From reading all the vitriol directed at certain Presidential candidates, I ask the question, is the Irish media and by extension the Irish people, obsessed with things that don't really matter? Today for example we had Gay Mitchell hounded for a remark (The Liffey bridge gaffe) which means very little. The media and some sections of Irish society are making an absolute storm out of it, but he meant it in an entirely innocent context and it has been blown out of proportion.

Granted some of the criticism levelled at Norris is entirely justified, but the media is picking up on things, which really warrant very little attention, and it smacks of desperation. Are we that desperate for news as a nation?

Sergeant_Slash (Cavan) - Posts: 2182 - 04/10/2011 12:10:05    1046093

that liffey thing is laughable im surprised it gets any airtime. clemency letters i couldnt care less about it as we all know that any TD or senator would write a bog standard letter for anyone as a matter of their duty so i couldnt care less about clemency letters. whether sean gallagher was a FF man or not again is completely irrelavant, and how much mary davis recieved for doing a job is again absolutely stupid. i think they will have a job to dig up some trivial nonsense on michael (he would be guarnteed my vote but alas he is too close to the unions who ruined this country so i simply cannnot) and poor dana well she would loved to be talked about but alas isnt worth even mentioning, i have a funny feeling she will pull out before the vote. but however some with a shady past a la mcguinness that needs to be questioned. the reality remain that we are in competition with the north as we are two seperate legal countries and if 500 jobs went to say londonderry well then that in my opinion is not the job of the president.

liathroidboy (Mayo) - Posts: 4921 - 04/10/2011 12:32:13    1046106

I would say that the brain-dead amongst are.
I refer you to America's got talent, Britian's got talent, Big brother, Celebrity big brother, Big brother's father, Strictly come
dancing, X factor, Eastenders, Fair city, Coronation street, I'm a celebrity..... etc etc. It's a plague and they are all designed
by the media to lead the easily lead, influence the easily influenced and/or keep the semi-catatonic semi-catatonic.
Why would a presidential election be any different?

RAM85 (Westmeath) - Posts: 978 - 04/10/2011 12:43:47    1046123

RAM85
County: Westmeath
Posts: 962

1046123
I would say that the brain-dead amongst are.
I refer you to America's got talent, Britian's got talent, Big brother, Celebrity big brother, Big brother's father, Strictly come
dancing, X factor, Eastenders, Fair city, Coronation street, I'm a celebrity..... etc etc. It's a plague and they are all designed
by the media to lead the easily lead, influence the easily influenced and/or keep the semi-catatonic semi-catatonic.
Why would a presidential election be any different?

Yes RAM, I agree entirely, how someone could be bothered watching such rubbish as X-Factor or Big Brother is beyond me. People nowadays have a massive spiritual void in their lives, they try and compensate by watching thrash on the TV or reading thrash newspapers. Whatever happened to Ireland being a bastion of cultural and artistic intellect. Long gone are the days of our legendary literary scholars, and they wont be returning any time soon.

Sergeant_Slash (Cavan) - Posts: 2182 - 04/10/2011 13:08:10    1046144

Judging by all the publicity this small tournament in New Zealand is getting, I'd say yes, we are a frivolous country. "We've gotten to the Quarter Finals, roysh, hurrah!" It would be worth talking about too, if there were more than 10 countries playing at a competitive level.

Seamus89 (Kilkenny) - Posts: 3848 - 04/10/2011 13:55:10    1046179

Yeah, lots of people seem obsessed with peoples sexual preferences, as if it matters in the slightest.

Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12427 - 04/10/2011 14:22:44    1046207

The general public is indeed obsessed with frivolous things. The modern 'economy' depends on people buying stuff constantly. Advertising is geared towards this obsessive consumption pattern. There is nothing new or surprising about this. It is sad and short-sighted of us but there it is.

I agree, the reality TV thing is out of control. One thing that does amaze me is that this genre has not lost its appeal yet. Surely the public will get bored of it eventually - but not while it is spewed onto every daily newspaper and even making it to the breakfast news for crying out loud.

Suas Sios (None) - Posts: 1558 - 04/10/2011 14:25:08    1046209

Seamus89
County: Kilkenny
Posts: 2319

1046179 Judging by all the publicity this small tournament in New Zealand is getting, I'd say yes, we are a frivolous country. "We've gotten to the Quarter Finals, roysh, hurrah!" It would be worth talking about too, if there were more than 10 countries playing at a competitive level.

-------------

only one country plays gaelic football competitively (london and new york are not included as the dont play a game in their home country) and we are not even the best country in the world at it- now that is embarassing! we are 5th in rugby out of 93 teams that play competitive rugby, i think this is just the kilkenny inferiority complex where they only play a minority sport down there as they cant survive at real sports like rugby and gaelic football- bless!

liathroidboy (Mayo) - Posts: 4921 - 04/10/2011 14:59:39    1046253

the Odd Mayo man obsessed with the number of posts I make despite the FACT! he posts more rubbish than anybody on here!!! Regards Fortyfive .

fortyfive (Tyrone) - Posts: 5929 - 04/10/2011 15:10:37    1046272

Seamus89
County: Kilkenny
Posts: 2319

1046179 Judging by all the publicity this small tournament in New Zealand is getting, I'd say yes, we are a frivolous country. "We've gotten to the Quarter Finals, roysh, hurrah!" It would be worth talking about too, if there were more than 10 countries playing at a competitive level.

Wrong Seamus. Nothing frivolous about what they have achieved.

