Come Here To Me!

ADW- 'The Blues Brothers'.

What a year it has been.

When we marked our one year anniversary, back in November, I commented that “It’s been an infuriating few months. Dublin, in some ways, has taken a serious fall from grace.”

An infuriating few months indeed. Since November, things have gone from bad to dismal one could say. 2010 won’t make a particularly good episode of Reeling In The Years, but it did still present a few memorable moments (for the right reasons).

Firstly, this. That fall took place on January 8 2010, with Ireland (and more importantly Dublin) grabbing one of the first internet virals of the year.

There were a few bizarre stories, not least during the summer when a penguin was removed from Dublin Zoo. The July robbery produced my favourite line of the year from The Irish Times:

In what was a rare case of reality mimicking advertising, gardaí picked up a penguin yesterday after a feather-brained trio stole the bird from Dublin Zoo.

If every year is remembered by a defining image, what will mark the front of the 2010 folder? Fairly obvious I’d think. I’d propose Louise Minihan for Dubliner of the year on the back of that one.

Despite not having a clue about the X Factor or any of that lark, it was genuinely excellent to see Ballyfermot mother Mary Byrne do so well on the UK talent show. My childhood memories of Ballyfermot involve kerbs painted green, white and orange for Jackies Army, and Mary’s homecoming was nothing if not spectacular.

Not every Dubliner on telly was a welcome sight.

Sports journalist and NUIM Honorary Professor (seriously) Bertie Ahern showed up with a pack of biccies and a cup of tea to tell us he has the latest on the big match. Barstooler Ahern, fond of the occasional trip to Old Trafford, took a serious fall from grace this year and one would have to assume his run for the Aras is well and truly out of question now. We can only hope.

An angry developer who lost a few quid left a simple message outside the Dail….

….and returned to Kildare Street on budget day:

They Are Us, a collaboration between Dublin folk singer Damien Dempsey and street artist Maser, brought great colour and passion to the back alleys and streets of the capital. ‘Give The Mirror A Kiss The Odd Time’, ‘Love Yourself Today’ and the like made the journey to and from work much more tolerable for many Dubliners. All the money made from the project has gone to the Simon Community, and both lads deserve serious praise for using their creativity and skills for the good of others at a time like this.

A fella named Del Piero was spotted walking around Tallaght….

…..and then scored a cracker on home turf.

In other football news, there was a World Cup and we weren’t in it. Mexico were, and we got behind them.

Some of the horror images of the year came from the Garda clampdown on a student demonstration in November. While student demonstrations are known for producing humourous signs and a positive atmosphere, there was little positivity on a demonstration of almost 40,000 people terrified of emigration. The Fianna Fail links of Union of Students in Ireland President Gary Redmond resurfaced before things had quieted down, and in the end fees went up to €2,000 in a horrific budget.

Students protest a week on from violence.

The Pogues performed what they said was the last Christmas gig in the capital (believe that if you want to), but the big gig was no doubt LCD Soundsystem who managed to sell out three nights in Tripod. When one night becomes three, you’re doing something right.

The year ended bizarrely, with Rome burning around us and two lads wearing plastic bags headed for the Christmas number 1. Back in April, Come Here To Me saw the Rubberbandits deliver a top class gig up in the Odessa for Totally Dublin, and by December they were talking about “drinkin and druggin” to Joeeeeeee Duffy on Liveline. Well done lads.

A strange year, but no doubt a difficult one to forget. A decade that began as a box of Ferrero Rocher ended as a box of Tesco Condoms, with the tiger well and truly buried.

No song more fitting to end with than this one, first posted to Come Here To Me by our own music connoisseur jaycarax.

Was it greed?