debate on marriage (which is what Dr.FitzGerald had been doing that night) then retiring with the students to a not-quite-so-upmarket side-alley pub on one of the dingiest streets in Cork City to join the students for a few scoops and conversation? And then waiting in the dingiest taxi office on the dingiest street in the city for a cab, talking to yet more randoms students? Nah, I can’t either.

My point is, it was really fucking bizarre to see a former Taoiseach, a leader of this country, sitting (quite comfortably I might add) in a taxi office, talking to an 20 year old about the merits of a side-alley pub. Wish I had had a camera.