# Nell Macafferty - very annoying



## z106 (29 Sep 2008)

I'm watching that one Nell Macafferty on Q & A on rte.

She just spouts rubbish.

How did she ever get a profile in this country?
And how did she sustain that profile?

I am truly baffled.


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## sidzer (29 Sep 2008)

Agree with the annoying thing - not sure if she has anything interesting to say as her presentation is so off-putting...


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## Simeon (29 Sep 2008)

The only cure for Nell is the remote.


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## DeclanP (29 Sep 2008)

Ah, I don't know. I think Nell says things that we would all love to say but are reluctant to do so. She doesn't give a damn for anything or anyone and speaks her mind. She is a bit like Eamon Dunphy in that regard. I suppose you either like her or hate her and I find that her views on things are refreshing.


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## Simeon (29 Sep 2008)

Call me old fashioned if you like but girls are meant to be girls and boys are meant to be boys. Regardless of their personality, some people just come across badly. Like an irritating accent or the inability to shut up when someone else is talking.


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## Vanilla (30 Sep 2008)

Simeon said:


> Call me old fashioned if you like but girls are meant to be girls and boys are meant to be boys.


 

You are old fashioned.


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## Caveat (30 Sep 2008)

I actually like her.  Guilty of bluffing and waffling but she makes up for it with the common sense she often speaks IMO.


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## Pique318 (30 Sep 2008)

She's an annoying aul bint who would be far better off in another dimension...





















...IMO


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## Teabag (30 Sep 2008)

sidzer said:


> Agree with the annoying thing - not sure if she has anything interesting to say as her presentation is so off-putting...




I second that emotion !


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## tyrekicker (30 Sep 2008)

Totally agree. She was insisting "yous know nothing" to the rest of the panel, when clearly she had no idea herself....


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## micamaca (30 Sep 2008)

Would rather take Nell's ramblings than Mary Hanifin's continous head in the sand answers to everything.  She's singing from some hymn sheet only she can read. 

Nell always comes across as a loose canon.  But she did have some rather good points to make, if you could get by the manner they were put across.  The Government did not see any of this coming.


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## z106 (30 Sep 2008)

micamaca said:


> Would rather take Nell's ramblings than Mary Hanifin's continous head in the sand answers to everything. She's singing from some hymn sheet only she can read.
> 
> Nell always comes across as a loose canon. But she did have some rather good points to make, if you could get by the manner they were put across. The Government did not see any of this coming.


 
But last night on Q&A she was just pontificating to everyone claiming she knew everything about the markets.
She was going on about how no one knows what will happen tomorrow and seh delivered it in such a way whereby this was breaking news.

As john Bowman rightly pointed out, that is the very nature of teh markets.

Basically - she reminds me of someone who will read a headline and think she knows everything and argue fully with someone else that has gone to the trouble of reading the whole article.

Even last night the panel in my mind didn't know what to make of her.
Anytime she spoke they all had some kind if grin on their faces - purely because i reckon they just did not know how to react to her.
In truth they are all probably a bit afraid of her - understandably.

It's all well and good to come acroos as someone that is not afraid to speak their mind - but you really need to be able to back that up with common sense if you are going to be that person.


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## micamaca (30 Sep 2008)

Ah yes, our government ministers...full of it... common sense that is. 

I'm sure they were terrified, she was in full flying form!   Richard Bruton looked like he wanted to swap seats at several points!


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## gebbel (30 Sep 2008)

I like her and find her quite amusing myself.


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## MrMan (30 Sep 2008)

She was actually embarrassing to watch and if she did feel that this was an opportunity to have a go at the political parties she really missed the boat. She came across as more of a pub analysist than anything else. Her casual throwaway remarks had the soundings of someone who was out of her depth on the discussion and like has been said that she had only bothered to research the headlines.


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## gillarosa (30 Sep 2008)

I think her admonishing regarding nobody knowing about current situation was directed at panelists attacking the Government for not taking steps to prevent the situation, she was in a way saying - how could they, they didn't see it any more than you did - anyway they are all annoying, Bruton at one time pronounced Celtic Tiger like it was a sports team, eejit!


