Clare characters #1: old beardy homeless guy in Ennis

buck65

bantee wrote: »

Saw "the Champ" crossing the road in front of me yesterday on the Mill Road. He gave a big salute to me in the car. It brightened up my day!

The champ is a legend alright , how come he lost his job?

My favourite guy around town is the busker on Parnell st with the guitar and the black hair. He lives in Quin and cycles into town with his axe on his back. I love just to stand and listen to him play guitar - he can't - but he acts like some troubled genius who just can't get that Rachmaninov piece off! Really he actually can't play - like really can't.

MyPeopleDrankTheSoup

buck65 wrote: »

The champ is a legend alright , how come he lost his job?

My favourite guy around town is the busker on Parnell st with the guitar and the black hair. He lives in Quin and cycles into town with his axe on his back. I love just to stand and listen to him play guitar - he can't - but he acts like some troubled genius who just can't get that Rachmaninov piece off! Really he actually can't play - like really can't.

that guy down parnell street everyday is the same guy i nearly kill once a week! shocking. he seems to time his cycling home just around dusk where it's impossible to see.

havn't seen him cycle him now in a while but i'd still be aware driving home.

MyPeopleDrankTheSoup

anyone know one of our 'new irish' characters around ennis: polish eminem

hes a big lad, about 6foot2 dressed in ridiculous wigger clothes and likes to hang out with black lads around the market and parnell street

buck65

I've seen that guy, pants all over the place with this ridiculous jewelry, classic.

Teadrinker

buck65 wrote: »

The champ is a legend alright , how come he lost his job?

My favourite guy around town is the busker on Parnell st with the guitar and the black hair. He lives in Quin and cycles into town with his axe on his back. I love just to stand and listen to him play guitar - he can't - but he acts like some troubled genius who just can't get that Rachmaninov piece off! Really he actually can't play - like really can't.

It might be Rachmaninov! To appreciate the great man's work you'd need a good level of empathy and life may not have, like, really, actually, graced you with that quite yet.

bomlane

ktc1 wrote: »

That's the one, glad someone else remembers it. I used get all my Subbuteo stuff in Tierneys. I was in there last year and had a great chat with Mr Tierney, who's into his eighties now.

I'm in my mid sixties now and remember Bakers shop at the top of Abbey st. as a music shop, bike repair shop and ammunition supply shop
The owners name was Dick Baker.

bomlane

carmel45 wrote: »

i remember him well walking around ennis with his dog called paddy.
he loved to dress up but he didnt like kids like me and my friends coz
we would always tell him he looked lovely but not in a nice way so he'd try to hit us

I lived next door to Michael Tierney for 20 odd years and remember well the ballet shows he put on with Dodo Quinn and Josie Cronin.
Michael also organised Mystery Tours round the county and I would ask Michael sometimes "Wheres the Mystery Tour going this weekend, Michael"?
He would often reply with "Kilkee but dont tell no one".

bomlane

georgiecasey wrote: »

Anyone know the ennis guy with 80s style mullet, shorts and yellow rainjacket. I see him walking into and out of town on the Limerick road all the time, he gives a big wave to everyone who so much as glances at him! Seems like a nice guy

His name is Gabriel Moylan and he is a pleasant chap

bomlane

asmobhosca wrote: »

anyone remember Michael Tierney Ennis's most renowned Newspaper selling transvestite??? He used to sell papers outside mass at the cathedral....:D

I lived next door to Michael for 20 odd years. He was an only child and cared for his mother since he was a teenager. He moved to Hermitage when the flats he lived in with his mum burned down, (situated behind Knox's shop off Abbey st.

BLITZ_Molloy

bomlane wrote: »

I lived next door to Michael for 20 odd years. He was an only child and cared for his mother since he was a teenager. He moved to Hermitage when the flats he lived in with his mum burned down, (situated behind Knox's shop off Abbey st.

Mentioned him earlier in the thread. My friend Philip lived a couple of doors down from him in Hermitage. Used to give us a chocolate bar if he was passing by. Nice chap. Did he pass away like 15 years ago?

