"He was a Character"

posturingpat

Random enough thread but something that dawned on me over the weekend whilst having a pint with some older gentlemen was how they recalled old "characters" that had left the area or passed away.

The thing i noticed was all these apparent characters were pretty much wastes of space,below i have the 4 categories that generally consisted of said characters(often a character was more than one of these by the way)

Chronic gambler:
These would be spending their last few bob on a greyhound in Youghal prior to xmas rather than getting a turkey for the families dinner and would end up going to the mother in laws for Christmas dinner or getting a lend of a few pound of a friend and never pay it back.

Raging alcoholic:
Would spend most if not every day in the pub getting full to the brim with drink before wandering around the town drunk and shouting random comments as people went about their business and did a bit of shopping or worked etc. meanwhile his children are up in the house freezing and starving.

Lazy layabout:
The lad that wouldn't work on batteries, always had an excuse why he was unemployed, was given opportunites numbers of times when lads had gotten him a bit of work on a site only for him to not turn up for work 2 days later "ah jays lad i done in me shoulder i'll not be able"

The Violent lad:
Ah he might be violent on occassion but he's a lovely lad "usually" and full of the craic a real "character".
Forget about the half dozen charges of assault or the time he left a man needing a full new set of teeth because he dared spill a pint on him. Sure he once helped you move your furniture into your new house and he has quite a witty retort at times so certainly a character and not a deranged loonatic :rolleyes:

Are these kind of characters commonplace? Do we Irish idolise gob****es this much?

learn_more

Good point. Well presented.

The flying mouse

Sure don't we all be getting nostalgic about the good old days and the characters, once there dead and gone.

5rtytry56

Which one are you posturingpat?

I say lazy layabout, posting poo threads in AH at teatime myself.

posturingpat

5rtytry56 wrote: »

Which one are you posturingpat?

I say lazy layabout, posting poo threads in AH at teatime myself.

None unfortunately, not character material it would seem

ClovenHoof

It is a nice term to replace another term for these people which also starts with the letter 'C'.

5rtytry56

I think you left out the tossers, toerags, and douchbag character types.

beks101

It's the diplomatic way of saying he was an arsehole without disrespecting the dead.

goose2005

yes, look at "Characters" like Bang-Bang and Johnny Fortycoats who were obviously seriously mentally ill

xzanti

Jimmy Saville. The ultimate 'character'.

fizzypish

Character: Someone who generates stories. Not necessarily good. Good to know of these people for the purpose of conversation, horrific to actually hang out with. Pub near my home place is a character haven. Impossible to be in that pub sober for more than 5 minutes. Full of head reckers, possible violence or just plain old odd balls.

Agricola

I remember a distant cousin of my father paying a visit one summer, years ago. He was a "character" to the core! Kind of fella who would have everyone in a pub rolling in the aisles 10 minutes after walking in and already have the barman on his Christmas card list.

He also never had a steady job in 30 odd years and got through a bottle of gin on most days of the week

Calling someone a "character" means they're the kind of guy who'd dip his balls in your pint when you go to the bathroom.

Canis Lupus

Deleted User wrote: »

Calling someone a "character" means they're the kind of guy who'd dip his balls in your pint when you go to the bathroom.

What's not funny about that?

Renegade Mechanic

Canis Lupus wrote: »

What's not funny about that?

I want to see another "character" kick his legs out while he's hovering over the glass.

fizzypish

Deleted User wrote: »

Calling someone a "character" means they're the kind of guy who'd dip his balls in your pint when you go to the bathroom.

Sounds like my mates. Bring your pint with you. Never leave anything that means anything to you in plain sight or let them know if something means anything to you. Example:
GF disliked a blue hoody of mine and told my mates to get rid of it in the pub. Mates took it to the toilet and I don't know what happened after that.
Or
Got a make your own digital watch one x mass. Made it and was proud as punch. They realized this and Que me waking up the next day to find my watch in the shower with a **** on top of it.

gramar

fizzypish wrote: »

Sounds like my mates. Bring your pint with you. Never leave anything that means anything to you in plain sight or let them know if something means anything to you. Example:
GF disliked a blue hoody of mine and told my mates to get rid of it in the pub. Mates took it to the toilet and I don't know what happened after that.
Or
Got a make your own digital watch one x mass. Made it and was proud as punch. They realized this and Que me waking up the next day to find my watch in the shower with a **** on top of it.

