Thompson joked that the tattoo, which read “Oylmpic torch bearer”, must have belonged to an Irish person before he was quickly corrected by presenter Matt Baker.
The tattoo was in fact Jerri Peterson’s, a US-born woman chosen to carry the torch as part of this year’s relay.
“Thompson comments about this were clearly meant as a joke but we apologise if any offence was caused; it certainly wasn’t our intention,” the BBC said. “Matt corrected Daley straight away and Alex offered an on-air apology at the end of the show.”
Thompson won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the Decathlon in 1980 and 1984 and has been tipped by some to light the Olympic torch during Friday’s opening ceremony for the 2012 Games.
The BBC’s statement said that “Thompson comments about this were clearly meant as a joke” and it’s bizarre, are they saying its ok to make racist comments so long as the intent is to be funny, had a white person said that the person must have been black, would it have elicited a similar rationale from the BBC or identified as a racist comment which it was regardless of the nature of the intent.
Was this a play on the word O, there is no evidence to say there was but a PR hack could have told him to say he connected the O with Irish as per President Obama who said jokingly that his name lost the apostrophe on the way from Ireland. The truth of what he mean’t is probably the implication that it was a stupid paddy that did it especially as he had refused to clarify or apologise but is there any possibility he connected the O with Ireland?
Just take a minute to think about what you’ve said; it’s absurd to suggest that he intended it in the context of O as a prefix, because O’Ylimpic is even more far-fetched than O’Lympic. And I presume the reference to “stupid paddy’ was your own personal contribution?
Strange that someone that no doubt experienced racism in Britain would so easily offend another ethnic minority in the UK. The alarming rise in anti-Irish hatred in the UK, Australia and New Zealand should serve to remind us that at their core, British dominated former colonies, including the US, remain overtly hostile to Ireland and its people
Living in the UK over a year now. Never experienced any anti Irish sentiment. In fact I was nearly embarrassed by the warm welcome I have received here.
Their is not a rise in anti-Irish sentiment in Britain. Where did you source this information? While it may seem like that from the negative spin RTE puts on the way the Irish are being treated abroad, I can assure you they are wrong. Their are many in Britain that dislike the Irish, and foreigners in general, but it is far smaller than in the eighties or nineties. Britain and Ireland have a strong relationship, which has improved greatly in the last four years.
Australian media outlets have run a series of damaging accounts of Irish drunkenness, but to say this has helped create anti-Irish feeling would be a lie. Many Australians now believe Irish backpackers are young pissheads, but they do not judge an entire people by the actions of a few. Why would they? The Irish have been going to Australia for generations. Most of Australia’s racism is directed toward Aboriginals and people of Asian origin. However, the amount of people that view the world in such a way is marginal, to say the least. Most Australians are proud of their multicultural society, and they work aggressively to remove racial barriers and prejudices.
New Zealand has no anti-Irish feeling whatsoever. Their was one story on RTE a few months back, is that what you are basing this on? If so, you are mistaken. I have many many friends in both Australia and New Zealand, and I spent a year in Oz a few years ago, so I can assure you that their is no anti-Irish sentiment, at least not in a noticeable way. Their will always be a few idiots, but it is a minuscule amount, and hardly worthy if note. New Zealand, in particular, has been actively seeking Irish people to fill the many vacancies they have.
Ironic thing on the English defence league is that the head of it, Tommy Sullivan is the son of Irish parents. Lived in the UK for 4 yrs and overall haven’t had had issues apart from coming home from and Old Firm game.
Oh please. Let’s not get on our high horse over something so petty and trivial. An apology was given, now get over it. Seriously, we are such a sensitive little country.
I wouldn’t describe his re enforcement of a negative racial stereotype as petty or trivial. This kind of thing needs to be called out for what it is, and credit to the BBC presenter for doing so.
An apology was given fair enough, but we have absolutely no need to see ourselves as a sensitive little country.
Sensitive little country! We’re probably the only country in the West, probably the world, that can have racist or offensive comments made about us passed off as “a little bit of craic”. If you insinuated any other nation or race of people couldn’t spell, there’d be uproar.
The problem is that the BBC have a bit of form in this regard. They defend a lot of borderline racism on the basis that making fun of national stereotypes is part of British humour. Remember the Top Gear/Mexicans case which ended up involving the Mexican ambassador to Britain and then there was Geoff Boycott referring to the Irish Cricketers as “you leprechauns”. There’s a fine line between a bit of neighbourly slagging and the descent into racist “humour”. If the BBC can’t define that line it’s no surprise that commentators occassionally overstep it.
