Gawd knows when that was broadcasted by Frank Hall way back sometime during the last MILLENNIUM... ⏳ But deffo proof, if one ever needed to be reminded, that nothing ever changes in PoLoTiCs... 📈
The "Minister for Hardship" was performed by Eamon Morrissey, known for his work bringing the characters of Flann O'Brien to life on stage. The Minister was intended as a thinly disguised caricature of the unpopular Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave. Morrissey gave the Minister a life of his own, creating a character who could have walked off the pages of any Flann O'Brien novel, and is as memorable as any of the stock characters of Cruishkeen Lawn. The Minister may well have contributed to Cosgrave's downfall, with the real Taoiseach's image increasingly confused in the public mind with Morrissey's character. In any case, he remains the best remembered of the stock characters of Hall's Pictorial Weekly.
Morrissey was christened Eamon by his parents, in honour of Eamonn devalera, whose politics were ingrained in him. There are many factors in Fianna Fail's 1977 landslide victory. The obvious one was the giveaway manifesto but in truth, the coalition had already lost the election. The massive increase in income tax of 1976 was hugely influential, but "the minister for hardship" tipped the balance in favour of FF, in the year before the election.
In case anyone is wondering if Prof Crown is addressing the history of tobacco control, he is not, well he is, but the topic for discussion was whether current tobacco control measures were working. John seems to have taken umbrage at his preferred measures being questioned. Pity as this is a topic which needs debate not shouting and ranting from the people who should know better. BTW John tobacco dose not equal smoking.
I have slightly fibbed. I gave known the danger of lung cancer since 1967 sitting in primary school. On the etiology of LC for 7 years, but still smoke knowing the risk. Now leave me alone.
Professor Crown, as a smoker of 30 years I am so grateful to you to point out the dangers of smoking, I was completely unaware. Despite being literate all the papers like Hill/Doll/Peto have never been quoted in the newspapers, TV or radio. In fact since your video in the last 2 hours I have been able to find out that lit cigarette contains benzo(a)pyrene which mutates the P53 gene via a guanine to thymine transversion. Yes the etiology of lung cancer in smokers and an RR of 10.
When they released the DVDs they coloured everything, apart from the Minister For Hardship sketch to which they put words on the screen saying that it was due to reasons of economy (a joke because when the DVDs came out the Celtic Tiger was still on.
Michael o leary won't run Ireland. He admitted that he couldn't get elected as a rat catcher in the Mullingar Burrough. He is a character and there is enough of them in the government as it is.
I'm afraid I'm old enough to remember this when it was on TV. As far as I can recall the Minister for Hardship was a send up of the Fine Gael leader Liam Cosgrave who was Taoiseach in the 1973-77 coalition government. There was another character they did, Richie Ruin, who was meant to the the then Minister for Finance Richard Ryan.
Yes the Minster for Hardship was Liam Cosgrave. Richie Ruin was Richie Ryan... Dimples was Michael O'leary the labour leader... Liam died last year.....
