It would be remiss of me not to open this week’s roundup by noting that the Mayor of Cork, Dan Boyle, is clearly a fan of the movie “Free Willy”. Those of you who frequent social media have probably, by now, come across the photograph of the Mayor with the participants of the apparently annual “Naked Bike Ride” that took place in his city last weekend. The Mayor was happily photographed with a whole series of free willies, while – perhaps subconsciously – keeping his own paws strategically placed to protect his own:
Credit: X
What intrigues me about this story is what it says about the Irish overton window: Boyle has received some mockery for the photo, but most of the media have maintained a studious and respectful silence on the matter, presumably lest anybody mistake an Irish journalist for that worst of things – a prude. But I wonder would that silence have held had Dan Boyle taken time out of his day to meet with participants in, say, a eucharistic procession with large statues of Mary the mother of God?
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