Where do you draw the line though? Most Irish will accept a joke about us liking a drink, but a joke about us being a nation of drunks would be offensive. Its easier said then done trying to define that line unfortunately. There are infinitely more things to be able to have a laugh and joke about then insulting other people.
What’s more is that in contrast to the presenter and the man himself who outright apologised, which is fine, the BBC patronised the offended peopleby prefacing their hollow apology with an idiot explanation. As if the only reason some people were offended was because they were too dumb to understand it was meant as a joke, regardless of its stereotypical bullshit content.
The BBC’s attempt to justify it on the grounds of humour is nonsense. Is racims ok on the bbc so long as it is intended as humour. There still is a section of British Society in love with the idea of British Superiority that have an unfavourable view on the Irish, fortunately most British people are not like this but a significant majority are. I was once asked how things are in the “land of the Leprechauns” in an interview by a recruiter, he also stated his surprise that I walked past a bar to meet him in a coffee shop, initially I thought it was a lame attempt at humour on his behalf , especially as he was trying to get me to go for a job he would get a commission out of and maybe he did mean it as humour but clearly he did not see any offense in it either, anti-irishness in the UK is a long way from Punch Magazine but still very dominant amongst many (albeit a minority), not just the Irish either obviously what that arrogant toff said about the Mexicans was disgraceful too and again the BBC attempted to pass it off as acceptable banter.
Daly Thompson isn’t a comedian, on stage making a point about prejudices. He made an association between being Irish and being stupid in a country which has a lot of Irish, a history of prejudice against the Irish and who oppressed Ireland.
I think people are at least warranted in stating it’s inappropriate.
Nothing to do with PC. It re-inforces the opinion that we’re all a bunch of idiots. These remarks have real life consequences, for example an Irish person going for job interviews in the UK. Humour is okay, but this is not funny just ignorant.
Daley is a legend and i’d say he he probably shat himself after he made that remark. I doubt that there was any malace in it though plus its ok for us to slag each other off but when some celebrity does it it then its a big deal.
He’ll probably be starting on the Scotish or the Nigerians next.
Doesn’t matter if there was any malice in it – Perpetuating the idea that Ireland is a land of uneducated Micks should always be challenged. Quite frankly, I’m tired with the stereotype. Ireland has a very high proportion of it’s population who go onto third-level, and the days of Ireland been seen as spudless neanderthals are over.
@Aisling: The BBC ran a story about the misspelling the day after. Apparently the woman in question hadn’t realised (shucks, there’s a surprise) and has decided to keep it unaltered as she reckons it “makes her unique”.
It’s a wonder that we humans ever got nice things, really.
I’d say he was referring to the pronunciation of the word ‘oylimpic,’ as in, how it would sound if a person with a stereotypical Irish accent would pronounce it, in which case it is amusing.
Ah Cpm, you’re prob right there. That does make sense. Otherwise Daley’s still livin in 1984 when even we were lovin Paddy Irishman jokes. I’ve always heard he’s a lovely bloke so I’m guessing he meant no harm.
The people who are on here getting all self-righteous are exactly the ones the rest of us feel duty bound to wind up. What about anti-English sentiment in Ireland? Does that count?
How do u confuse an Irishman? Put two shovels against a wall and ask him to take his pick. Sickening racism, I’m sure you’ll agree (all u stick-up-the-arse whingers that is, anyway…)
As a true Irishman that has experienced anti Irish feeling in the UK especially from the police. I say bring it on. I make a lot of jokes about the british even to british friends of mine. Are we loosing our identity. Suck it up & give it back.
It was a racist comment, had it being acknowledged directly as such by the B.B.C. along with the “apology” it would be fine, attempting to state that “Thompson comments about this were clearly meant as a joke” means the BBC either don’t understand why the comment was racist or that racism is ok so long as it is done with humorous intent.
I know a number of English people living in Ireland, and I can assure you they get just as much crap here. One guy in particular was threatened while wearing an English rugby jersey in a pub watching a 6 nations match against Wales. All he wanted to do was wear his jersey watching a match at 2 o clock on a Saturday afternoon.
