He Talked The Line
To some, Liveline presenter Joe Duffy is the nation's unofficial agony uncle, a voice for the disaffected and downtrodden. But the programme’s ‘open mic’ policy has landed it in controversial waters on more than one occasion. As his extremely personal autobiography is published, the host of RTÉ Radio’s No.2 programme accuses Trinity College of elitism, talks about the crusade against head shops, discusses his brother’s addiction and hits out at David McSavage's send-up of Liveline.
Olaf Tyaransen, 30 Nov 2011
You make a big thing about coming from a working-class family.
I’m from Ballyfermot. I don’t make a big thing about it, I state that’s where I’m from. When we did our Leaving Cert, which was in itself an achievement, there was absolutely no conversation about going on to third level. It wasn’t an option. We didn’t know anyone who went to college. We didn’t know anyone who knew anyone who went to college. That’s how removed it was from us – even though Trinity was at the end of the 78 bus stop. But I also make the point that, in the block where my mother still lives in Claddagh Green, three out of the four houses in that block have sent someone on to third level education in the last 20 years, which is magnificent. It’s about opportunity, it’s about access. We didn’t even know how to get into college. We were given out these leaflets about getting ANCO apprenticeships and bank clerks and that kind of thing. That’s all we were given. That’s one of the reasons why I got involved with USI.
The college authorities must have hated you in Trinity, given your appetite for stirring things up.
They completely overreacted. Every time we did anything they ran to the High Court! There were three of us from Ballyer. Me, Barry Cullen and Brian Dowling – the three of us were totally involved in the Student’s Union, in trying to have an impact. And when we arrived… Trinity was the Vatican State. It was the opposite of religion. It was totally self-contained. Self-regulated, self-ruled. Not self-funded, it was funded by my oul fella in Glenabbey, but then you had to pay a toll to get into it, this was the big barrier. They couldn’t understand people challenging their authority. And they ran to the High Court every time. Also we weren’t attached to any of those bizarre traditions of free commons, toasting the Queen, the ‘fellows’, the self-perpetuating elite as we called them… to become a fellow in Trinity you had to be elected by your fellow fellows. The board of Trinity was elected by the fellows and even though the funding of the college was primarily from the State there was no-one representing the taxpayer on the board of Trinity. So I think they misunderstood us. It brings me back to the issue, that Trinity College is still the single most valuable educational resource in the country, both in terms of what they have and secondly, its location. And still they don’t offer evening degree courses, they don’t give people options, there’s no flexibility. This incredible resource should come up with new ways of actually letting people access their product.
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