Greengrass (Louth) - Posts: 6181 - 04/10/2011 16:39:39    1046359

Ireland beat the second best team in the World and have a real chance of making the World Cup final. When did the football team beat the second best team in the World? When did the football team actually beat a team that was ranked above them? Netherlands 10 years ago? Given the state of Irish football now isn't the time to be taking pot shots at Rugby

pplocal (Tyrone) - Posts: 5878 - 04/10/2011 16:49:34    1046368

Pomeroy

Soccer is vastly, immeasurably more popular than rugby. It is played by all classes, all countries, all religions, both genders...rugby is a sport for private-school boys in a handful of countries. Wales and NZ are the only two places where it's the people's game-and don't give me that nonsense about Limerick, a brief glance at the attendance figures pre-Munster mania shows clearly how little interest there was in the sport.

Over the next week, I'll have the privilege of watching Ireland do battle to try and get to a real competition. Interesting how rugby is so small-scale they don't even have enough teams to make qualifying groups, yet they manage to drag out a poor tournament by staging meaningless matches, New Zealand-v-Easter Island, oh yes, wonder who'll win that?

Seamus89 (Kilkenny) - Posts: 3848 - 04/10/2011 18:04:39    1046448

Couldnt believe your wan from Scotland didnt go through to the live finals "OMG"

b.mullins (Dublin) - Posts: 1413 - 04/10/2011 18:31:49    1046472

True people even obsess about a mythical magic wizard man who lives in the sky...

bad.monkey (USA) - Posts: 4653 - 04/10/2011 18:40:40    1046480

It's also the national sport of Georgia, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji etc. but that in many ways is irrelevant. Soccer is of course the biggest and most widely played sport in the World, no-one is disputing that. So of course Rugby isn't as popular but what sport is? In terms of competitive team sports Rugby Union is as, if not more, competitive than Cricket, Hockey, Rugby League. Do you have an equal disdain for these sports? And you know I'm a football fan but the Irish Rugby team plays with a passion, ambition and skill that sadly is all too lacking from the football team

pplocal (Tyrone) - Posts: 5878 - 04/10/2011 18:50:15    1046490

It's also the national sport of Georgia, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji etc. but that in many ways is irrelevant. Soccer is of course the biggest and most widely played sport in the World, no-one is disputing that. So of course Rugby isn't as popular but what sport is? In terms of competitive team sports Rugby Union is as, if not more, competitive than Cricket, Hockey, Rugby League. Do you have an equal disdain for these sports? And you know I'm a football fan but the Irish Rugby team plays with a passion, ambition and skill that sadly is all too lacking from the football team

How many people in Tonga? How many in Fiji? As for my disdain, it's mainly due to my contempt for bandwagoners, whom I regard as being the lowest of the low. 2 weeks ago this Ireland team was being torn to shreds in the media, and few gave a damn about them. Now the whole country's behind them-not. Then there's the D4 accent. Probably the most annoying thing of all for me is the way GAA pundits love to put down soccer "Ah yeah Pat, sure you wouldn't see that dedication in the Premier League", etc, but they say nothing about rugby. It's as if rugby is an acceptable sport for the Gael, but soccer isn't. What a load of rubbish.

Your last point is quite absurd. Did you see the Russia game? Did you see Richard Dunne's passion, his dedication, his bleeding head? Ambition? I'd say the Irish PL lads have far more ambition, given that their chosen sport is more popular and far more financially rewarding. Robbie Keane had to work to get where he is, he didn't have two parents who were doctors, and a fancy education in Blackrock like O'Driscoll had. And skill? What is rugby only brute force and power? Where's the skill in that? Soccer is all about skill, rugby is not.

Seamus89 (Kilkenny) - Posts: 3848 - 04/10/2011 19:09:10    1046498

How is it relevant how many people live in these countries? There are a number of countries for whom Rugby is the national sport. The number of countries playing Rugby is growing and will only continue to do so. And you believe ambition is all about how much money you can make? In many ways that's the problem with football, average footballers are earning millions a year and are out of touch with the common man. That's why you see countless footballers quit international football well before their prime, for many it is unnecessary and they simply don't care about pulling on their national jersey. O'Driscoll had to work equally hard as Keane to get where he is, having rich parents doesn't make up for the hours spent in the gym and the training ground. He also turned down lucrative moves to the warmer climates of France and Australia to stay in Ireland while Keane took the easy option of the multi-million annual salary in LA. A distinct lack of ambition there. Ireland's Rugby team contains some of the best players in the World while the football team is full of grafters who can't kick the ball 10 yards. Don't tell me Andrews, Whelan, O'Dea are skillful. And yet they earn countless times the amount of money the Rugby players do. I would say Rugby players are far more grounded than footballers who can be set for life at the age of 18. As for bandwagoners wait until Ireland qualifies for the next European Championship or World Cup, you haven't seen anything yet

pplocal (Tyrone) - Posts: 5878 - 04/10/2011 19:30:24    1046509

The obsession with the Premier League is, to my mind, frivolous. Irish fans should focus their attention on Irish teams. That's why I support Glasgow Celtic.

HorseOutside (UK) - Posts: 398 - 04/10/2011 19:30:24    1046510

Paul McShane will join up with the Rep Of Ireland squad later that the rest of the players as he is lining out for Hull City RESERVES tonight.... says it all about the muck effort of a soccer team.

vice99 (Donegal) - Posts: 1054 - 04/10/2011 20:07:59    1046532

HorseOutside
County: UK
Posts: 291

1046510
The obsession with the Premier League is, to my mind, frivolous. Irish fans should focus their attention on Irish teams. That's why I support Glasgow Celtic.

You were doing so well until the last sentence.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13830 - 04/10/2011 21:19:05    1046603