I think you mates are less in the character category and more in the cúnt category.

fizzypish

gramar wrote: »

I think you mates are less in the character category and more in the cúnt category.

Lol. At times yes but the advantage of having friends like this is you develop a thick skin. Good people though.

Gadgetman496

fizzypish wrote: »

Good people though.

Your standards seem pretty low

fizzypish

Gadgetman496 wrote: »

Your standards seem pretty low

Nope. Just cos we **** with each other doesn't mean we don't have each others back.

Renegade Mechanic

fizzypish wrote: »

Lol. At times yes but the advantage of having friends like this is you develop a thick skin. Good people though.

This. And most people's "friends" would dissappear or even throw them under the bus if something genuinely nasty kicked off.
That won't happen with yours.

sbsquarepants

fizzypish wrote: »

Nope. Just cos we **** with each other doesn't mean we don't have each others back.

Call me old fashioned, but anyone who shíts in my shower is getting a good kicking! Your friends sound like proper dicks.

Glenster

Chronic gambler: - anyone I know who gambles also works so they could be in debt, but they're surviving

Raging alcoholic: - Its too expensive to be a 'going out' alcoholic these days, all my mates might be drinking a bottle of vodka a night to take the edge off, but if they do I don't see it.

Lazy layabout: - I don't know any unemployed people really, and I certainly wouldn't hang out with them, sure what would we do? sit in the park?

The Violent lad: - I know lads who'd get a bit lairy on a night out, maybe one or two borderline gobsh!tes who'd throw a box if hammered, but I know no one who'd actually hurt anyone else, probably because he'd get pulled off before he did any damage.

Are these kind of characters commonplace? Do we Irish idolise gob****es this much? -So I don't know any of these people really, maybe the cracks start to show when people get a bit older, or they're more visible in small towns. I don't know any young lads in Dublin like that.

Glenster

fizzypish wrote: »

Que me waking up the next day to find my watch in the shower with a **** on top of it.

That's just funny though, particularly if it was a rotten watch and you were really proud of it.

OldGoat

If the characters in your local pub all have negative traits I'd suggest changing venue.

5rtytry56

Gone off boards a few years but I wonder what a poster like OldHippy would write in this thread.

Ash.J.Williams

here's todays "character" grand lad plays GAA....
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/you-treated-me-like-a-rag-doll-jail-for-young-man-who-raped-fellow-partygoer-who-was-comatose-from-alcohol-35305805.html

team_actimel

I don't mind the odd harmless character, they inject a bit of life into the mundane! I would never call someone a waste of space though, I think that's the lowest of the low insult.

Dyr

fizzypish wrote: »

Nope. Just cos we **** with each other doesn't mean we don't have each others back.

You have each others backs?

Are yiz drug dealers or just gob****es?

Dyr

5rtytry56 wrote: »

Gone off boards a few years but I wonder what a poster like OldHippy would write in this thread.

Apparently he had to be humanely destroyed the day after the US election

Cortina_MK_IV

Raging alcoholic:
Would spend most if not every day in the pub getting full to the brim with drink before wandering around the town drunk and shouting random comments as people went about their business and did a bit of shopping or worked etc. meanwhile his children are up in the house freezing and starving.

Sounds a bit like my old father-in-law only he'd have a few pints and jump into a truck and speed home. He was a "character" or a "gas fella." He didn't pay tax, drew the dole and got his wages into his hand. I don't like to speak ill of the dead but he was a pox bottle of the highest order and a waste of blood and organs.

Cee-Jay-Cee

He was a character is code for he was a drunken prick that made a fool of himself every time he left the house and would entertain the patrons in the local pub by singing old songs and talking ****e. Every town has them, when they alive they're known as wino's and bums. When they die, they're known as "characters"

K-9

A chancer, up to any scam or scheme to make a few pound, often found in FF circles, especially the Galway tent.