In the 1980s Dublin City councillors voted not to award the Freedom of Dublin to Bob Geldof, apparently because the song “Banana Republic” annoyed them.
Many of the city’s political elite at that time later went on to play starring roles in a variety of tribunals and investigations into planning irregularities and corruption, but in their eyes, they were decent Dubliners, and Geldof was not.
He did, 20 years later, eventually get the award, but now he has not made the top ten of all-time greatest Dubliners.
The online poll, conducted by the Dubliner magazine, was won by Ronnie Drew, and other people in the top ten included James Joyce, Oscar Wilde and Arthur Guinness.
Notable Dubs all. But Bob Geldof founded Band Aid and Live Aid, raised countless of millions of dollars and devoted years of his life to highlighting and fighting world poverty.
Apparently though, this is not as impressive as discovering the quaternion (William Rowan Hamilton), being good-looking (Colin Farrell – well why else is he in?), or not being born in Dublin at all (Phil Lynott, born in West Bromwich in the UK).
I just don’t get it. Especially since, as if Live Aid weren’t enough, his most famous quote (”just give me your fuckin’ money”) was later adopted by Bertie Ahern as the basis for his whole political career.
If that didn’t get him recognition, I don’t know what could.
It’s his droning, Lloyd Grossman tones.
But your points are well made. Colin Farrell??
Comment by Jo — November 8, 2008 @ 6:54 pm
I think his criticism of Dublin and Ireland didn’t go down well with a lot of people. He was of course absolutely correct but I think people still hold it against him, not the politicians who don’t care anyway but the people the politicians fooled.
Comment by holemaster — November 9, 2008 @ 12:03 am
He just looks like he does not give a dam.
Comment by Frances Crickley — December 5, 2008 @ 11:55 am
He very probably doesn’t, Frances. I just think what he did was amazing, and I always felt he never really got the recognition here that he got elsewhere.
Comment by tinman18 — December 5, 2008 @ 1:40 pm