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## z106 (30 Sep 2008)

gillarosa said:


> I think her admonishing regarding nobody knowing about current situation was directed at panelists attacking the Government for not taking steps to prevent the situation, she was in a way saying - how could they, they didn't see it any more than you did


 
I disagree - I thought she was basically bluffing about something she didn't have a clue of and decided to throw out soundbites that may seem ok.

She added nothing to Q & A last night. She took up the space of a more worthwhile guest.

I would seriously be surprised if she ever ended up back on that show again going by her performance last night.

Also - for some strange reason she appears full of herself.


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## Cheeus (30 Sep 2008)

I agree, she probably won't get another invitation very soon. I wondered in spots if she was drunk actually, though I think not.

To be fair to her though I don't think she was saying she knew it all. She was saying that noone can claim to have known. I agree with her that it's too easy for the opposition to point fingers and claim they would have done it better when they wouldn't have, because they didn't know either. 

Mary Hanafin was worse. Does she really think that all the construction & assembly line workers are going to upskill for R&D!? Come on, Nell was no worse. Nell certainly gave me a laugh when she said she should have put her money on a horse than into a pension fund. 

Bruton deserves the prize last night for not punching Nell every time she leaned into his personal space. I hope they do bring her back, she needs to just tone it down a bit.


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## z106 (30 Sep 2008)

Well ya - it seemed easier to have confidence with what jim power was saying as opposed to what mary hanafin was saying in their little battle.

Tha said - Mary hannafin is a politician - she is obviously just going to throw out the party line.


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## Cheeus (30 Sep 2008)

qwertyuiop said:


> Mary hannafin is a politician - she is obviously just going to throw out the party line.


 
Which is why I would hate to see the likes of Nell McCafferty excluded from the panel. I admit that she did annoy me last night, but at least she was being honest. Too many of their guests have no expertise yet take themselves very seriously and claim to know it all.

For example, everyone jumping on the bandwagon now to bash Fas. Where were they over the last few years if/when Fas was wasting money? Brian Mooney claiming to have seen it years ago. It's all well in hindsight.
I do think Nell's commentary is as welcome as anyone elses. Perhaps if she watches it herself she'll see she over did it??


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## Sunny (30 Sep 2008)

Cheeus said:


> .
> 
> Mary Hanafin was worse. Does she really think that all the construction & assembly line workers are going to upskill for R&D!? Come on, Nell was no worse. Nell certainly gave me a laugh when she said she should have put her money on a horse than into a pension fund.


 
I nearly threw something at the TV when she kept saying this. The Government has not put any sort of proper resources into R&D so I don't know why they think it will suddenly save us. Universities are struggling for funding, I know PhD students who are struggling to get any sort of funding, the roll out of IT in schools has been abysmal. Maths and science results are poor and universities are struggling to attract candidates in these areas. Our Broadband infrastructure is so far behind the rest of Europe, it is not funny. A couple of small job creation annoucements is not going to make up for the job losses seen in construction and financial services.

Wonder how Nell's hedge funds are getting on today. I presumed she was drunk to be honest.


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## demoivre (30 Sep 2008)

Sunny said:


> I presumed she was drunk to be honest.



Me too. She always struck me as being fairly clueless about Economics / Finance but last night she came across as a complete idiot. Trying to get the audience laughing and on her side and shouting down and trying to belittle fellow panel members only undermined all  her views imo.


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## Cheeus (30 Sep 2008)

I'm still a fan of Nell's so will plug her autobiography for those who haven't read it. It's simply called 'Nell'. It throws some light on why she's still a valued social commentator.


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## Pique318 (30 Sep 2008)

Cheeus said:


> It throws some light on why she's still a valued social commentator.



Oooooh, alchemy !


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## rabbit (30 Sep 2008)

MrMan said:


> She came across as more of a pub analysist than anything else. Her casual throwaway remarks had the soundings of someone who was out of her depth on the discussion and like has been said that she had only bothered to research the headlines.


Agreed , but the other people on the panel were out of their depth as well. Not only that, but the govt representative was speaking for the govt who actually got us in to the mess, by throwing fuel on the fire by extending the section 27 tax incentives again + again in 01, 02 , 03 etc, leaving thousands of unoccupied building in places like Leitrim etc etc

I agree with the point of the thread ; she is very annoying.  Why is she on RTE so much ?  Do people get paid to be " on the panel " I wonder ?


