The Black Eye - Ewan McKenna

Ewan MacKenna, the man likes to attack people on Twitter, then when called out plays the victim. He said sorry and that it was a mistake, he seems to make a lot of mistakes!!!! He does not like debate and blocks people who try to converse with him if they appear to have a logical point to his opinion. He gets offended if some name calls him yet feels it’s ok to call Varadkar a Cnut. My own opinion is he is doing it to stay relevant, not sure if he’s an Indo employee or a freelance journalist now. There’s no such thing as bad publicity.

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

He could definitely do with some serious editing anyway. He's had a few 2 and a half hour episodes. That's a serious commitment to listen to when most people have to fit in other podcasts as well.

Needs to bin his monologues.

Latest Ewan McKenna Black Eye podcast.

He does a ten minute monologue every episode and nails the Irish response to Covid in last weeks one from 31:30.

This was before the latest ridiculous contradictory lockdown restrictions and Golfgate. This week's episode should be good.

https://tortoiseshack.ie/collateral-damage/

A special pod came up on my feed today from the guys at the tortoise shack. They had a chap on talking about anti semitism. God love him I had to turn it off. He has an awful speech impediment or something. He spoke like a broken record. It was uncomfortable to listen to. He didnt stammer, but repeated the end of every sentence.

Higgins5473 wrote: »

Ok, but is that the end of the podcast?

haven't heard one since September. Hiatus?

Sweet.Science wrote: »

Its unhinged the way he goes on .

So many times this year I have thought about muting him on Twitter but haven't yet, and still follow him. For now.

I was a Tribune reader when he started there and argued for many years that he was an up and coming Paul Kimmage and that we needed journalists who didn't see themselves as fans with type-writers but I can't really defend him any more.

And I'm way past looking towards his work to be informed or enlightened or even entertained. The heading invariably tells you exactly the tone of the piece and it will be judgemental, aggressive and outright insulting towards anything which remotely can be seen to be 'convention' or 'the elite'.

Rugby, FAI, GAA, Horse Racing, Premier League, Media, any story from these areas will include the claim that the elites are there only because of where they come from or what they look or sound like, they are more interested in maintaining the status quo and exploiting everyone else. It'll then go on to say how people supporting these are clapping seals who don't realise what they are doing and he has been ostracised because he calls it as he sees it. He is closer to being 'she who must not be named' than he is Paul Kimmage at this point. And I take no pleasure in writing that.

We need journalists to expose corrupt, illegal, exploitative behaviour (Mark Tighe on JD for example), and I have no interest in simple fan-club pieces for the most part but I no longer expect Ewan to uncover or outline unfair or unreasonable behaviour, I expect him to just rant that it is going on, and sure what would you expect and if a negative angle isn't readily apparent, to just create it. In March, he was aghast at Cheltenham and said that the thousands who would die would be on the hands of Harris and Varadkar and recently he is laughing at the ineptitude in Ireland having a lockdown while apparently they're still partying like it's 2019 where he is living.

At least Kimmage can write a piece highlighting his joy in something or his admiration for a sporting act or skill in the middle of his pieces on unsavoury behaviour, Ewan, at the moment is all sour, no sweet.

Tell me how wrote: »

So many times this year I have thought about muting him on Twitter but haven't yet, and still follow him. For now.

I was a Tribune reader when he started there and argued for many years that he was an up and coming Paul Kimmage and that we needed journalists who didn't see themselves as fans with type-writers but I can't really defend him any more.

And I'm way past looking towards his work to be informed or enlightened or even entertained. The heading invariably tells you exactly the tone of the piece and it will be judgemental, aggressive and outright insulting towards anything which remotely can be seen to be 'convention' or 'the elite'.

Rugby, FAI, GAA, Horse Racing, Premier League, Media, any story from these areas will include the claim that the elites are there only because of where they come from or what they look or sound like, they are more interested in maintaining the status quo and exploiting everyone else. It'll then go on to say how people supporting these are clapping seals who don't realise what they are doing and he has been ostracised because he calls it as he sees it. He is closer to being 'she who must not be named' than he is Paul Kimmage at this point. And I take no pleasure in writing that.

We need journalists to expose corrupt, illegal, exploitative behaviour (Mark Tighe on JD for example), and I have no interest in simple fan-club pieces for the most part but I no longer expect Ewan to uncover or outline unfair or unreasonable behaviour, I expect him to just rant that it is going on, and sure what would you expect and if a negative angle isn't readily apparent, to just create it. In March, he was aghast at Cheltenham and said that the thousands who would die would be on the hands of Harris and Varadkar and recently he is laughing at the ineptitude in Ireland having a lockdown while apparently they're still partying like it's 2019 where he is living.

At least Kimmage can write a piece highlighting his joy in something or his admiration for a sporting act or skill in the middle of his pieces on unsavoury behaviour, Ewan, at the moment is all sour, no sweet.

Pretty much the nail on the head there . I unfollowed on Twitter as it became too much for me it was actually getting me down . Funny you mention G O'D. It really is a slippery slope that people can go down .

hermano wrote: »

Hes going off on one with rte. Trying to claim he lost his job in the Irish media for "for questioning the government and NPHET very rationally". Ya lost your job coz no one wants to listen to you whinge and moan about absolute everything.

Who was he working for in Ireland?

hermano wrote: »

Hes going off on one with rte. Trying to claim he lost his job in the Irish media for "for questioning the government and NPHET very rationally". Ya lost your job coz no one wants to listen to you whinge and moan about absolute everything.

Brock Turnpike wrote: »

Who was he working for in Ireland?

He used to be a frequent enough contributor on the Hard Shoulder on Newstalk and also on Off The Ball.

I think himself and Ger are from the same town in Kildare and I remember him on OTB once and Ger telling him that he was looking forward to having a pint next time Ewan was home.

I find it very frustrating because he has alienated himself with the vociferousness of his negativity and taking joy in pointing it out. He could have maintained a pretty consistent niche from himself as a 'voice from abroad' type contributor but he alone is responsible for poisoning that well. And again, I'm not saying he should be all sweet and towing the positive line on everything but he's like someone who would come in the door and point out the negatives about the dinner his partner put down in front of him rather than be thankful they did so, or notice all the good things about it.

I finally had enough and muted him on the night of the Presidential Election in the US, every time I looked at Twitter as Trump surged in to the lead with walk in ballot results, it was another gleeful tweet from Ewan saying how much of a fcuk up the Democrats had made in selecting Biden, how they only had themselves to blame, how America was going to implode and it was their fault.