In general, I think as a people we like a bit of banter, and should be able to take it back. It must be tiresome getting offended all the time. I’d hate to go around letting people get my back up with words. The only people who can get a rise out of me are those closest to me – they know the buttons to push and the precise sequence to do it in :)
Rónán your English friend is drinking in the wrong pub. My local have a good mix of English, welsh, French and Italians all having the banter and generally slagging each other, never mind the Scarlett’s, Munster and Leinster slagging.
That sort of anti Irish comment seems to be ingrained in the mindset of a certain generation of British people. The same type who think its OK to call you Paddy. Its a racist comment and should not be dismissed as a joke by the BBC. If he Daley Thomson says that on the TV, i wonder what he says down the pub with his friends. F— You too Daley Thomson.
We should boycott English goods and not go there on holidays, and then march on their embassy, oh wait, it’s not in the slightest bit worth getting remotely offended about, we’re more than happy to export our Irish stereotype with Father Ted and Miss Brown’s Boys, so get over yourselves those who are up in arms over this
You would think Daley Thompson would know better than say something so obviously offensive. Since when has there been a correlation between being Irish and having poor spelling? Why would he instantly make that connection unless it is a long-held belief of his? Frankly, Mr. Thompson is displaying an attitude which reminds me of the Victorian caricature of the Irishman as stupid and ape-like it’s amazing that this attitude lives on in 2012. I think we have a right to be offended, those who say we should just ignore it are wrong, no one should have to put up with any type of discrimination on the grounds of race, intelligence, disability etc.
My mother used to use that phrase. Which sounded odd to me as a child as she was also Irish, with Irish parents who had Irish parents and, to my knowledge, no non-Irish people among her ancestors whatever.
I found that one a wee bit offensive when she’d come out with it. Then again, she’s since died so justice was probably overdone in that case.
having watched the clip, it is obvious to me that he was talking about the oy part of the spelling and reading it phonetically as in oirish, and not referring to us as being thick. people need to stop being so thin skinned.
awh god its an outdated joke. It does not reflect the way we are viewed by the world nowadays which is broke not stupid.No need to be so offended by a crap slur like that. we all say worse stuff about the english so get over yourselfs.
Thompson is not dissimilar to many British folk, I see it in business so much in my daily dealings and always turn a blind eye but i have to say it annoys me from time to time – the oul bodhran kicks off in the back of my mind and I get all patriotic!!! But you can’t really do a braveheart on it these days!
Let’s not bring the English Irish thing in to play.what new Zealand and Australia have got to do with this story is baffling.The comment was made by a sad not funny small minded person.
Don’t worry about this, sure hasn’t Brian singer made the bad guys in his new tv show a super advanced Irish tech company! We’re the bad guys now! But not with terrorist bombs, with brain implant technology. See, we’re smart now! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19o-sh9KWAk&feature=player_embedded
The whole pot & kettle thing springs to mind as I struggle to find much proof that good old Ireland isn’t a wholly racist country. I happen to work with people who refuse to deal with customers if their skin isn’t white and who won’t eat in the local cafe as the owner’s husband is English. I regularly hear completely insulting comments and names being used to describe people who aren’t the 100% Irish, white Catholic that they find acceptable. This is in county Cork by the way and I can only hope I work with the exceptions to the rule but I fear not….
Of course that doesn’t make Daley Thompsons remark ok but compared to the kinds of comments I’ve got to listen to regularly, which make me almost ashamed to be Irish, it was a pretty tame comment.
Daley (a nice fellow!-check out his rivalry with Redgrave and Coe regarding lighting the Olympic Flame), might have been thinking of this old Spike Milligan sketch:
Brilliant! TWO countries. Ireland – with the bent bankers, debts and dodgy politicians.
And “Oyrland”, debt-free, prosperous and 100% crammed full of virtue.
And everyone in it will have tick skins so as not to be offended by comments from eejits.
Funny isn’t it the things we get worked up about. We put all our energy throughout the Celtic tiger years screwing each other over with outrageous charges, corrupt planning, rubbish buildings, rubbish services, a joke of a healthcare system, underfunded mental health, education to list only a number. We reacted in the same precious manner a year before the fall when German businessmen laughed in shock at how much we were paying medical consultants. Daley Thompson is an Olympic legend born out of hardwork, talent and a respect for his tradition. Our recent Olympic history – questions about our swimming, our horse riding and now possible insider gambling. What a joke.
