One of the finest chroniclers of Irish social history over the past thirty years is a YouTuber called KillianM2, who today uploaded a nine-minute clip of RTE's half-time coverage of the 1990 All-Ireland football final between Meath and Cork.
It's a spectacular step back in time, and is wildly different to the half-time shows of today. Here are eight of the maddest things about the coverage.
The nine minutes of coverage consisting of 60% Declan Nerney and 40% analysis
Coming back from the ads, Lyster opens with a zinger to introduce Declan Nerney: "the first Longford man for quite some time to play in Croke Park". Nerney then performed two songs, both in tribute to the finalists in a Superbowl-style half-time show, in the sense that it had nothing in common other than it happening at half-time.
The festooning of Declan Nerney
Why are the Artane Band huddled so closely around him!? It's a pretty big pitch.
Nerney's suit and tie
"Hmm, I want something that says 'every colour on the spectrum visible to the human eye"'.
This rabbit
A nice metaphor for the Youtube rabbit hole this writer found himself in prior to writing this post.
This very lazy Meath banner
"C'mon the Green and, er, Green".
Charlie Mulgrew's incredibly baggy jumper
That's a jumper that looks to have been stretched after being caught in some barbed wire. Look at the sleeves!
Charlie Mulgrew's collar
"Hmm, it's definitely better in. Or out. Or in. Or out. Or in. Ah, fuck it".
Colm O'Neill punching Mick Lyons
Not RTE's contribution, but utter madness. Matin Carney called it "silly, rather than vicious".
Enjoy it all below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIWR2Nt-6X4&feature=youtu.be
