University Challenge winner Oscar Despard
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
10 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
‘Deep sorrow' – Ulster GAA grieving shock death of ex-president and former Cavan inter-county ace
A nearby county of Cavan's have paid a heartfelt tribute to him HUGE LOSS 'Deep sorrow' – Ulster GAA grieving shock death of ex-president and former Cavan inter-county ace ULSTER GAA have led tributes following the shock death of its former president Oliver Galligan. The ex-Cavan inter-county footballer had served in the role as recently as 2022. According to his post, he passed away surrounded by family at Cavan General Hospital. His funeral is to be held at 1pm on Thursday at the Cathedral of Saints Patrick and Felim. Leading tributes since word of the Kilnavara native's death broke, Ulster GAA issued a statement saluting his "life-long" commitment to all things Gaelic Games across his province. It read: "It is with deep sorrow and profound shock that Ulster GAA mourns the loss of our esteemed colleague and friend, former Uachtarán Comhairle Uladh, Oliver Galligan. "Oliver served as 37th President of the Ulster Council GAA from 2019-2022, and was currently a valued member of the Casement Park Stadium Board. "He was also a member of the Croke Park Stadium Board and the Central Competitions Control Committee. "A life-long member of the Cavan Gaels club in county Cavan, Oliver enjoyed a long and successful career at club level playing at senior level for 17 years and winning three county titles. "He represented Cavan at all levels, captaining the county to the Ulster minor title in 1967 and playing senior inter-county with Cavan from 1969 to 1973. "A former chairman of his club and a member of Cavan County Board for 15 years, Oliver was the county's Development Officer and then Ulster Council representative before being first elected as an Officer to the Ulster Council in 2010. "He went on to serve with great distinction and dedication as PRO, Treasurer, Vice-President and finally President. "He also held numerous roles over the years on national committees and workgroups, as well as being a member of the Project Steering Group for the Casement Park Project. Henry Shefflin among GAA stars at Oasis gigs where Man City tradition made its Croke Park debut "Ulster GAA expresses profound sorrow at Oliver's passing and we extend our deepest sympathies to his wife Frances, his sons John and Oliver (Jnr), his daughter Elaine (Peter), and the wider Galligan family circle during this time of great loss. "We remember also his colleagues at Cavan Gaels and in Cavan GAA. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all." Cavan's Ulster compatriots Tyrone have expressed their condolences in a nice show of solidarity. The Red Hand county board posted: "Like the rest of Ulster, Ireland, and beyond, Gaelic Tyrone is deeply saddened and diminished by the death of Oliver Galligan. 1 He guided Ulster GAA through the turbulent times of the Covid-19 pandemic Credit: @UlsterGAA "As the then Ulster GAA Chair, Oliver helped guide us all through the totally unprecedented COVID pandemic, and apart from that unique and very successful role, he was always for us in Tyrone a hard-working GAA guide, mentor, and colleague of integrity, decency, class, and style. "Oliver took on virtually every strategic Club and County GAA role possible in his beloved Cavan, and also served us all so well in a number of national GAA roles. "'Na caoin deor ar m'imeacht, ach cuimhnigh mar a bhí mé | Do not mourn my departure, but remember me as I was.' "Our deepest sympathy goes to Oliver's family, to his many friends, neighbours and colleagues, and to the Gaels of Cavan town and Cavan county. "'I measc Naomh na hÉireann agus Laochra na nGael go raibh sé | May he be among the Saints of Ireland and the Heroes of the Gael.'"
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
‘Skibidi', ‘delulu' and ‘tradwife' among words added to Cambridge Dictionary
'Skibidi', 'tradwife' and 'delulu' are among the new words to have made this year's Cambridge Dictionary in a selection that confirms the increasing influence of the TikTok generation on the English language. For those hoping that such neologisms would be a passing internet craze, the compilers of the dictionary say they are here to stay. 'Internet culture is changing the English language and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the dictionary,' said its lexical programme manager, Colin McIntosh. 'It's not every day you get to see words like 'skibidi' and 'delulu' make their way in to the Cambridge Dictionary. We only add words where we think they'll have staying power.' Older generations and those not on TikTok will have to just get used to words such as skibidi. Children often use it to add emphasis to statements. It became popular thanks to Skibidi Toilet – a viral animated video that began on YouTube featuring human heads protruding from lavatories. The Cambridge Dictionary defines skibidi as 'a word that can have different meanings such as 'cool' or 'bad', or can be used with no real meaning as a joke; an example of its use is: 'What the skibidi are you doing?'' People older than generation Alpha tend to greet the use of the word with despair. The US writer and artist Lee Escobedo wrote in the Guardian earlier this year: 'Skibidi brainrot encapsulates a generation fluent in irony but starved for meaning. This kind of hyper-chaotic media serves as both entertainment and an ambient worldview for young men raised online. Their minds normalise prank-as-expression.' The tradwife phenomenon, which dates to a least 2020, has also been widely criticised. It refers to socially conservative influencers who celebrate looking after their husbands, children and homes and post about it on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. The dictionary definition says a tradwife is 'especially one who posts on social media'. [ Here is an experiment. If you know a child under 14, ask them if they know what skibidi toilet is Opens in new window ] Delulu, an abbreviation of delusional, is less controversial, but has become associated with a post-truth world where personal beliefs are more important than reality. Its dictionary entry defines it as 'believing things that are not real or true, usually because you choose to'. Delulu emerged more than 10 years ago as an insult directed at obsessive K-pop fans to question their belief that they would date their idols. The term 'delulu is the solulu' for manifesting your wishes has been viewed billions of times on TikTok. The phrase 'delulu with no solulu' was used earlier this year by Australia's prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to attack his opponents in parliament. 'Broligarchy', a term for the tech industry leaders on whose platforms many of these new words are spreading, also makes it in to the dictionary. '' Merging 'bro' and 'oligarchy', it refers to 'a small group of men, especially men owning or involved in a technology business, who are extremely rich and powerful, and who have or want political influence,' says the dictionary. Other new entries in the dictionary include 'mouse jiggler', a post-pandemic device or piece of software used to make it seem as though you are working when you are not. 'Work spouse', meanwhile, is a phrase for workplace relationships where two people help and trust each other, according to the dictionary.