The wigger guy is a total ledge. I like how he's got a XXXXL white tee under his tracksuit tops and it billows out like he's wearing a skirt. I love his tracksuit that's all big gold dollar signs as well. Dude is pimped out.

buck65

Teadrinker wrote: »

It might be Rachmaninov! To appreciate the great man's work you'd need a good level of empathy and life may not have, like, really, actually, graced you with that quite yet.

like, touche

palaver

I remember another one, not exactly a character but a striking person, a woman probably in her eighties, very well made up, not expensively, but doing the best with what she could afford and always with bright lipstick.

I remember her because despite the ravages of age her features still showed that she must have been an extraordinary beauty in her youth.

I haven't seen her in a while, but then I'm not that often in Ennis anymore. Maybe she died. But I still remember her as a woman who certainly would have a story to tell. She is one of the people I regret I didn't approach, just for a coffee and to hear her story.

Does anyone know her?

benj

bowsie casey wrote: »

That guy with the real deep voice singing sea shanty type songs....he's still around, I saw him a couple of months back.

What about Whistler ? Old guy in his 70s used be around abt 15 yrs ago, walked around in a suit and a walking stick, always whistling. Used be around the library a bit. I remember someone calling him Whistler and getting a belt of the cane...

that was jake stevens

bomlane

ollaetta wrote: »

Going back a bit here but does anyone remember "the Virginian"? He was a traveller who hung around town in the 70's and who used to wear a cowboy hat. Spent most of his time locked and ended up in a wheelchair.

He had a very vocal missus to say the least. I remember them having a massive row in the street once and she wheeled him out into the traffic and left him there!

She is still around and begs outside the Friary on the Francis st. side.
My crowd called him "The Virginian" and called her "The Begging Virgin"

maiden

The rapper young fella lives in Dun Na hinse, as far as i know he makes his own clothes. Love the dollar tracksuit too ha ha. I laugh so much when i see him, and the walk on him ha ha.
Fair play not afraid to be different!!

_Arctic_

The wannabe rapper guy is hilarious! The mullet guy from Tesco's seems nice, just a bit unusual. I usually give some change to the auld lad who sings outside O'Mahoneys. I wouldnt call him a great singer though!

daveywavey08

I heard Gabriel Moylan was barred from Cafe Mocha the other day. Say it ain't so, he's a gas man. Apparently he was consistently buying one coffee and sitting outside for the day and the staff finally got sick of it and he has moved shop to the café in Dunnes.

drunken_munky52

daveywavey08 wrote: »

I heard Gabriel Moylan was barred from Cafe Mocha the other day. Say it ain't so, he's a gas man. Apparently he was consistently buying one coffee and sitting outside for the day and the staff finally got sick of it and he has moved shop to the café in Dunnes.

Actually saw him walking through Dunnes yesterday evening. So looks like he the big fella with the blue trenchcoat's replacement for the Dunnes Cafe. Thats perfect, coz theres lots of people walking by which is ideal for him becuase he likes to say hello alot.

Heard him say "Hey Champ" or is it "Hey Chap"?

MyPeopleDrankTheSoup

I believe that it was Gabriel Moylan and not Eamonn Taaffe who scored the last minute goal in the All-Ireland in '95

buck65

drunken_munky52 wrote: »

Actually saw him walking through Dunnes yesterday evening. So looks like he the big fella with the blue trenchcoat's replacement for the Dunnes Cafe. Thats perfect, coz theres lots of people walking by which is ideal for him becuase he likes to say hello alot.

Heard him say "Hey Champ" or is it "Hey Chap"?

It's Champ i.e we call him The Champ

Josef Fritzl

_Arctic_ wrote: »

The mullet guy from Tesco's seems nice, just a bit unusual.

Very unusual. Next halloween I'm going to dress up as him. All I need to do is grow a mullet, buy some shorts and a bright yellow jacket.

katkin

This is a brilliant thread! The old guy with the beard, we used to call him "The Tramp" and "Gus", we named him Gus after a St. Vincent de Paul ad which starred someone very like him. Nice enough man, used to call to the door, hated answering it to him though.

Remember a story that Bowsie Casey used to leave cigarettes at his wife's grave and other's would smoke them. Also when I was young remember hearing a story about him lighting his cigarette with a twenty pound note.

Mullet guy, I remember him when he was "normal" and worked as security in Tesco, heard that he fell and banged his head or something about his head, and when he came back to work there his personality had definitely changed, don't know if there's any truth in that but he wasn't always so outgoing.

