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.

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