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## elefantfresh (30 Sep 2008)

Funny, I thought whilst watching that last night that i'd start this thread - was beaten to it. How annoying can one person be? Even if any of her points are valid shes still very hard to listen to.


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## cole (30 Sep 2008)

As soon as I see or (more often) hear her Mr. Remote comes out. I think that it's to do with her negativity and overbearing manner. She's right, everyone else is wrong.


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## becky (30 Sep 2008)

Sunny said:


> I presumed she was drunk to be honest.


 
I actually thought the same.  Some of her points were valid but anyone coudl have made them IMO.


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## z105 (30 Sep 2008)

I don't know why RTE put her on the panel in the first place, I commented to my OH that the producers must have found her wandering the corridors outside the studio. Talk about a fish out of water.


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## Purple (30 Sep 2008)

I have mixed feelings about her. I don't like her very much and find her rude and condescending but I also see someone who did valuable work for women’s rights and the civil rights movement in the North. Life has passed her by and she strikes me as a sad and lonely woman and for that I feel sorry for her.


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## Ancutza (30 Sep 2008)

I thought she all but retired ages ago! Guess she must need the money.


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## Simeon (30 Sep 2008)

Does Nell really exist or is she Dunphy after the makeup team have done a brilliant job?


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## becky (30 Sep 2008)

simeon said:


> does Nell Really Exist Or Is She Dunphy After The Makeup Team Have Done A Brilliant Job?


 
:d Lol


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## Bronte (1 Oct 2008)

I didn't see the show so from all your comments I'm wondering did Nell Macafferty cause the current crisis?  Who exactly caused the crisis, it can't have been the bankers trading in things that are impossible to understand and no one knows the value of surely.  Or the governments/financial regulators who allowed them to do this and are now kindly bailing them out on our behalf.   Where are the bankers now explaining how this mess happened, they're too busy in meetings arranging their next bonus and making sure their pensions are intact while some of us truly may have been better off backing a horse with our pension funds. If Nell wasn't on form maybe it's due to a recent bereavment of a previous former partner.


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## MrMan (1 Oct 2008)

Bronte said:


> I didn't see the show so from all your comments I'm wondering did Nell Macafferty cause the current crisis?  Who exactly caused the crisis, it can't have been the bankers trading in things that are impossible to understand and no one knows the value of surely.  Or the governments/financial regulators who allowed them to do this and are now kindly bailing them out on our behalf.   Where are the bankers now explaining how this mess happened, they're too busy in meetings arranging their next bonus and making sure their pensions are intact while some of us truly may have been better off backing a horse with our pension funds. If Nell wasn't on form maybe it's due to a recent bereavment of a previous former partner.



It is a serious show that we as licence payers fund so I think we are entitled to expect that those who appear on a panel to discuss the most serious matters that are affecting us all have the ability to actually add to the conversation. She was rude and irritating and that is what the gripe is.


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## Sunny (1 Oct 2008)

Bronte said:


> I didn't see the show so from all your comments I'm wondering did Nell Macafferty cause the current crisis? Who exactly caused the crisis, it can't have been the bankers trading in things that are impossible to understand and no one knows the value of surely. Or the governments/financial regulators who allowed them to do this and are now kindly bailing them out on our behalf. Where are the bankers now explaining how this mess happened, they're too busy in meetings arranging their next bonus and making sure their pensions are intact while some of us truly may have been better off backing a horse with our pension funds. If Nell wasn't on form maybe it's due to a recent bereavment of a previous former partner.


 
Whats the point of that post? This has got nothing to do with the banking crisis. That just happened to be what was being discussed on Q&A. If you want to give out about bankers etc, start another thread. The problem from what I could see was that Nell was in her usual form which is not a particulary good thing.


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## Betsy Og (1 Oct 2008)

becky said:


> Some of her points were valid but anyone coudl have made them IMO.


 
I didnt see the show, but I dont think the fact that anyone could have made her valid comments should be a problem. Sometimes you get all experts and no-one giving the 'man in the street' view, often a few simplistic or cynical comments from one contributor (or the interviewer/chairman) can draw the best out of the experts because they have to justify their views.

Nell is ok in small doses, would thoroughly wreck your head beyond that.


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## lightswitch (1 Oct 2008)

Personally I think Nell has had her day.  She did a lot of campaigning for womens rights in the 80's and made a valued contribution.  She is often on Newstalks lunchtime show with Eamonn Keane and to be frank when she comes on I turn off!


