Eoin Butler: writer, journalist and Mayoman of the Year
Tripping Along The Ledge
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I WENT OUT WALKING WITH A BIBLE AND A GUN…
I bumped into Kate Winslet at a party in the Hollywood Hills. And I yawned. Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips took me aside in a trailer full of enormous animal costumes to offer some fatherly advice. And I sniggered in the man’s face… Hell, I once even had Fr Dougal Maguire call and say, Hello, how are you doing?, is this Eoin? and I managed not to drive into the Liffey.
But on Thursday, I met a legend. Myself and Richie Gilligan were in Dundalk to meet former Traveller bareknuckle boxing champion, turned Evangelical Christian preacher Dan Rooney. He’d already cancelled one meeting with us and, on the second attempt, he was almost an hour late. But he didn’t disappoint. The first glimpse I caught of him, he was carrying a Bible and an enormous wooden cross. He could have stepped straight out of the Old Testament, or a Johnny Cash song, or something.
I’m not being facetious in saying that he was as impressive a guy as I’ve ever met: intelligent, articulate and humble. There’s a big feature in the works. We just have to track down Aney McGinley now. Watch this space.
August 15th, 2009 at 10:46 am
If Carlsberg did photographs? Well, what can i say. This photo was destined to be etched into a moment in my life. Not to go over board now, but apart from growing up with Butler, we also grew up with Rooney, he wasn’t a physical precence but he was there. He was the man, the fighting man Dan Rooney.
You only have one more task Mr. Butler to become the most respected man in the country,(well in my eyes anyway) promote a rematch between Rooney and McGinley for next summer, in the square in Ballyhaunis. 20 year anniversary rematch
August 15th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Fucking size of the guy!!
August 15th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
He’s only a queer and a shitarse (ducks!)
August 15th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Jes Butler, ya look like a slip of a lad beside him.
Do ya think he’d take the cross with him if he was to step back into the ring?
August 15th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
@ Savros – cheers you man for helping me set it up. The Ballyhaunis rematch might be a tall order – he seems fairly adamant about being a man of peace. But I definitely owe you (and Rebecca) a pint for your efforts!
@ Jayo – You wouldn’t say that to his face.
Although I must admit, when Dan cancelled on me the first time, I was telling Savros that I was tempted to call him out on YouTube: “I am the king of all journalists… Dan Rooney is too a-feared to do interview with me… Dan Rooney is a-feared of my hard hitting questions etc. etc.” and maybe hurl some more colourful epithets too.
Very glad now I didn’t. He’s an absolute gentleman.
@ Shakey – I’d say the “fair play” men would have sometghing to say about that -it’s bareknuckle boxing, not WWF!
August 16th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
They’re some broad shoulders on Rooney, could build a decent two bedroom house on them. It’d be a bungalow, but still decent.
Look forward to the feature.
August 16th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Woah deadly, can’t wait to read the feature.
August 16th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Cheers, Brendan & Colin. The feature might be a while tho – thinking of holding it back until the 20th aniversary of the original fight, which will be next summer.
August 16th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
where did he get the shirt? now that i am bench pressing 250 I might need Richie to recommend a tailor
August 17th, 2009 at 12:03 am
Haha… Shortly after that pic was taken, Dan actually benchpressed me!
Incidentally, Richie is the photographer, Dan is… Well, Dan is the man.
August 17th, 2009 at 11:21 am
Ok I don’t care what you say Eoin this dude is your doppelganger:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhsPT8vj6jw
uday hussein eat your heart out.
August 17th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Not very flattering but, hey, he has hair… So I won’t complain.
August 17th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
I knew a guy from Ballyhaunis, he moved to Castlebar and was in my class. He was the size of Dan the Man at 16, c.1996. Alas, it was more flab then muscle but talk about being a big school boy/man. A scouser too to boot.
August 17th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Albincus, I’m 99% sure I know the guy you’re on about – he had a brother a year or two older than him as well, didn’t he?
If Savros reads that you compared that guy to Dan Rooney… Well, lets just hope he doesn’t!
August 17th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Dans the man.
August 18th, 2009 at 12:52 am
[…] And in other news, Eoin Butler meets Traveller bareknuckle boxing champion, turned Evangelical Christian preacher Dan Rooney. […]
August 18th, 2009 at 8:17 am
He did indeed. In retrospect comparing him to Dan the Man was rash considering I watched him get pummeled by a lad half his weight but twice his height. It was an incredibly funny fight as he had his t-shirt pulled over his head and resembled a mouse trying to fight his way out of a bowl of jelly
August 18th, 2009 at 8:22 am
@above..
sorry forgot to use my alias..oops!
August 18th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Paul/Albinicus… I just emailed you there.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:10 pm
[…] [P.S. Does anyone else think that Jim James is the doppelganger of photographer Richie Gilligan (who accompanied me to meet Dan Rooney last month)??] […]