Does anyone remember a guy called Ballinger? Never saw him but apparently he was a alcoholic and homeless type, was afraid of him even though I never met or saw him, one of those crazy childhood fears, I remmeber me and others hanging around an old house and was warned by the mother that Ballinger might be in there, hmmm, maybe my mother made him up? She wasn't that imaginative though.

Josef Fritzl

I remember the days when Mullet Man used to mop the floors in Tesco, must be the best part of ten years ago. I heard his wife left him and his life went downhill hence the state he is in now.

Another famous Ennis guy (and I think he might have been mentioned earlier) was The Staring Man. He used to carry a newspaper and stare for hours on end at the passing by traffic, often near the Mill Road. Haven't seen him in a very long time...

goingpostal

Does anyone know what became of Aaron Esley, the elvis impersonator? I haven't seen or heard anything about him in an age.

Stuxnet

goingpostal wrote: »

Does anyone know what became of Aaron Esley, the elvis impersonator? I haven't seen or heard anything about him in an age.

we had a thread for that very question many moons ago !!

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055508411

my investigations at the time got me this...

AN Elvis impersonator in court on driving charges insisted on being referred to as Aaron Esley.

The man, whose birth name is Hubert Hubert may refer to:

* The European family name Hubert and first name.
* As a family name it is explained as an abbreviation of Hubertz (Yiddish and Sorbian form of Huberowitz) meaning "Houber's son" or "(son) of Heber" or simply


..... Click the link for more information. Armstrong, was asked by Judge Timothy Lucey about his name at Kildysart This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. District Court in Co Clare.

He replied: "I am Aaron Esley. Hubert Armstrong died 23 years ago."

The entertainer, who is well known in Co Clare for his tribute show to The King, was charged with giving gardai a false name in February 2002.

In his defence he said: "I gave my name to the garda as Aaron Esley, which I am.

"I have appeared on national TV and radio as Aaron Esley and will be going on tour again."

The charge was struck out by Judge Lucey along with further charges of driving without insurance and a licence.

The summonses were adjusted to read Hubert Armstrong aka Aaron Esley.

Elvis' full name was Elvis Aaron Presley.

emanresu

Correction of above post follows to make it easier to read:

BOBBY wrote: »

AN Elvis impersonator in court on driving charges insisted on being referred to as Aaron Esley.

The man, whose birth name is Hubert Hubert may refer to:
* The European family name Hubert and first name.
* As a family name it is explained as an abbreviation of Hubertz (Yiddish and Sorbian form of Huberowitz) meaning "Houber's son" or "(son) of Heber" or simply
..... Click the link for more information. Armstrong, was asked by Judge Timothy Lucey about his name at Kildysart This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. District Court in Co Clare.

He replied: "I am Aaron Esley. Hubert Armstrong died 23 years ago."

The entertainer, who is well known in Co Clare for his tribute show to The King, was charged with giving gardai a false name in February 2002.

In his defence he said: "I gave my name to the garda as Aaron Esley, which I am.

"I have appeared on national TV and radio as Aaron Esley and will be going on tour again."

The charge was struck out by Judge Lucey along with further charges of driving without insurance and a licence.

The summonses were adjusted to read Hubert Armstrong aka Aaron Esley.

Elvis' full name was Elvis Aaron Presley.

D4RK ONION

What a fantastic thread, this deserves a sticky

I live near the sister/brother-in-law of the Mullet/Clarecastle guy and I think he's hilarious although I think that family have pretty much disowned him, their loss.

icewitch

Poor mullet guy is actually nice guy just a little bit high on life, met him one day and he asked me to give him a hug...don't know him from adam, told him i was too busy and ran! ( think his name is Gabriel ). I heard he was actually reported to the guards for harassing women in temple gate lane, he always drinks coffee in mocha and was shouting hello after them. A friend of mine was in a coffee shop in waterford one day and there he was!! As for old guy, rumour i heard was that he was professor in limerick, rich well educated etc...don't know what happened him. Does anyone remember the nacker guy red face and flaming red hair was always drunk and shouting at people in enzo's and supermacs. I think he is the guy who actually set fire to himself.

firesidechat

icewitch wrote: »

Does anyone remember the nacker guy

You could have used a different adjective there.

Stuxnet

The Champ is a very nice man, small bit cracked but sure what harm, always has a big hello or wave for everybody

as for a better adjective, could actually be more elaborate ? we have tons of itinerants in this town