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## MrMan (1 Oct 2008)

Betsy Og said:


> I didnt see the show, but I dont think the fact that anyone could have made her valid comments should be a problem. Sometimes you get all experts and no-one giving the 'man in the street' view, often a few simplistic or cynical comments from one contributor (or the interviewer/chairman) can draw the best out of the experts because they have to justify their views.
> 
> Nell is ok in small doses, would thoroughly wreck your head beyond that.




What your saying is right except in her case she didn't leave anything open ended for further comment so rather than stimulate discussion she more often than not ended it.


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## z106 (1 Oct 2008)

MrMan said:


> What your saying is right except in her case she didn't leave anything open ended for further comment so rather than stimulate discussion she more often than not ended it.


 
Yes. That is correct.

Once she said something the conversation ended.

She was thoroughly useless.

It was a show I was looking forward to given the day that was in it and her presence  just wrecked my head.


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## LDFerguson (1 Oct 2008)

Havealaugh said:


> I don't know why RTE put her on the panel in the first place...


 
If RTE are aware that this thread exists, then it was the correct thing to do.  Far better for a programme to be talked about than not.


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## z106 (1 Oct 2008)

LDFerguson said:


> If RTE are aware that this thread exists, then it was the correct thing to do. Far better for a programme to be talked about than not.


 
I don't think that applies in this instance.
Here we are serioulsy talking up a negative aspect of the programme, albeit a once off.

Q&A is an institution anyway - it's not like it's some new programme trying to get attention for itself where any publicity is a good thing.


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## colin79ie (1 Oct 2008)

I suspect what was 'very annoying' for most people was that the usual Q&A script was disrupted a bit. The pre-chosen questions, the political waffle and the useless students asking pointless questions as 'research' is too much to bear on a good day!

Q&A should be axed as all it is is a party political broadcast that last toooooo long. Is this is what we pay our licence fee for? To see politicians and other 'experts' repeat what they read earlier that day in the newspapers? I hope RTE do see this thread!!


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## z106 (1 Oct 2008)

colin79ie said:


> Q&A should be axed as all it is is a party political broadcast that last toooooo long. Is this is what we pay our licence fee for? To see politicians and other 'experts' repeat what they read earlier that day in the newspapers? I hope RTE do see this thread!!


 
I think it's a great show.
Love it in fact.


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## MrMan (1 Oct 2008)

colin79ie said:


> I suspect what was 'very annoying' for most people was that the usual Q&A script was disrupted a bit. The pre-chosen questions, the political waffle and the useless students asking pointless questions as 'research' is too much to bear on a good day!
> 
> Q&A should be axed as all it is is a party political broadcast that last toooooo long. Is this is what we pay our licence fee for? To see politicians and other 'experts' repeat what they read earlier that day in the newspapers? I hope RTE do see this thread!!



If you want drama or off the wall watch a soap, but people tune in to Q&A for facts and at least to hear differing views on current affairs.


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## z105 (1 Oct 2008)

Does Q&A go out "live" - I think not ! Sure aren't the guests given the questions about an hour before recording so they can go off and ring their mates to get some answers !!!


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## z106 (1 Oct 2008)

Havealaugh said:


> Does Q&A go out "live" - I think not ! Sure aren't the guests given the questions about an hour before recording so they can go off and ring their mates to get some answers !!!


 
I reckon it does go out live given that they read out emails sent in by people during the show.


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## lou2 (1 Oct 2008)

It definitely goes out live...I was in the audience a few years ago when I developed a terrible coughing fit. It was so embarrassing!! The set is so tiny i reckoned that I was disturbing every audience member and panel member. Ah well...


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## Sunny (1 Oct 2008)

It goes out live but the questions are prepared in advance.


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## csirl (1 Oct 2008)

Can we merge this thread with the Dog Warden one and send the Dog Wardens after Nell?


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## Purple (1 Oct 2008)

The questions are submitted that evening by the audience. The show has a slight delay (5-10 minutes or something like that).


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## annR (5 Oct 2008)

I haven't seen or heard much from Nell at all and didn't see the program but I heard her on the radio coming up the Lisbon referendum and I thought she made a lot of sense in the midst of lot of rubbish being talked at the time.  I'd like to read her autobiography.


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