Latest posts by Martin Moodie (see all)
We like to describe The Moodie Report as “the website that never sleeps”, which is taking liberties both with the English language and semantic rationale, I know, but hey… you know what we mean right?
Well, I can tell you my close cohort and fellow shareholder Dermot Davitt really isn’t getting any sleep at all right now. That’s because he’s holed up inside The Moodie Report Galway Bureau (in the town of Salthill to be precise) amid the worst storm in living memory (and there have been millions down the years I can tell you) on the West Coast of Ireland.
It’s called Storm Desmond and it’s… well, storming just about everywhere and everything in the region to catastrophic effect in some locations. Dermot sent me an e-mail yesterday, noting: “Huge storms here, so am hunkering down indoors.”
Keep hunkering Dermot, keep hunkering. And for goodness sake stay indoors.
Why? Because, courtesy of former ARI executive Martin Waldron, I have just seen what’s happening outside. You simply have to watch the short clip below of television journalist Teresa Mannion delivering a live weather report on RTE News last night. Not surprisingly, it’s gone viral on social media since.
“I cannot repeat the advice often enough from the gardai [police],” she yells through the howling wind and rain. “Don’t make unnecessary journeys, don’t take risks on treacherous roads. And don’t swim in the sea. Incredibly, people have been spotted in the water here in Blackrock in Salthill both today and yesterday. Galway City Council say their actions are idiotic! Not only are they putting their lives in danger but it is unacceptable and unforgiveable to put the lives of people in the rescue services in danger as well.”
I can tell you that none of them was called Davitt (though his daughters are gold star swimmers), as Dermot is currently safe and warm, alongside his family, and working to a tight deadline to get an important Moodie Report project done. But sorry Dermot, it’s time for me to be a compassionate leader and tell you to put your work aside for once and look after your family instead. This is The Moodie Report, not The Mannion Report.
To paraphrase the admirable journalist: “I cannot repeat my advice often enough Dermot. Don’t write unnecessary journals, don’t take risks with treacherous workloads. And don’t type in the sea. Incredibly, people have been spotted in the water typing in Salthill both today and yesterday. The Moodie Report Chairman says their actions are idiotic!”