Thompson wore a t-shirt under during one Olympics asking the question ‘is the 2nd best athlete in the world gay’? He obviously fancied himself as a wind-up merchant & one for the banter. Amazing athlete but not one for self reflection so it seems perfectly in character for him to splutter out such a crass comment. I’d say the ‘O’ made the connection for him and out it came… He’s just your embarrassing mate always saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.
Lewis Hamilton relishing new challenge with Ferrari - 'I am back to square one'
1 hr ago
0
column
Irish managers are told football is a results business - that same must hold true for the FAI
2 hrs ago
1
Italian Job
Jack Crowley set to start at 10 for Ireland against Italy
16 hrs ago
134
Sign in or create a free account
To continue reading create a free account
Or sign into an existing account
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 156 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.Privacy Policy
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 106 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 137 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 106 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 79 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 78 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 38 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 34 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 127 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 60 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 75 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 82 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 39 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 45 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 27 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 89 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 96 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 71 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 52 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 86 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 66 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
what a clown should know better
I suppose it’s to be expected that this is the way some ethnically pure Englishmen like Thompson think….. He probably hates blacks as well ………….
The BBC’s statement said that “Thompson comments about this were clearly meant as a joke” and it’s bizarre, are they saying its ok to make racist comments so long as the intent is to be funny, had a white person said that the person must have been black, would it have elicited a similar rationale from the BBC or identified as a racist comment which it was regardless of the nature of the intent.
The pr**k.
Was this a play on the word O, there is no evidence to say there was but a PR hack could have told him to say he connected the O with Irish as per President Obama who said jokingly that his name lost the apostrophe on the way from Ireland. The truth of what he mean’t is probably the implication that it was a stupid paddy that did it especially as he had refused to clarify or apologise but is there any possibility he connected the O with Ireland?
@ economicopoly
Just take a minute to think about what you’ve said; it’s absurd to suggest that he intended it in the context of O as a prefix, because O’Ylimpic is even more far-fetched than O’Lympic. And I presume the reference to “stupid paddy’ was your own personal contribution?
Strange that someone that no doubt experienced racism in Britain would so easily offend another ethnic minority in the UK. The alarming rise in anti-Irish hatred in the UK, Australia and New Zealand should serve to remind us that at their core, British dominated former colonies, including the US, remain overtly hostile to Ireland and its people
Ex-pats are so easily offended… meh!
We’re getting a bad name because of a minority of people are acting like idiots over there and ruining it for others.
“the alarming rise” ? when did it ever go exactly? wouldnt include the US in there though at all. theyre not, er, loyal to the crown.
What a load of Sh1t
What nonsense. I live in the UK and have never experienced anti-Irish hatred. I haven’t heard any statistics either saying there has been any rise.
How did Australia & New Zealand get involved in this story? I have never experienced any anti Irish discrimination in Australia.
We voted for bertie Ahern et al we deserve to be laughed at.
The BBC should never allow such ridiculous stereotypes be used as humour!!!
On a completely different note: did you hear that Brendan O’Carroll won a bafta, great news eh?
Return of anti-Irish prejudice in Britain?
http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/generationemigration/2012/07/17/return-of-anti-irish-racism-in-britain/
Living in the UK over a year now. Never experienced any anti Irish sentiment. In fact I was nearly embarrassed by the warm welcome I have received here.
Their is not a rise in anti-Irish sentiment in Britain. Where did you source this information? While it may seem like that from the negative spin RTE puts on the way the Irish are being treated abroad, I can assure you they are wrong. Their are many in Britain that dislike the Irish, and foreigners in general, but it is far smaller than in the eighties or nineties. Britain and Ireland have a strong relationship, which has improved greatly in the last four years.
Australian media outlets have run a series of damaging accounts of Irish drunkenness, but to say this has helped create anti-Irish feeling would be a lie. Many Australians now believe Irish backpackers are young pissheads, but they do not judge an entire people by the actions of a few. Why would they? The Irish have been going to Australia for generations. Most of Australia’s racism is directed toward Aboriginals and people of Asian origin. However, the amount of people that view the world in such a way is marginal, to say the least. Most Australians are proud of their multicultural society, and they work aggressively to remove racial barriers and prejudices.
New Zealand has no anti-Irish feeling whatsoever. Their was one story on RTE a few months back, is that what you are basing this on? If so, you are mistaken. I have many many friends in both Australia and New Zealand, and I spent a year in Oz a few years ago, so I can assure you that their is no anti-Irish sentiment, at least not in a noticeable way. Their will always be a few idiots, but it is a minuscule amount, and hardly worthy if note. New Zealand, in particular, has been actively seeking Irish people to fill the many vacancies they have.
