Was Cowen badly hungover on the radio this morning?

[Bogball XV]

It just got better for Biffo:

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryder cup winning golfer Philip Walton has written to Ireland's prime minister asking him to explain why he mimicked the sportsman at a now infamous boozy night with journalists and politicians.
In a statement released exclusively to Reuters on Thursday, Walton said he and his wife felt compelled to contact Brian Cowen after details of the skit appeared in newspapers and television reports.

"From what I have heard and read so far the stories are of concern to myself, my wife and also my children as they have seen reports on 'You Tube'," Walton said in a statement.

"As a result, we felt the best thing at this point was to write to An Taoiseach (the prime minister) ourselves to get more details and the exact context of the various stories."

The statement said Walton, who holed the winning putt in the 1995 Ryder Cup, felt "anger" at this week's events.

Walton's letter will heap further pressure on Cowen who was forced to apologize on Wednesday for performing badly on a morning radio interview just hours after he finished partying at his parliamentary party's annual conference.

Cowen has repeatedly denied he was drunk or hungover on the radio show.

The controversy, labeled "garglegate" by some, has raised questions over Cowen's leadership just as Ireland seeks to convince investors it is not on the brink of a debt crisis.

Renowned for his gruff public persona, Cowen traditionally lets his hair down at his parliamentary party's annual meeting.

A renowned mimic, he regaled the media and political colleagues, including senior government ministers, with a song and impersonations, including one of Walton, on Monday night.

(Reporting by Carmel Crimmins; Editing by Peter Graff)

I'm a keen golf fan and I wouldn't know what an impression of walton would be - what a strange choice of person to mimmick.

[Geoff Tipps]

It just got better for Biffo:

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryder cup winning golfer Philip Walton has written to Ireland's prime minister asking him to explain why he mimicked the sportsman at a now infamous boozy night with journalists and politicians.
In a statement released exclusively to Reuters on Thursday, Walton said he and his wife felt compelled to contact Brian Cowen after details of the skit appeared in newspapers and television reports.

"From what I have heard and read so far the stories are of concern to myself, my wife and also my children as they have seen reports on 'You Tube'," Walton said in a statement.

"As a result, we felt the best thing at this point was to write to An Taoiseach (the prime minister) ourselves to get more details and the exact context of the various stories."

The statement said Walton, who holed the winning putt in the 1995 Ryder Cup, felt "anger" at this week's events.

Walton's letter will heap further pressure on Cowen who was forced to apologize on Wednesday for performing badly on a morning radio interview just hours after he finished partying at his parliamentary party's annual conference.

Cowen has repeatedly denied he was drunk or hungover on the radio show.

The controversy, labeled "garglegate" by some, has raised questions over Cowen's leadership just as Ireland seeks to convince investors it is not on the brink of a debt crisis.

Renowned for his gruff public persona, Cowen traditionally lets his hair down at his parliamentary party's annual meeting.

A renowned mimic, he regaled the media and political colleagues, including senior government ministers, with a song and impersonations, including one of Walton, on Monday night.

(Reporting by Carmel Crimmins; Editing by Peter Graff)

I'm a keen golf fan and I wouldn't know what an impression of walton would be - what a strange choice of person to mimmick.

Have you ever heard him speak?? He's got a very distinctive squeaky voice. In saying that with his non existent current profile yeah it's a strange choice of someone to mimic.

[highorlow]

In the last week Cowen has moved up in my estimation.

The man is a legend. I'd say he is mighty craic in the pub.

Fair play to him. All these idiots and f**king do gooders that we have to listen to in the meeja over the last few days is sickening. Thats whats gone wrong with this country over the last while everyone is gone so fuckin uptight and bloody straightlaced.

Good God if the man was a Dublin Taoiseach then there wouldn't be half the over reaction there has been.

This country's meeja is really sickening my hole over the last 6 months and especially that fuckin hypocrite brown on TV3 which is basically puck television.

The same bloody journos will be out on the lash themselves all weekend and end up hungover next Monday morning. Gobshites.

[muppet]

The same bloody journos will be out on the lash themselves all weekend and end up hungover next Monday morning. Gobshites.

They were actually with him in the bar that night. (With the exception of the Morning Ireland guy who went to bed early because of his early start).

What this highlights (among other things) is the really cosy relationship between our media and our government which explains a lot of the soft treatment they get.

