The Pat Kenny Show

Callan57 · 19-06-2019 2:22pm

serfboard wrote: »

God, that's pretty bad. Might as well ask why every village isn't as successful as Westport. These towns are exceptional.

Only based on your description, I'm going to infer what Healy might have been trying to say. There are some towns where Begrudgery rules supreme - and anyone trying to do anything positive is looked on suspiciously, and rather than help out, the locals just bitch about the proactive person(s).

On the other hand, there are some great towns which don't have have the luck of location and planning, with fantastically community-aware people, trying to do their best with what they've got.

In other words, Healy may have a point, but Dingle was a bad example to use in trying to prove it.

Didn't I read lately that Dingle was having difficulty fielding a football team due to the fact that house prices were forcing local families to move further and further from the town.

But I agree with you begrudgery and inertia are killing rural Ireland. If you have a look around the towns that are doing well invariably it is outsiders (or foreigners

) driving them on. You can be too close to the wood to see the trees!

Tell me how · 19-06-2019 10:59pm

Callan57 wrote: »

But I agree with you begrudgery and inertia are killing rural Ireland. If you have a look around the towns that are doing well invariably it is outsiders (or foreigners ) driving them on. You can be too close to the wood to see the trees!

If you were Taoiseach for a day, what initiative would you try to implement in order to help rural Ireland?

Me (just thinking out loud here)- I would heavily subsidise premises in order to allow businesses to operate in designated areas.
I think we have to as a country try to encourage the mid-tier towns to attract more business in order to try to keep people in the vicinity rather than moving to bigger cities or travelling there for work. If they have to travel to a city (Cork,Limerick, Waterford, Galway, Sligo etc), I would look at heavily subsidised frequent public transport from satelitte areas at rush hour to help people getting to/from work in an efficient manner.

I flew in to Shannon yesterday, there's a heavy marketing drive trying to get people to look to the West (ie outside of Dublin) and these sort of campaigns need to be supported with meaningful strategies.

If rural Ireland is empty, what do we do with it?

Odyssey 2005 · 21-06-2019 9:11am

Tuned in a few minutes ago. P. Donoghue is not a way to start a nice weekend. Tuned out immediately.

21-06-2019 4:58pm

serfboard wrote: »

God, that's pretty bad. Might as well ask why every village isn't as successful as Westport. These towns are exceptional.

Only based on your description, I'm going to infer what Healy might have been trying to say. There are some towns where Begrudgery rules supreme - and anyone trying to do anything positive is looked on suspiciously, and rather than help out, the locals just bitch about the proactive person(s).

On the other hand, there are some great towns which don't have have the luck of location and planning, with fantastically community-aware people, trying to do their best with what they've got.

In other words, Healy may have a point, but Dingle was a bad example to use in trying to prove it.

You're right, and I don't believe Healy was trying to say that every town can emulate Dingle. But he seems to think they all have the capacity for an equal commercial success, off their own steam, however they go about it. I don't share that optimism. With all the goodwill in the world, and with all local shoulders to the wheel, there is a limit to how many towns can be tourist/ finance/ IT/ pharma hotspots.

The reason is simple, There is a finite capacity for growth & investment potential within the economy and within various sectors; an equitable distribution of employment has to mean central planning. It is cloud-cuckoo nonsense to suggest that every town can become some organic, commercial success. There must be oversight and national planning for all parts of Ireland to plan and succeed together.

You're quite right about inter-regional begrudgery though. That's a real issue.

21-06-2019 5:14pm

Tell me how wrote: »

If rural Ireland is empty, what do we do with it?

If you ask me, there's a solution staring us in the face, and that is decentralisation of the civil service.

It would amount to a direct transfer of national wealth to the regions without any of the moral hazard that a direct cash transfer might (arguably, already does) involve.

We just need to allow it to develop over phases that are way beyond the normal election term (therefore diluting its political utility; this bores politicians, I'm afraid), and establish a genuinely impartial commission which will acquire lands and buildings outside of any political influence.

