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LIVELINE CALLBACK

Matt and Michael Image Name: Matt and Michael Description: Matt and Michael

Episode 5, RTÉ One Thursday 13th of December, 7pm

The new series of LIVELINE CALLBACK continues to follow up on some of the amazing stories and people who talk to Joe Duffy on his radio show.

This week we hear about best friends Matt Murphy and Michael O’ Sullivan who chose an unusual path to beat the tax-man!    We also hear the remarkable story of Tina O’Kelly’s daughter Coleen.  Tina went on Liveline after posting a video of her daughter crying with pain. The video went viral, as the family waited for Coleen to have a scoliosis operation she desperately needed.  And finally, Brian McDonnell tells us about the mystery of the exploding pint glasses!

                             

Matt and Michael:

85 year old Matt Murphy and 58 year old Michael Sullivan met almost thirty years ago while working in Eircom / Telecom Eireann.  They became fast friends.  Matt retired, Michael’s marriage broke up but the two remained incredibly close.  As Matt’s health began to fail, he needed a carer.  Michael was in need of accommodation and so they came to an agreed arrangement, that Michael would be Matt’s carer.  Matt could not afford to pay Michael and so decided he would like to leave him his house – but the tax would have meant that the house was of no use to Michael.  And so, the inimitable Matt, came up with a solution – he asked Michael to marry him!  Liveline Callback catches up the two pals, to find out what happened next!

 

The Waiting List:

In January 2017 Tina O’Kelly and several other mothers contacted Liveline because their children had been waiting for years – often in terrible pain –for scoliosis operations.

Tina told Joe Duffy about her then 21-year-old daughter Coleen who had complex medical needs. She was blind, had a kidney transfere and now desperately needed a operation to rectify the curvature of her spine. When Coleen was 18 she had to transfer from children’s to adult hospital, but found it difficult to get an appointment with the consultant because she had to start back at the bottom of the waiting list in Tallaght University Hospital – even though it was for the same consultant. Tina kept contacting the hospital, and eventually got an appointment two years later.  By that time Coleen was is excruciating pain and the x-ray showed her spine had curved to 102 degrees and was pressing on her lung, causing breathing problems. Even though her case was deemed urgent, they now had to join another long waiting list to get an operation to straighten her spine. Tina eventually posted a video of Coleen crying in pain on Facebook which went viral and went on Liveline to tell Joe Duffy her story. A week later they received a letter for a preoperative assessment and Coleen eventually had her operation in June 2017. LIVELINE CALLBACK revisits Coleen and her family to find out how the operation has transformed their lives. Coleen’s health has improved considerably, she is no longer in pain and her mood and appetite has totally changed. But Tina still feels that she – and other parents – shouldn’t have to fight so hard for their children to receive the treatment they desperately need.

Exploding Pint Glasses:

In March of this year, publicans from all over the country rang LIVELINE looking for the answer to an unsolved mystery. Why did their pint glasses keep exploding? However, Brian McDonnell from Barney Mac’s pub in Drogheda had a pint glass story that really captured the audience’s imagination.

Barney’s Mac’s pub in Drogheda has been open for nearly 90 years. It’s a pub whose employees come solely from the McDonnell family and it’s also a pub with loyal locals. On St Patrick’s Day 2015, four such locals were enjoying a pint while discussing the men in a picture on the wall. The picture featured some loyal customers of the pub and the man up for discussion was Joe Murphy, who had sadly died. Apparently one of the men spoke ill of Joe Murphy and not long afterwards his pint glass suddenly exploded.

One theory quickly emerged. The ghost of Joe Murphy had exacted his revenge. Brian’s son Ben uploaded CCTV footage of the exploding pint glass to the pub’s Facebook page and news of Joe Murphy’s revenge soon spread around the world.

However, an expert much closer to home soon rang LIVELINE to offer a simple scientific solution. Rory Wilson, a retired glass importer from Co. Wicklow, worked with glass for 25 years. He explained how the manufacturing process of modern pint glasses makes them susceptible to thermal shock and that scratches can cause the glasses to shatter. No paranormal intervention is necessary. Brian McDonnell however insists the glass was sound and no thermal shock was involved.  LIVELINE CALLBACK catches up with Brian and Rory to try to solve the mystery of the exploding pint glass..