Ironic thing on the English defence league is that the head of it, Tommy Sullivan is the son of Irish parents. Lived in the UK for 4 yrs and overall haven’t had had issues apart from coming home from and Old Firm game.
I’d prefer to have a misspelled tattoo than be a dyslexic Birt!
Oh please. Let’s not get on our high horse over something so petty and trivial. An apology was given, now get over it. Seriously, we are such a sensitive little country.
I wouldn’t describe his re enforcement of a negative racial stereotype as petty or trivial. This kind of thing needs to be called out for what it is, and credit to the BBC presenter for doing so.
An apology was given fair enough, but we have absolutely no need to see ourselves as a sensitive little country.
^ This is exactly the kind of pettiness I’m talking about.
I’m not sensitive or little …. Take that back!!!
Sensitive little country! We’re probably the only country in the West, probably the world, that can have racist or offensive comments made about us passed off as “a little bit of craic”. If you insinuated any other nation or race of people couldn’t spell, there’d be uproar.
The problem is that the BBC have a bit of form in this regard. They defend a lot of borderline racism on the basis that making fun of national stereotypes is part of British humour. Remember the Top Gear/Mexicans case which ended up involving the Mexican ambassador to Britain and then there was Geoff Boycott referring to the Irish Cricketers as “you leprechauns”. There’s a fine line between a bit of neighbourly slagging and the descent into racist “humour”. If the BBC can’t define that line it’s no surprise that commentators occassionally overstep it.
Where do you draw the line though? Most Irish will accept a joke about us liking a drink, but a joke about us being a nation of drunks would be offensive. Its easier said then done trying to define that line unfortunately. There are infinitely more things to be able to have a laugh and joke about then insulting other people.
What’s more is that in contrast to the presenter and the man himself who outright apologised, which is fine, the BBC patronised the offended peopleby prefacing their hollow apology with an idiot explanation. As if the only reason some people were offended was because they were too dumb to understand it was meant as a joke, regardless of its stereotypical bullshit content.
The BBC’s attempt to justify it on the grounds of humour is nonsense. Is racims ok on the bbc so long as it is intended as humour. There still is a section of British Society in love with the idea of British Superiority that have an unfavourable view on the Irish, fortunately most British people are not like this but a significant majority are. I was once asked how things are in the “land of the Leprechauns” in an interview by a recruiter, he also stated his surprise that I walked past a bar to meet him in a coffee shop, initially I thought it was a lame attempt at humour on his behalf , especially as he was trying to get me to go for a job he would get a commission out of and maybe he did mean it as humour but clearly he did not see any offense in it either, anti-irishness in the UK is a long way from Punch Magazine but still very dominant amongst many (albeit a minority), not just the Irish either obviously what that arrogant toff said about the Mexicans was disgraceful too and again the BBC attempted to pass it off as acceptable banter.
that should say signifcant minority
Daly Thompson isn’t a comedian, on stage making a point about prejudices. He made an association between being Irish and being stupid in a country which has a lot of Irish, a history of prejudice against the Irish and who oppressed Ireland.
I think people are at least warranted in stating it’s inappropriate.
also racism
I didnt see it but assume it was said in jest. Everything is gone PC mad. He was probably only havin the Craic. Where is our sense of humour gone.
Nothing to do with PC. It re-inforces the opinion that we’re all a bunch of idiots. These remarks have real life consequences, for example an Irish person going for job interviews in the UK. Humour is okay, but this is not funny just ignorant.
Daley is a legend and i’d say he he probably shat himself after he made that remark. I doubt that there was any malace in it though plus its ok for us to slag each other off but when some celebrity does it it then its a big deal.
He’ll probably be starting on the Scotish or the Nigerians next.
To the best of my knowledge Diarmud, Daley Was born in Dundee!!!
And now he’s just an unfunny leg end!
“Thompson was born in Notting Hill, London, the second son of a Nigerian father and Scottish mother.” Wikipedia
Doesn’t matter if there was any malice in it – Perpetuating the idea that Ireland is a land of uneducated Micks should always be challenged. Quite frankly, I’m tired with the stereotype. Ireland has a very high proportion of it’s population who go onto third-level, and the days of Ireland been seen as spudless neanderthals are over.