Callan57 · 21-06-2019 5:21pm

Tell me how wrote: »

If you were Taoiseach for a day, what initiative would you try to implement in order to help rural Ireland?

A proper programme of decentralisation of government departments would be a start ... and I mean entire departments not just a handful of piddly entry level positions scattered to the four winds.

Personally I think the right idea would be to set up a new administrative capital in Mid-West and leave Dublin as the cultural capital ... this would go some way to rebalancing the country & prevent the East tipping into the Irish Sea.

kazamo · 26-06-2019 10:33am

Liam Doran might have retired but he's certainly still fighting the fight.

elperello · 26-06-2019 9:11pm

kazamo wrote: »

Liam Doran might have retired but he's certainly still fighting the fight.

Great media contributor.
He must be enjoying his retirement but I'm sure he would be welcome as a regular guest.

Beechwoodspark · 27-06-2019 9:05am

Bobby Kerr on this morn. Voice as croaky as ever

Ursus Horribilis · 27-06-2019 10:17pm

Is there really nobody better Newstalk can get to present this when Pat's away?

kneemos · 27-06-2019 10:27pm

Ursus Horribilis wrote: »

Is there really nobody better Newstalk can get to present this when Pat's away?

It's not Bobby Kerr anyway,whatever about Healy.

Beechwoodspark · 27-06-2019 10:28pm

The half hour or so I heard this morn was exactly like his show down to business.

kneemos · 27-06-2019 10:39pm

They used to have new talent doing stand ins. Musical chairs these days.

Yer man on Sunday Mornings ain't too bad, probably has a day job though.

Melodeon · 28-06-2019 9:04am

Pat's back, horray!!!

Uncharted · 28-06-2019 9:04am

Welcome back PK

Technocentral · 28-06-2019 1:23pm

Melodeon wrote:

Pat's back, horray!!!

Damn havent tuned in since Monday as thought it would be Healy all week.

08-07-2019 4:36pm

Just listening back to today's show now, and managed to confirm my sighting of Robert Fisk this morning!

I was in a cafe near Grafton Street this morning, on the mitch from work, and there was a man beside me whom I thought was a dead ringer for Robert Fisk. I was musing on how interesting it would be to meet the man who was on first-name terms with bin Laden, but thought no more about it.

Then I listened back to the podcast, and Robert Fisk was indeed in studio in Dublin, and must have just left Newstalk Towers when I saw him.

Great interview, too; well worth a listen back. I have a pact with myself never to go up to and annoy anyone famous, with two exceptions, Robert Fisk and Geri Halliwell -- two very similar individuals, for their experiences of great fighting and conflict.

Lucky for Robert Fisk. But what a missed opportunity for me.

His book PITY THE NATION made me want to be a war reporter, and now I am a moderator on the radio forum, which is kind of the same thing.

Do listen back to that interview if you haven't heard it. He has some fascinating insights, as usual.

Tell me how · 08-07-2019 4:39pm

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Do listen back to that interview if you haven't heard it. He has some fascinating insights, as usual.

Heard it live. Very good piece.
He's forgotten more about the middle East than some experts know, as the saying goes.

08-07-2019 5:57pm

Tell me how wrote: »

Heard it live. Very good piece.
He's forgotten more about the middle East than some experts know, as the saying goes.

So true. His knowledge is encyclopedic. He must be a prolific note-taker, because the content of his books are incredibly detailed. The book about the great war for civilisation (can't remember the exact title) is like a political Ulysses. It is exhausting. I still haven't managed to finish it.

Oh to have a brain like that at the age of 72.

serfboard · 08-07-2019 5:59pm

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

His book PITY THE NATION made me want to be a war reporter, and now I am a moderator on the radio forum, which is kind of the same thing.

Jaysus - I know you're joking, but that's a stretch

Grolschevik · 08-07-2019 6:09pm

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Great interview, too; well worth a listen back. I have a pact with myself never to go up to and annoy anyone famous, with two exceptions, Robert Fisk and Geri Halliwell -- two very similar individuals, for their experiences of great fighting and conflict.

