Confessions of a Receptionist
Mar 12th, 2007 by Granny
I read in the paper recently that the man who gate-crashed Pat The Plank’s gig is still being held in custody. Fair dues to him, I say. The man had a point to make and what better platform.
However, driving his car at the front glass windows is quite another matter.
In another life, I sat behind that reception desk in RTE. I would not have appreciated people driving cars at me.
It was a dangerous enough job as it was - not all glamour.
Each receptionish had their own General Attendant to deal with parcels and stuff. We also had an armed detective sitting close to us.
At that time the IRA did not have access to the airwaves. Regularly we would have a visit from one member or another, protesting ‘as Gaeilge’ (= ‘in Irish’, for my foreign friends) at the lack of access. The receptionist had to respond ‘as Gaeilge’. They would have been even more angry if we did not speak the lingo.
This was before the awful atrocities carried out ‘in the name of freedom’. My sympathies were with the IRA at that time. I’m all for free speech. If they are letting Bertie and his ilk ramble incoherently, then surely Gerry Adams was entitled to say his piece. My attitude change over the years.
More about this subject later..
I will spill the beans
But practically no one speaks enough Gaelige chun cohmra a deanamh (can’t include fadas for some reason) leis na daoine chun an IRA.
See, even my Irish - and I’m out of school less than a year - stinks. And they’re talking about making it bigger on the curriculum?
Madness.
Seo seachtain na Gaeilge. For our foreign visitors, that means ‘Week of Irish’ where we are encouraged to speak Irish. We are actually supposed to speak it for a fortnight, so why call it Seachtain? (one week).
In the times we live in, I don’t agree with Irish being compulsory. It is a beautiful language, when you hear it spoken in a Gaeltacht area. But on TV and radio, it somehow sounds patronising and forced. If you know what I mean?
Slán anois, agus go neirigh an bothar leat!
“This was before the awful atrocities carried out ‘in the name of freedom’. My sympathies were with the IRA at that time.”
To help younger readers I suspect you are referring to about pre-1970 when it was acceptable to be at least indifferent to the IRA before they went a bit nuts. I’m sure you recall all the excitment of the 1966 celebrations of 50 years since 1916, TV documentaries, a drama series on 1916, great patriotic stuff at the time.
Yes, that was pre-70’s John.
God! You’re really ageing me now!!