Below Me Horn

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My Photos  Mikegibbdon

(Top) Mike Horn, (below) Pascal Donohoe and Niall Gibbons

 

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Tourism Ireland chief executive Niall Gibbons was left bemused when an American radio host asked him: “I don’t want to put you on the spot here, Niall. I want to find out, there are no plans for Ireland deciding to leave the UK, are there?”

The question was asked on CRN Talk Radio’s What’s Cookin’ programme [in September], a coast-to-coast programme which is broadcast to 250 stations and cable networks across the United States.

Mr Gibbons and Minister for Tourism Paschal Donohoe were on the show promoting the launch of Ifest Boston, a promotional event for Irish tourism in Boston.

Co-presenter Mike Horn asked the question. Mr Gibbons decided not to offer him a history or geography lesson, but instead decided to focus on promoting Ireland.

“(That’s)an interesting question,” he replied. “Ireland is a destination in itself. We are encouraging people to jump into Ireland. It is very much a standalone destination.”

Again? US radio host wants to know if Ireland plans to leave UK (Ronan McGreevy, Irish Times)

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35 thoughts on “Below Me Horn

  1. Drogg

    Niall Gibbons answer was a bit s**t as well. It should have been “well mike we have not been part of the UK for quite some time now but if you come to our country Ireland which is not part of the UK you can learn all about our nations connections and in 2016 we will be commemorating the 1916 rising which was an important part of our struggle for independence so there will be lots of educational tours and events to teach you all about our independence from the UK.”

      1. Drogg

        Apologise, i completely forgot that. But you’d think its not hard to explain that to an american talk show host like i can explain the difference between the north and the south of the country to my three year old.

        1. ReproBertie

          No doubt it’s easy to explain but when you’re trying to sell Ireland as a tourist destination is it really worth getting bogged down in talk about borders and currencies? I think he did a fine job of neatly sidestepping it without drawing attention to either the situation or the hosts knowledge of Ireland.

          1. Drogg

            OH i get that but do you think when i explain the difference between the north and the south to a small child i tell them about the 30 odd years of horrible violence or do i go northern ireland are 6 countys at the north of the country that are a part of the UK and the rest of the country is the republic of Ireland which is a country onto itself.

  2. JoesephT

    I doubt most Americans would know what their own independence day was about.Then again………
    I doubt most Irish would know what 1916 was about.

      1. Raskolnikov

        The question master was thrown a bit when yer wan gave the civil war winner correct answer as the unions as opposed to the north, before simplifying it for her and saying the North. Not quite as smart as she thought she was. And she was rank too.

  3. Mister Mister

    Surely his question was a tongue in cheek one based on the NBC farce ?

    Am I giving him too much credit or has it gone over everyones head in the rush to think “Yet another stupid American”?

    1. Kieran NYC

      When American presenters make a joke, they never presume that their audience is smart enough to figure it out. They will always end up spelling out exactly what it’s about.

  4. Mani

    ‘That’s a great question Mike. In light of the recent leprechaun massacre in Ballymagash and the British government’s refusal to provide adequate reparations, and the failure of the Royal Irish regiment to withdraw from the disputed area of Tir na nOg, we can only ask ourselves ‘Why are we still a part of this cruel nation?’. And the answer is: Potatium. This precious metal can be found in abundance all over our fair Isle and the British allow us access to their Potatium harvesters, without which, well I don’t have to tell you Mike, we’d be digging it up with stone picks’

  5. Dropthepitchforks

    The Irish Times are overdoing it a bit here. The interviewer probably meant Northern Ireland, since Tourism Ireland markets the entire Island of Ireland abroad, in conjunction with Failte Ireland and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board at home (it was created as part of the Good Friday Agreement). For all we know, they spent the previous 10 minutes talking about the Giants Causeway or Belfast. The interview is hardly ‘news’ either since it dates back to September, less than 10 days after the Scottish independence referendum as it happens, which puts the question in perspective. This is nowhere near the mindblowing wilful ignorance of the interviewer in the IDA Ireland one in my opinion!

  6. CousinJack

    Isn’t 1916 just something to draw in the tourists? and something most of us kind of regret (like snogging the wife’s sister)

  7. Anne

    For interesting, read, you thick mudder flupper, that’s the dumbest question I ever heard.

    I might use that one myself, going forward, to be all nice n dat.

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