News and Observations from Wapella, Illinois: Home of the Wildcats.

Facebook Activity for Wapella

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Next time, drive 18 Miles South for a Dust Up


This is almost too easy (next), but Hilary Quinlan, the former Mayor of Waterford, Ireland (ancestral home of the Irish Row's own Donovan's (I think)) got into a balliwick at Jumer's Chateau in Bloomington, striking a woman at a wedding reception.
The possiblities are endless for comedy here, but I suggest:
1) Offering Quinlan the Keys to Hog City. This man represents the true spirit of the Wapella Irish, always welcoming a brawl at Jumers.
2) Kicking off a lecture tour in Hog City devoted to woman smacking. Current norms in the US make this in particularly bad taste, but in the Old Country, they still know how to dust it up.
3) Asking Quinlan to appear at the upcoming midget wrestling matches at the Irish Circle. Perhaps some type of ceremony, MCed by "Rock and Roll" Buck Zumofe where in Quinlan is offered an olive branch and shilleleagh and made a public spectacle of.
Quinlan, I can't agree with all your methods, but I certainly applaud your style. You lifted the reputation of the Irish back to about the 1854 level in Central Illinois, which as we all know was when we Paddies were on the bottom of the heap and the top of the world.
Applause? Jeers? Petition drives? What does Wapella make of Quinlan?


Editors Historical Note:
If there were custom T-shirt shops in the early 19th century, it may have been possible for Irishmen to make a Muscle T stating "Famine? What Famine? I'm digging my way to Hog City" with a big logo of a shovel.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Quinlan certainly embodies the spirit of the "way too old to be fighting" Central Illinois Irish, like my great-grandfather, whose "over 50 brawling style" cost him an eye late in life. How he loved to torture the grandchildren with his glass eye...

P.S: I'd like to introduce Quinlan to T.P. Gaherty, sit back and watch the fireworks.

Mickey Mouse.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Mod,
Sometimes you're just too predictable. I knew this Pantagraph article would end up on Wapella.com but deservedly so!
There's something about the combination of Jumer's (The Chateau) and an Irish wedding reception which always creates trouble. I recall an overserved young man trying to pull the bride's veil off of her head. Does anyone else have any sweet memories of Wapellicans losing control at Jumer's?
trc

Moderator said...

Was that at your wedding? I thought it was a trappers and furriers convention for all the mink wearing folks in attendance.

Do you have any thoughts on what types of slogans on T-Shirts may have been popular in 19th century if the technology was available?

Anonymous said...

Mr. Mod has landed an obvious story here. But let me encourage some attention to detail! The Donovans are not from Co. Waterford, but the Powers's are. And the phrase involving "balliwick" is muddled in many regards, including spelling. Last, I would also highly discourage a seminar series devoted to "woman smacking," and encourage the mod to throw an olive branch to the lady cats.

HG

Anonymous said...

The biggest international event in BN since Mod and his posse of auto execs frequented the social scene.

In Mod's defense he wasn't overserved. I can understand how he'd want to share libations with his then new cousins and their pelts.

How about "I got plowed in Hog City" or "Make Spuds not War" and, since intellectual property rights are foreign to Hog City, I give you: "Hog City is for Lovers". EEP, you can run with the last one.

BEP

Anonymous said...

Speaking of Hibernians, how are the Domers (they don't deserve to be called Irish) 21 point dogs to to Purdue? On behalf of Americans of Irish descent I'd like to ask ND to get a different name, something au Francais may be more appropriate. Like the Truffles.

BEP

Anonymous said...

BEP,

The epicenter of all things Irish on the ND campus has moved from the gridiron to the classroom. I encourage a visit to the Keogh Center for Irish Studies' Lecture Series, e.g. National University of Ireland, Galway's Geroid Ó Tuathaigh has lectured recently on the topic "Language Change, the State and National Identity in Ireland Since the Great Famine."

HG

Moderator said...

I would guess that Quinlan would get a stomping from about 99% of the Lady Cats, who would be chanting "Too easy, next" at the misogynist pugilist.

Anonymous said...

James Slim Mollet dancing @ Teresa and Mark Curi's wedding was one of my all time favorites. I try to tell that to him and Lou basiclly every time I see them - he was on fire. Pete is a good dancer but is a little picky with his song choice - no Chubby Checker, no Pete. I think JM had the microphone for awhile trying to get a Blair Kiel chant going. bbd

Moderator said...

HG,

How would you fit a lecture like that on an old-timey 19th century T-Shirt?

It's all slogans, always has been. See the new post.

Moderator

Anonymous said...

Mod is correct. No way does Quinlan threaten HC's female population. I once organized an all-female arm wrestling tourney at The Tap. There was no shortage of entrants, and 100% of them would have put Quinlan down. It was a sight to see. Brad and Janelle Thomas and IRBW can verify.

Sidenote: BEP - these are not the type of events we want to put into our plan of action. Best to avoid the arm-wrestling contingent.

Anonymous said...

Is the all-lady arm wrestling revue similar to the Mod's long-running arm wrestling feud with Cord Burris?

Why didn't Terry Funk win an Supporting Actor Oscar in "Roadhouse"?

BEP

Blog Archive