The observant and nosy among you will have noticed that The Blackpool Sentinel has been decorated by those who run the Cork Person Of The Year Award. ‘This is all about the ‘Soundtrack of our Life’, the singers, musicians and music that influenced us over the years, and I thank Colm and Martin for preserving that social history’, said the event organizer, Manus O’Callaghan. And in that one line, I think he summed up this blog and its purpose as well as, if not better, than any of the overly long reads currently on it.
In the best and worst traditions of Irish people of a particular generation, we’re both mortified and delighted in equal part. Clearly, the organisers were stuck, let down at the last minute by someone else: like The Sentinel itself, we’re glad to fill a void.
We started TBS six years ago in response to a lot of the more fanciful and factually inaccurate stuff we were reading on-line. Received memory is a dangerous thing and our primary purpose, then as now, was to get our facts right. After that, we wanted to avoid making a holy show of ourselves. There is work still to be done on this front but we’ll continue to try and do our best.
The organisers have invited us to a lunch in The Rochestown Park Hotel next year, and, provided we’re still hale enough, we’ll be taking up that kind offer. In an ideal world, we’ll be sharing a table with members of the Cork senior hurling and football teams and be placed in designated seating alongside Liam McCarthy and Sam Maguire.
In the meantime, we’ll keep going with the usual stuff and see where that takes us.
Go raibh maith agaibh uile as ucht an tacaíocht.
TBS
The Blackpool Sentinel 
Well done, Colm and Martin. Limerick are going to win the All-Ireland hurling, though.
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Colm & Martin…..Cork is rightly proud of ye two – you have done this “state some service”. Your names now go forward to Gala Awards Lunch on Jan 15th next, where ye might be chosen Cork Persons of Year. That’s a high possibility – the low possibility is that ye’ll be sharing a table with Sam or Liam. Continued success to the Sentinel……..Manus.
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Thanks v much, Manus. We’ll take our chances … Thanks again for thinking of us. We’re delighted. Colm
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…..the Sentinel’s analyse of the music and the “Times” that were in it….their accuracy of detail….also impressed the Judges that chose Colm & Martin for this long overdue award. Manus O’C.
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Cork Persons Of The Decade!!! But C’mon Tipp!!
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Thanks very much, Enda. We’re taking it very slowly and don’t want to peak too soon. All the best. Colm.
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Congratulations Colm and Martin! This accolade is well deserved, and as ever your humility, grace and class shines through, in this piece, in all your writings to date and in your reaction to the award. I’m a busy girl, and busier than ever these days but the fact is The Blackpool Sentinel is one of only two blogs that I follow and always make time to read. That says it all for me x
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Hi Keeley. Thanks so much for your lovely note. These things mean an awful lot to us. We’ve been following your own adventures ; the best of luck to you with all you have on. And thanks for continuing to bang the drum with us. XX.
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Aw thanks so much, that really means so much to me. Keep shining a light, I’ll always follow xx
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Congratulations Colm & Martin
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Thanks very much, Barry. GRMA.
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