Side note! I actually used to be Facebook 'friends' with her and actually had some interaction, back when she had a personal page rather than an 'artist' page.

ButtersSuki · 08-07-2019 6:13pm

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Just listening back to today's show now, and managed to confirm my sighting of Robert Fisk this morning!

I was in a cafe near Grafton Street this morning, on the mitch from work, and there was a man beside me whom I thought was a dead ringer for Robert Fisk. I was musing on how interesting it would be to meet the man who was on first-name terms with bin Laden, but thought no more about it.

Then I listened back to the podcast, and Robert Fisk was indeed in studio in Dublin, and must have just left Newstalk Towers when I saw him.

Great interview, too; well worth a listen back. I have a pact with myself never to go up to and annoy anyone famous, with two exceptions, Robert Fisk and Geri Halliwell -- two very similar individuals, for their experiences of great fighting and conflict.

Lucky for Robert Fisk. But what a missed opportunity for me.

His book PITY THE NATION made me want to be a war reporter, and now I am a moderator on the radio forum, which is kind of the same thing.

Do listen back to that interview if you haven't heard it. He has some fascinating insights, as usual.

Wat colour was de buke?

08-07-2019 7:55pm

Grolschevik wrote: »

Side note! I actually used to be Facebook 'friends' with her and actually had some interaction, back when she had a personal page rather than an 'artist' page.

Who added whom?!

Grolschevik · 08-07-2019 8:51pm

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Who added whom?!

Technically, she added. But only because I requested. I may have my Facebook etiquette terminology confused...

mzungu · 08-07-2019 9:29pm

Robert Fisk is top notch.

Essential for anybody that has an interest in the politics (& history) of the region.

Tell me how · 08-07-2019 9:34pm

mzungu wrote: »

Robert Fisk is top notch.

Essential for anybody that has an interest in the politics (history) of the region.

I only gave his book "The Great War for Civilisation" to a charity shop on Friday, listening to him this morning made me think of going back for it.

08-07-2019 9:41pm

Tell me how wrote: »

I only gave his book "The Great War for Civilisation" to a charity shop on Friday, listening to him this morning made me think of going back for it.

Did you manage to finish it? Tell me you didn't, so I won't feel so stupid.

At one stage, I had to start writing notes (minor biographies) of the hundreds of characters in that epic, such was the level of detail, so I could refer back to them.

And it's not artificially-retained knowledge, if you get my drift. In any of his features on the PK show, he recounts facts and figures with incredible detail and exactness. He must have a photographic memory. Does anyone know if he's in town for an event?

Lara Marlowe is giving a talk in Farmleigh on Saturday, but it's hardly that. But maybe.

Imagine what their dinner-table conversations were like?

'How was your day Lara?'
'I was shot at and was late filing my copy for the NYT, and yours Robert ?'
'I was almost kidnapped but I managed to bribe the ringleader. More gravy?'

Technocentral · 09-07-2019 9:08am

Perhaps the most boring interview in history with that Tidy bloke.

QueensGael · 09-07-2019 10:14am

I had the chance to speak with Robert Fisk at a book signing in New York when I lived there years ago (around 2005 I think). He speaks cúpla focail, which surprised and intrigued me! He's such an interesting person, his books are well worth working through. I've read "Pity the Nation" and "The Great War for Civilisation", although it took me much longer than usual - I had to put them down a few times as I was so frustrated and upset at what he was describing. The kind of books that stay with you...

Tell me how · 09-07-2019 10:16am

QueensGael wrote: »

I had the chance to speak with Robert Fisk at a book signing in New York when I lived there years ago (around 2005 I think). He speaks cúpla focail, which surprised and intrigued me! He's such an interesting person, his books are well worth working through. I've read "Pity the Nation" and "The Great War for Civilisation", although it took me much longer than usual - I had to put them down a few times as I was so frustrated and upset at what he was describing. The kind of books that stay with you...