[Bogball XV]

I'm a keen golf fan and I wouldn't know what an impression of walton would be - what a strange choice of person to mimmick.

Have you ever heard him speak?? He's got a very distinctive squeaky voice. In saying that with his non existent current profile yeah it's a strange choice of someone to mimic.
[/quote]
probably heard him back in the mid 90's, but sure then i prob thought all mexicans spoke like that!!

If he's so squeaky, you'd think biffo would update and pretend he's harrington instead?

[Geoff Tipps]

I'm a keen golf fan and I wouldn't know what an impression of walton would be - what a strange choice of person to mimmick.

Have you ever heard him speak?? He's got a very distinctive squeaky voice. In saying that with his non existent current profile yeah it's a strange choice of someone to mimic.

probably heard him back in the mid 90's, but sure then i prob thought all mexicans spoke like that!!

If he's so squeaky, you'd think biffo would update and pretend he's harrington instead?
[/quote]

He is that squeaky. Makes Harrington sound like Barry White 

[Main Street]

The Banks already crashed, the economy bedraggled after years of Fianna Fail  (pre-paid of course) supported policies of economic armageddon.
The great minds of this Government party converge to have a "think in".  Our Great Leader decides to be the leading light a party piss up and comes on to the national airwave for a pre arranged interview - still drunk/well under the influence, to announce in a drunken stupor, how the citizens will be further screwed in order to preserve the status of the financial elite.

And in some perverted twisted way, the Great Leader goes up in estimation in the eyes of some.

[Geoff Tipps]

The same bloody journos will be out on the lash themselves all weekend and end up hungover next Monday morning. Gobshites.

The difference is when Cowen goes on the lash we pick up the bill.

[Tubberman]

In the last week Cowen has moved up in my estimation.

The man is a legend. I'd say he is mighty craic in the pub.

Fair play to him. All these idiots and f**king do gooders that we have to listen to in the meeja over the last few days is sickening. Thats whats gone wrong with this country over the last while everyone is gone so fuckin uptight and bloody straightlaced.

Good God if the man was a Dublin Taoiseach then there wouldn't be half the over reaction there has been.

This country's meeja is really sickening my hole over the last 6 months and especially that fuckin hypocrite brown on TV3 which is basically puck television.

The same bloody journos will be out on the lash themselves all weekend and end up hungover next Monday morning. Gobshites.

One of the most depressing posts I've read in a long time. Sadly there are probably a lot of people who actually think like this.
Ah sure look at him, he's a great man for the pints, the craic and a singsong - this somehow makes him a better Taoiseach?? 
The country is fcked, but sure as long as there's a good party going someplace, never mind about that.

[AZOffaly]

In the last week Cowen has moved up in my estimation.

The man is a legend. I'd say he is mighty craic in the pub.

Fair play to him. All these idiots and f**king do gooders that we have to listen to in the meeja over the last few days is sickening. Thats whats gone wrong with this country over the last while everyone is gone so fuckin uptight and bloody straightlaced.

Good God if the man was a Dublin Taoiseach then there wouldn't be half the over reaction there has been.

This country's meeja is really sickening my hole over the last 6 months and especially that fuckin hypocrite brown on TV3 which is basically puck television.

The same bloody journos will be out on the lash themselves all weekend and end up hungover next Monday morning. Gobshites.

One of the most depressing posts I've read in a long time. Sadly there are probably a lot of people who actually think like this.
Ah sure look at him, he's a great man for the pints, the craic and a singsong - this somehow makes him a better Taoiseach?? 
The country is fcked, but sure as long as there's a good party going someplace, never mind about that.

The thing that annoys me about this is that Cowen was well known for being a man who likes a pint, can chat with anyone, is a decent enough fella, and can be the life and soul of a party. They were all seen as positive things by the masses when he was popular. Now the facr that he is unpopular, they suddenly become sticks to beat him with.

I'm not defending him as a politician, or as a statesman, where I feel he is very unpolished. I just find it rich that people (including politicians and the media) who have often commented on what a 'great fella' he is, are now rushing to use his personality and behaviour as 'BAD THING'.

[Bogball XV]

In the last week Cowen has moved up in my estimation.

The man is a legend. I'd say he is mighty craic in the pub.

Fair play to him. All these idiots and f**king do gooders that we have to listen to in the meeja over the last few days is sickening. Thats whats gone wrong with this country over the last while everyone is gone so fuckin uptight and bloody straightlaced.

