Dazed In The Life

The DU Players Committee 2008-2009 with Pauline McLynn

Wednesday 1st October. I’m lathered in sweat, rushing about the Players Theatre in Trinity College, trying to set out the seats, sweep the floor and generally prepare the place before our Guest Speaker arrives. She is a former chair of Players, Trinity’s Drama Society, and since leaving Trinity she has become one of the best-known names in Irish and British entertainment. I had attempted to accurately research her biography before she arrived by visiting Wikipedia. However, upon discovering that she had scaled Everest three times, won six Nobel Peace Prizes and could run the 100m faster than it takes Usain Bolt to fart, I decided maybe her own website and my own basic knowledge would be a better, safer bet.
(Incidentally, I decided to Wikipedia Joe Kinnear within twenty minutes of the news about his appointment to the Newcastle job breaking. I was interested to read that he left Luton Town in “mysterious circumstances” which Wikipedia then went on to suggest that “he had a sexual relationship with a polar bear”. I followed the trail and read that polar bear males have a penis about 4 feet long and mate continuously for a week. Which leads one to wonder how on Earth Joe could satisfy the lady polar bears. Then again, it probably explains why he has this history of heart conditions.)
Anyway, our guest has in her time been part of the team behind the brilliant RTE radio satire, “Scrap Saturday”, playing the women of Ireland. Her TV work includes regularly appearing on some of the greatest panel shows such as Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Have I Got News For You and They Think It’s All Over, not to mention sketch shows like “Bremner, Bird and Fortune” and “Jam and Jerusalem” and Radio 4’s “Just A Minute”. She is one of the best stage actresses in Ireland, recently appearing in “The Taming Of The Shrew and, displaying her multi-talented nature, she’s just finished her 7th novel. She has also convinced us that “Every Little Helps” on behalf of a large chain of British supermarkets, acted with Keith Duffy and supports Aston Villa.
I also hear she was in a TV show about an Irish rabbi or something.
Anyway, I was staggering across the theatre space with 5 chairs piled up in my arms when I heard an unmistakeable voice call out in Front Of House: “Are you the chap in charge here?” I dropped the chairs and swam through my perspiration to the room next door. And there she was. Mrs. Doyle. Sorry, I mean, Pauline McLynn. And, once I had introduced myself, I needed to offer her a beverage. And despite already having given this moment thought and spotting an obvious mistake to be avoided, I still managed to somehow make my opening gambit “a cup of tea”. Pauline, to her eternal credit, instantly put me at ease, saying she didn’t mind it at all, that she loved “Fr. Ted”, and that she would take me up on my later offer of a glass of wine.
The evening that followed was one of the best experiences of my life. Pauline turned out to be THE NICEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD EVER. When I called my mum later on and finished gushing about the loveliness of Pauline, she sounded slightly jealous when replying “You’ve never called me the nicest woman in the world ever!” To which, the only reply is, of course, “Yeah, well, you’re my mum”. I took Pauline on a tour around the theatre and she was delighted to see the backstage bits which she had never visited before, especially the stainless steel counters in the dressing room. She stopped in the theatre where a clutch of about 6 members of the society were finishing the set-up for the night, and remarked that “If this is all that is coming, sure we can all head down and heckle Ardal” (O’Hanlon who by total coincidence was chairing the Historical Society’s debate that same night).

The DU Players Committee 2008-2009 with Pauline McLynn

Within 2 minutes of meeting Pauline, it was as if she was a mate who we had known all our lives. She slagged off Matt, our Treasurer and a BESS student, about his impending unemployment. She delighted Sarah, our Front Of House manager, when laughing at the following exchange:
P: “I shouldn’t really be having this wine, I’m supposed to be on the dry tonight”.
S: “Well you are. The dry white”.
Pauline addressed a rapt audience about her time in Players and her ensuing career. She was funny, lively and interesting. Her husband Richard arrived towards the end of the talk. He seemed keen to get on the road as soon as possible – Pauline had an engagement in London the following day – but his wife had other ideas! After she finished taking questions, she was presented with a huge bunch of flowers and Honorary Patronship of the society. She had already managed to talk Matt into giving her his Players hoodie – her flirting with him leads one to suspect it was the first in a lengthy stripping process! She led the way into Front Of House where she chatted to anyone who nervously approached her, signed everything put before her, enjoyed the banter and posed for photos with the committee. Eventually poor Richard managed to drag her away from her adoring fans who all wanted to take her to the pub!
I think it’s natural for anyone when meeting a celebrity to feel nervous. This is someone you know a lot about, or you at least recognise. They have been “on the telly”. They don’t know you. Yet, two things to remember are that most celebs don’t think of themselves as such, they are just doing their job, and secondly, they are still people. And some people are just great. And Pauline McLynn is just great.
Everyone who met her that night said the same thing: She is SO lovely. And not lovely in that “damning with faint praise way”, but genuinely lovely – kind, funny, engaging, the sort of person who makes you feel warm and fuzzy and happy to be in their presence. I have to say, I spent the whole day thinking “I better be uber-polite, make sure the place is tidy and full of refreshments for her and not mention “Fr. Ted” in case she thinks “here we go again, everyone thinking I’m a one-trick pony”. By the end of the night, we were cracking sex jokes with her. And she signs her autograph with “Ah go on” and “Mrs. Doyle”. I know, because I got one. And a photo with her. They’re proudly on the mantelpiece right now. I think I need to get a glass case to keep them in, they feel like precious pieces of memories from one of the best nights ever. Because they are.
And if I’m speaking in ridiculously gushy glowing terms about Pauline, if you’re thinking “lickarse”, well so what? Sometimes people deserve high praise. You don’t often get the chance to say nice things about someone. Especially publicly. And, by the way, Pauline was beyond nice in her words about the night herself. If the person who wrote this in her blog doesn’t deserve some nice words in return, then who does?

(From http://www.paulinemclynn.com/site/blog/students)

students · 3 days ago
Well, now. I had a wonderful night in the company of the students at me old college Trinity in Dublin. As I walked through the campus to the theatre (for twas the drama society I was visiting) I saw a big queue waiting to go into the Historical or Philosophical Society – couldn’t tell which one – turned out me old mucker Ardal O’Hanlon was speaking to them and another comedian – IF.com Edinburgh award winner extraordinaire David O’Doherty – was with the other society. An embarrassment of riches. Anyhow, the Players members I met tonight were a delight. To be honest, if the country is to be left to them I think it should be sooner rather than later – they were smart, mannerly, fun and trustworthy which is a helluva lot more than most of our public representatives and I think they’d have more common sense than to let the country get into any further mess. Hand the place over now, I say. They are so much more savvy too than we were ‘in our day’. And I came away all glowing with much booty – a hoodie with D U Players embroidered on it (yes, all you others who once were members I HAVE THE HOODIE – read this and weep) an honorary patron’s ‘certificate’ and my membership for the year. RESULT. I almost wish I was starting over again at university (but knowing what I know…and maybe staying my age too – never thought I’d say that…) as I think I’d have a ball. Great people and I wish them all the success and fun in the world – already they deserve it.

I can’t wait to see Pauline again. And we’re definitely hitting a pub that time and making a night of it. “You’ll have another wine won’t ya? Ah go on!”