Stop rubbing it in!

:(:(

Tell me how wrote: »

I only gave his book "The Great War for Civilisation" to a charity shop on Friday, listening to him this morning made me think of going back for it.

mattser · 10-07-2019 9:23am

Female guest quoting €170 for a pair of jeans, rising to €230 with no deal brexit.
" Buy your jeans in Penneys " says Pat. Nice one Pat.

Beechwoodspark · 10-07-2019 9:27am

Verona on again.

She’s certainly someone who’s benefitting from Brexit. Never heard of her before.

Callan57 · 10-07-2019 10:59am

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

Verona on again.

She’s certainly someone who’s benefitting from Brexit. Never heard of her before.

Brexit is definitely benefitting her profile without doubt ... more luck to her:)

Technocentral · 10-07-2019 12:00pm

That Go Loud ad is totally obnoxious.

kneemos · 10-07-2019 12:02pm

Technocentral wrote: »

That Go Loud ad is totally obnoxious.

Bearable in the radio,just. On the phone it attacks your ears.

dominatinMC · 10-07-2019 12:14pm

Technocentral wrote:

That Go Loud ad is totally obnoxious.

Horrendous! I immediately change channel everytime I hear it. What marketing guru thought that would be a good idea. Then again, here we are talking about it I suppose...bad publicity is still publicity and all that.

Technocentral · 10-07-2019 1:43pm

Season 2 wrote:

Good healthy contempt for the DUP from parliament.

dominatinMC wrote:

Horrendous! I immediately change channel everytime I hear it. What marketing guru thought that would be a good idea. Then again, here we are talking about it I suppose...bad publicity is still publicity and all that.

Id never download their app due to that asinine nonsense.

Technocentral · 11-07-2019 10:23am

After Brendan O' Carroll Doyle is the least funny Irish person. Unless the repeated use of ****e floats your boat.

Tell me how · 11-07-2019 11:04am

Technocentral wrote: »

After Brendan O' Carroll Doyle is the least funny Irish person. Unless the repeated use of ****e floats your boat.

His Barrytown trilogy is part of our national cultural heritage.

It's become popular to decry all famous comedians/writers/artists as rubbish, just because.

Brendan O'Carroll, Brendan Grace (RIP), Des Bishop, Tommy Tiernan, and so on. All terrible apparently, despite their success.

Technocentral · 11-07-2019 11:18am

Tell me how wrote:

It's become popular to decry all famous comedians/writers/artists as rubbish, just because.

I dont know about everyone else, I only decry them if their stuff is basic, unfunny crap. Popularity does not equal good necessarily.

Technocentral · 11-07-2019 11:20am

Tell me how wrote:

His Barrytown trilogy is part of our national cultural heritage.

Says who? Behan and Flann O Brien's work yes, his, not so much.

11-07-2019 11:30am

Tell me how wrote: »

His Barrytown trilogy is part of our national cultural heritage.

It's become popular to decry all famous comedians/writers/artists as rubbish, just because.

Brendan O'Carroll, Brendan Grace (RIP), Des Bishop, Tommy Tiernan, and so on. All terrible apparently, despite their success.

Can't decide whether I agree with you or not.

It certainly is an ugly national habit that we talk-down some of our most famous people, many of whom are only celebrated abroad.

The only problem with that observation, is that every object of our eye-rolling then lumps himself/ herself into the bracket of victimhood. Westlife really was pretty sh1te. No, Joe Duffy isn't a talented writer. Des Bishop isn't funny. On the other hand, U2 are genuinely talented, so were the Cranberries; so is Hozier.

We're not completely incapable of ackowledging talent. We can be too negative. But we do also like to point-out a chancer when we see one.

plodder · 11-07-2019 12:09pm

Technocentral wrote: »

I dont know about everyone else, I only decry them if their stuff is basic, unfunny crap. Popularity does not equal good necessarily.

Can something be good, if nobody likes it?