Good God if the man was a Dublin Taoiseach then there wouldn't be half the over reaction there has been.

This country's meeja is really sickening my hole over the last 6 months and especially that fuckin hypocrite brown on TV3 which is basically puck television.

The same bloody journos will be out on the lash themselves all weekend and end up hungover next Monday morning. Gobshites.

One of the most depressing posts I've read in a long time. Sadly there are probably a lot of people who actually think like this.
Ah sure look at him, he's a great man for the pints, the craic and a singsong - this somehow makes him a better Taoiseach?? 
The country is fcked, but sure as long as there's a good party going someplace, never mind about that.

The thing that annoys me about this is that Cowen was well known for being a man who likes a pint, can chat with anyone, is a decent enough fella, and can be the life and soul of a party. They were all seen as positive things by the masses when he was popular. Now the facr that he is unpopular, they suddenly become sticks to beat him with.

I'm not defending him as a politician, or as a statesman, where I feel he is very unpolished. I just find it rich that people (including politicians and the media) who have often commented on what a 'great fella' he is, are now rushing to use his personality and behaviour as 'BAD THING'.

the problem here was the total lack of judgement in doing the interview.  Who allowed that to happen?  There's definitely an over reaction (and total hypocrisy) (and not cos he's a culchie) to the drinking.

[magpie seanie]

I'd have a slightly different slant on it AZ. He used the image of himself as a great fella for a pint and a song to cultivate popularity. This is the downside of it.

Any of us that like a jar don't go for a good skip if we're meeting the boss the next morning. Theoretically, the people are his (quite pissed off with his performance) boss and he addressed us half cut or at very best hungover and made a hames of what he was saying. If I did that in my job I'd be in serious trouble if not getting the door. Instead, he told a blatant lie about his condition and was backed up by his cronies and more worryingly by his supposed political adversaries.

Its long past time he was removed from office.

[AZOffaly]

That's what I mean about being unpolished. Jaysus even Yeltsin's minders had the cop on to keep him on the plane in Shannon that time. Cowan should not have been let near that phone, and should have had the cop on himself to say 'Jaysus I'm dying, I'll have to cancel'.

Having said that it's the reaction that I find interesting. I don't think it's a culchie thing either. I think it's a 'How dare he be drinking until all hours when the country is in the toilet' reaction. Which is ultra hypocritical when the one of the reason's he is/was highly thought of was because 'he's a decent fella, normal like the rest of us'.

There's been no scandal about Cowen, so instead of digging professionally, the attack mode now is along the lines of 'look at this big oaf drinking and being hungover on the radio'.

Anyhow, I don't want to be seen as defending him because people will think it's an Offaly thing I do like the man having met him a couple of times, but I do think he was sold a pup when Ahern left, and was too stubborn or blinkered to see it. He also made huge mistakes professionaly as finance minister, in hindsight, because he should have told us all then to not be greedy, instead he fostered the greed and allowed the bankers to go bananas.

[AZOffaly]

I'd have a slightly different slant on it AZ. He used the image of himself as a great fella for a pint and a song to cultivate popularity. This is the downside of it.

Any of us that like a jar don't go for a good skip if we're meeting the boss the next morning. Theoretically, the people are his (quite pissed off with his performance) boss and he addressed us half cut or at very best hungover and made a hames of what he was saying. If I did that in my job I'd be in serious trouble if not getting the door. Instead, he told a blatant lie about his condition and was backed up by his cronies and more worryingly by his supposed political adversaries.

Its long past time he was removed from office.

I have to disagree with that Seanie. I don't think he actively cultivates that, certainly he didn't when he was making his way up the ladder. He was always on for the craic.

I had Jan O'Sullivan canvassing me for a vote back in an election in the mid 2000's when I lived in Limerick. I told her I was still voting in Laois Offaly, and she said, well don't forget to vote Labour there then. I said, sorry Jan, I'll probably be voting Cowen #1.

She said, and I quote 'Ah Brian, yes you could do a lot worse than vote for Brian, he's genuinely a great guy'.

That was before leadership heaves or anything else, and that was a political opponent during electioneering.

[magpie seanie]

Yeah, I knowe its not a false image but I do believe he tried to use it when he took over as FF leader to try and "Bertie-ise" (for want of a better word) himself. There was a Pat Kenny interview and the cringe inducing but cleverly scripted Late Late one with Ryan Tubridy.

Anyway, bottom line is he in unfit for the job and needs to be got rid of.