Does anyone care about correct spelling (which gave rise to this). Judging from the poor spelling in most of the foregoing remarks, apparently not
@Aisling: The BBC ran a story about the misspelling the day after. Apparently the woman in question hadn’t realised (shucks, there’s a surprise) and has decided to keep it unaltered as she reckons it “makes her unique”.
It’s a wonder that we humans ever got nice things, really.
He should know better than to make a racist comment like that,it’s like the pot calling the kettle …..eehhh…
I’d say he was referring to the pronunciation of the word ‘oylimpic,’ as in, how it would sound if a person with a stereotypical Irish accent would pronounce it, in which case it is amusing.
/whale oil beef hooked
Ah Cpm, you’re prob right there. That does make sense. Otherwise Daley’s still livin in 1984 when even we were lovin Paddy Irishman jokes. I’ve always heard he’s a lovely bloke so I’m guessing he meant no harm.
That is probably it. I kind of feel sorry from him now
The people who are on here getting all self-righteous are exactly the ones the rest of us feel duty bound to wind up. What about anti-English sentiment in Ireland? Does that count?
How do u confuse an Irishman? Put two shovels against a wall and ask him to take his pick. Sickening racism, I’m sure you’ll agree (all u stick-up-the-arse whingers that is, anyway…)
That’s a kerryman joke :P
From a man who calls people peeps – go crawl back up your own ass Danny there’s plenty of company up there for you.
I call people peeps!?! Your username says it all Wayne. Anonymous too. Very brave.
And stop looking at my arse
As a true Irishman that has experienced anti Irish feeling in the UK especially from the police. I say bring it on. I make a lot of jokes about the british even to british friends of mine. Are we loosing our identity. Suck it up & give it back.
Mutually consensual bigotry is still bigotry.
We don’t have to “suck up” anything.
Is it possible he was referring to our accent? Say Oyl impic and it sounds a tad Oirish! Either way build a bridge!
And what about filim for film.
Ha… I’m a filim person myself!
Ah Daley, you should have had your packet of Daz with you to whitewash over your stupid comment.
That’s all it is,a stupid comment-not a conspiracy.Of course, we’re not even a tiny bit anti-Brit. Are we?
It was a racist comment, had it being acknowledged directly as such by the B.B.C. along with the “apology” it would be fine, attempting to state that “Thompson comments about this were clearly meant as a joke” means the BBC either don’t understand why the comment was racist or that racism is ok so long as it is done with humorous intent.
I know a number of English people living in Ireland, and I can assure you they get just as much crap here. One guy in particular was threatened while wearing an English rugby jersey in a pub watching a 6 nations match against Wales. All he wanted to do was wear his jersey watching a match at 2 o clock on a Saturday afternoon.
In general, I think as a people we like a bit of banter, and should be able to take it back. It must be tiresome getting offended all the time. I’d hate to go around letting people get my back up with words. The only people who can get a rise out of me are those closest to me – they know the buttons to push and the precise sequence to do it in :)
Rónán your English friend is drinking in the wrong pub. My local have a good mix of English, welsh, French and Italians all having the banter and generally slagging each other, never mind the Scarlett’s, Munster and Leinster slagging.
That sort of anti Irish comment seems to be ingrained in the mindset of a certain generation of British people. The same type who think its OK to call you Paddy. Its a racist comment and should not be dismissed as a joke by the BBC. If he Daley Thomson says that on the TV, i wonder what he says down the pub with his friends. F— You too Daley Thomson.
1908, 1948 and now 2012…. The English attitude to the Irish at Olympics staged in London
has not changed much!
We should boycott English goods and not go there on holidays, and then march on their embassy, oh wait, it’s not in the slightest bit worth getting remotely offended about, we’re more than happy to export our Irish stereotype with Father Ted and Miss Brown’s Boys, so get over yourselves those who are up in arms over this
You would think Daley Thompson would know better than say something so obviously offensive. Since when has there been a correlation between being Irish and having poor spelling? Why would he instantly make that connection unless it is a long-held belief of his? Frankly, Mr. Thompson is displaying an attitude which reminds me of the Victorian caricature of the Irishman as stupid and ape-like it’s amazing that this attitude lives on in 2012. I think we have a right to be offended, those who say we should just ignore it are wrong, no one should have to put up with any type of discrimination on the grounds of race, intelligence, disability etc.
Hmmm another well balanced bro with a chip on each shoulder !!
Brother from the Gutter..
It was a racist comment. If another presenter had used the n-word he/she would be been removed from his/her job. He should be sacked.