Nearly 30 years after it was written, they don't seem to have problems filling the gate theatre for a long run of The Snapper. Must mean something.

meeeeh · 11-07-2019 12:20pm

I read some of kids books Doyle wrote and they really enjoyed them and more importantly kids loved them. I'm not that into comedy and I can't change the channel quickly enough when I see Brendan O'Carroll but he found his market. So did Brendan Grace or Westlife for that matter. They are all successful at what they do but they are also harmless. There is a lot more dross on tv that I wouldn't want my kids to see than those.

Tell me how · 11-07-2019 1:02pm

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Can't decide whether I agree with you or not.

It certainly is an ugly national habit that we talk-down some of our most famous people, many of whom are only celebrated abroad.

The only problem with that observation, is that every object of our eye-rolling then lumps himself/ herself into the bracket of victimhood. Westlife really was pretty sh1te. No, Joe Duffy isn't a talented writer. Des Bishop isn't funny. On the other hand, U2 are genuinely talented, so were the Cranberries; so is Hozier.

We're not completely incapable of ackowledging talent. We can be too negative. But we do also like to point-out a chancer when we see one.

See, this is the thing.
Perception of talent is subjective to a degree but must also be considered in terms of public appeal, success and longevity.

I do consider Des Bishop funny and would not be so quick to categorically suggest Hozier is talented in the same category as U2 or SOC (I'm not saying he's untalented, just that isn't a given in my view).

But do say someone is rubbish when they're work has been widely successful, as Roddy Doyle's has been, is putting too much weight in someone's own subjective opinion.

11-07-2019 1:11pm

Tell me how wrote: »

See, this is the thing.
Perception of talent is subjective to a degree but must also be considered in terms of public appeal, success and longevity.

I do consider Des Bishop funny and would not be so quick to categorically suggest Hozier is talented in the same category as U2 or SOC (I'm not saying he's untalented, just that isn't a given in my view).

But do say someone is rubbish when they're work has been widely successful, as Roddy Doyle's has been, is putting too much weight in someone's own subjective opinion.

Perception of talent certainly is objective. Westlife is more popular internationally than Luke Kelly was, and the Sunday World is far more popular than The Times (Ireland), now defunct, which was a newspaper with really impressive journalism.

Nobody will dispute that the performers you mentioned were popular. I think this is getting off the point, somewhat? You raised an interesting question about talking-down national talent. We certainly do that.

My only point is that sometimes our sweeping criticism is deserved.

By the way, I'm not talking about Brendan Grace here. I'm watching clips of him on YouTube as I type. He had an undeniable comedic talent. It's more of a general point that mass appeal doesn't always mean genuine talent.

serfboard · 11-07-2019 1:35pm

Tell me how wrote: »

Perception of talent is subjective to a degree but must also be considered in terms of public appeal, success and longevity.

In examining this, though, you also have to examine the role of PR agencies and management in making a success of anybody.

"Talent will out" is not true. There are plenty of talented people who have never made it, and plenty of barely talented people who have.

Here's Withnail on the subject:

Withnail wrote:

I've been to drama school. I'm good looking. I tell you, I've a fúck sight more talent that half the rubbish that gets on television. Why can't I get on television?

Withnail wrote:

What happened to my cigar commercial? What happened to my agent? Bastard must have died.

and of course, there could be other reasons for success ...

Withnail wrote:

Oh, look at this little bastard. "Boy lands plum role for top Italian director" Course he does! Probably on a tenner a day, and I know what for! 2 pound 10 a tit and a fiver for his arse!

Technocentral · 11-07-2019 3:45pm

Three way tie with Spinal Tap and Annie Hall as funniest film ever!

jeremyj1968 · 15-07-2019 10:10am

Healy in for two weeks, in case anybody is wondering.

dominatinMC · 15-07-2019 10:13am

jeremyj1968 wrote: »

Healy in for two weeks, in case anybody is wondering.

Thanks for the heads up, I haven't turned the radio on yet this morning, and now I won't be...for two weeks! :pac:

The Pat Kenny Show

Comments