Irish Times
08-08-2025
- Irish Times
Learnings from Lehrer: Brendan Balfe on tracking down and interviewing one of his favourite performers
Tom Lehrer asked: 'How did you find me?' It was 1987 and in those pre-internet days, the standard biographical references to the musical satirist all said 'keeps a low profile' and 'notoriously secretive'. But I was planning a trip to the United States for a radio series and was trying to arrange an interview with one of my favourite performers. I hit on an idea. I contacted the Boston telephone operator and eventually got a phone number and through the reverse directory also acquired an address. I wrote to Tom Lehrer and in his reply, he told me to call him when I was in the States, so on September 9th, I turned up at his house in Cambridge, adjacent to the campus of Harvard University , a small wooden building, sparsely furnished, with a grand piano in the living room. Tom had learned piano at an early age and was an accomplished player. His first song, Fight Fiercely, Harvard, was written in 1945 when he was 17, a football song for the college he attended while studying mathematics. Then he wrote and sang more songs for friends at parties. Taking advantage of the invention of long-playing records, in 1953 he paid $400 to record an album of songs. 'Suddenly,' he told me, 'my songs spread like a social disease.' READ MORE When the first British chart of hit albums was issued in 1958, Tom Lehrer was in the top ten for 19 weeks. His songs satirised popular music, politics, nuclear arms and human behaviour. Songs like Poisoning Pigeons in the Park, When you are Old and Grey and The Masochism Tango proved popular. The latter was a skit on slightly threatening love songs like Kiss of Fire and Jezebel. It wasn't specifically Irish, but a reaction to the inanities of folk songs — Tom Lehrer 'There used to be a liberal consensus who agreed with me, [but] now the audience would be split,' he said. 'Now, it's a case of 'don't satirise me, satirise them'. Back then, I was described as sick or accused of being a cynic, an assertion that was untrue. A cynic damns everything, a sceptic questions everything, liking some parts, not others.' I asked him had he anything to say to our audience about his composition The Irish Ballad, with lyrics like: 'About a maid I'll sing a song / who didn't have her family long / not only did she do them wrong / she did every one of them in.' 'Well,' he said, 'it wasn't specifically Irish, but a reaction to the inanities of folk songs and singers who believe those with the most verses win.' On his writing method, he said: 'Some songs are instant and others take months, where I find myself filling in words like a crossword puzzle. Some current stand-up comedians hit topical points and the audience greets them with applause, whoops and cheers. I didn't want them to applaud, I wanted them to laugh. Irreverence is easy – wit is hard." One song raised an element of earthly rather than heavenly irreverence, although deftly aided by adroit rhyming: 'Do whatever steps you want if / You have cleared them with the Pontiff / Everybody say his own / Kyrie eleison / Doin' the Vatican Rag.' [ No one sent up Nazi rocket scientist Wernher von Braun better than satirist Tom Lehrer Opens in new window ] Tom Lehrer retired from singing and performing in 1967. His idea was to perform to audiences and get a good recording of the concert. He thought the material was the important thing, not his personal appearances. 'Just like novelists don't do a tour reading from their own novel, my idea was make the record and go home.' Going home meant going back to the academic life. He had been a graduate student in 1952 working at the Atomic Energy Commission. 'Nuclear power had not yet become dangerous, was viewed as a good thing in some cases,' he recalled. But that changed as the 'superpowers' got more access, prompting some pointed songs, some written for the American version of the TV show That Was The Week That Was . He went back to teaching mathematics at Harvard and at the University of California at Santa Cruz, adding a social science element to his lectures. He also wrote songs for the Children's Television Workshop and was quietly delighted when in 1980, Cameron Mackintosh assembled a stage revue of his songs called Tomfoolery, a musical also staged in Dublin by Noel Pearson. He instigated a course on the American Musical Theatre, forming a cast of 15 students who every week came to the room were sitting in to read and perform an entire musical, like Carousel or Oklahoma. It feels appropriate to return to his first question: 'How did you find me?' Well, I found a charming and astute man with a unique talent for music and language, and a spirited approach to satire that made us all laugh. So long, Tom. Nice to have met you. '