The term “that’s a bit Irish” is used all the time in the UK and has often been used in front of me. If it’s not said in malice then I’m not bothered.
My mother used to use that phrase. Which sounded odd to me as a child as she was also Irish, with Irish parents who had Irish parents and, to my knowledge, no non-Irish people among her ancestors whatever.
I found that one a wee bit offensive when she’d come out with it. Then again, she’s since died so justice was probably overdone in that case.
He had two much Lucozade
having watched the clip, it is obvious to me that he was talking about the oy part of the spelling and reading it phonetically as in oirish, and not referring to us as being thick. people need to stop being so thin skinned.
When it comes to jobs in Australia, in most cases the Australian will get first choice over a foreigner.
awh god its an outdated joke. It does not reflect the way we are viewed by the world nowadays which is broke not stupid.No need to be so offended by a crap slur like that. we all say worse stuff about the english so get over yourselfs.
Storm in a teacup.
Racist black English man.
Later a spokesman will say that I didn’t mean to say that.
That was a stupid generalisation.
A bit like saying all sports commentators and personalities are thickos.
Which surely is not the case.
Although SOME of them are.
Thompson is not dissimilar to many British folk, I see it in business so much in my daily dealings and always turn a blind eye but i have to say it annoys me from time to time – the oul bodhran kicks off in the back of my mind and I get all patriotic!!! But you can’t really do a braveheart on it these days!
I bet he only won gold because Bruce Jenner had retired.
Let’s not bring the English Irish thing in to play.what new Zealand and Australia have got to do with this story is baffling.The comment was made by a sad not funny small minded person.
I hate racism!!!
Careful now.
Don’t worry about this, sure hasn’t Brian singer made the bad guys in his new tv show a super advanced Irish tech company! We’re the bad guys now! But not with terrorist bombs, with brain implant technology. See, we’re smart now!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19o-sh9KWAk&feature=player_embedded
Blacks for ya
The whole pot & kettle thing springs to mind as I struggle to find much proof that good old Ireland isn’t a wholly racist country. I happen to work with people who refuse to deal with customers if their skin isn’t white and who won’t eat in the local cafe as the owner’s husband is English. I regularly hear completely insulting comments and names being used to describe people who aren’t the 100% Irish, white Catholic that they find acceptable. This is in county Cork by the way and I can only hope I work with the exceptions to the rule but I fear not….
Of course that doesn’t make Daley Thompsons remark ok but compared to the kinds of comments I’ve got to listen to regularly, which make me almost ashamed to be Irish, it was a pretty tame comment.
Daley (a nice fellow!-check out his rivalry with Redgrave and Coe regarding lighting the Olympic Flame), might have been thinking of this old Spike Milligan sketch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmJSrVNKnr0
As someone else said, let a British person make an ethnic joke and see how well that goes down.
Surely he was only referring to the accent. OYlimpic like Oyrish… What’s so racist about that? Am I missing something? I’m from Ireland btw.
God! Aren’t we Irish fierce sensitive little plants ……………
Rodger go play with your todger
Sticks and stones will brake our bones but names will never hunt us!!! Hope all the spelling is ok !!?
Break not “brake”.
Brilliant! TWO countries. Ireland – with the bent bankers, debts and dodgy politicians.
And “Oyrland”, debt-free, prosperous and 100% crammed full of virtue.
And everyone in it will have tick skins so as not to be offended by comments from eejits.
I honest thought he heard O’Lympic, as i did, and thought it sounded Irish.
Typical….glad moved out of that place
Funny isn’t it the things we get worked up about. We put all our energy throughout the Celtic tiger years screwing each other over with outrageous charges, corrupt planning, rubbish buildings, rubbish services, a joke of a healthcare system, underfunded mental health, education to list only a number. We reacted in the same precious manner a year before the fall when German businessmen laughed in shock at how much we were paying medical consultants. Daley Thompson is an Olympic legend born out of hardwork, talent and a respect for his tradition. Our recent Olympic history – questions about our swimming, our horse riding and now possible insider gambling. What a joke.
Thompson wore a t-shirt under during one Olympics asking the question ‘is the 2nd best athlete in the world gay’? He obviously fancied himself as a wind-up merchant & one for the banter. Amazing athlete but not one for self reflection so it seems perfectly in character for him to splutter out such a crass comment. I’d say the ‘O’ made the connection for him and out it came… He’s just your embarrassing mate always saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.