News Item

(Galway First.ie) "A Galwayman had to be removed from a local cinema after he removed all his clothes and shouted abuse at Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren as the film The Queen was being shown, a local court was told this week.

Seanin Beag MacTuama, from North Connemara was charged with lewd and indecent behaviour, with indecent exposure, with breaching the peace and also became the first person since the foundation of the State to be charged with an offence under the Mirth Against The Monarch Act of 1637. Sergeant Gerry Sexton told the court that he and a colleague were called to the city cinema after reports of the disturbance last week.

“The gentleman was sitting at the front of the cinema and was laughing to himself. Eveytime, Ms Mirren appeared on the screen, he kept saying ‘Jaysus, she’s gorgeous. I would ya know, would you.’ The court heard that Mac Tuama, who is unemployed and in receipt of benefit continuously laughed throughout the more sombre bits of the movie. Witnesses said that during the scene in the movie when news of Diana’s death was being broken to princes William and Harry, MacTuama stood up and said “I bet they’ll say ‘Dad, who’s taking the hearse to France’ — a reference to a famous Irish Kerrygold butter TV ad in which a character says “Dad, who’s taking the horse to France.”

“This upset many people who were there and who were fond of Diana,” said Sgt Sexton, adding that he wasn’t bothered either way by it, but that his wife would be “into that sort of thing.’ Solicitor for Mr MacTuama, Ciaran Tuohy said that his client claimed he was a direct descendant of the medieval Irish sea queen Grace O’Malley aka Granuaile and therefore had “an issue” with Queen Elizabeth the First and consequently Helen Mirren who played QE1 in a BBC programme. He said that he had become confused when Mirren appeared on screen as Queen Elizabeth the Second and it was at this stage that he ranted that he was ‘the victim of a Royalist plot.’ He later removed all his clothes and danced a reel in the aisle of the cinema.
He was fined €150 for indecent exposure, €150 for lewd and indecent behaviour and half a crown for the offence under the Mirth Against The Monarch Act."

I love Galway. If you do nothing else this St. Patrick's Day, see to it that you violate the Mirth Against The Monarch Act at every opportunity.