The Den was a children's TV programme that ran on Ireland's public broadcaster RTÉ from
1986 to 2010.
My family didn't pay for anything else so all we got was like the three or four public
broadcast channels, so I watched a lot of the Den when I was young - because there was
literally nothing else.
The Den was filmed in a tiny studio with a tiny budget, where a host and some puppets
would introduce cartoons, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, He-Man, She-Ra, Bravestar...
I'd just like to point out they were airing these when I was watching in the early 2000's,
so well past their sell-by date.
Well, maybe not the Ninja Turtles - that was alright.
They would also have guests on, or play quizes with listeners over the phone and show off
artwork drawn by the audience.
The typical kid-show fair - but the Den is best remembered for being pretty chaotic,
often devolving into the host frantically attempting to restore order, and their composure
as the puppeteers were shouting over eachother.
Some of the noteworthy puppets include Dustin the Turkey, who was present for the vast majority
of the show's lifetime, who became such a cultural phenomenom we sent him off to represent
us in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008.
There was also Rodge and Podge, who were evil and would fight the show's cast and try to
eat the dog.
They would later move on to adult programming.
That's kind of like if Sesame Street had a light night show where
Elmo smoked crack and threw Oscar into a trash compacter.
This brings us to the topic of today's video - Kevin from Galway.
Kevin was a mysterious listener who called into the Den in 2004, in a moment that has
since gone down in infamy.
At this time the Den was hosted by Francis Boylan, Dustin the Turkey and Snotser.
There was an ongoing game called What's Snots - where Snotser would imagine a person.
place, thing or animal and the listeners who called in had to guess what he was thinking
of by asking him questions to narrow it down.
If they got it right, they won something like a bike.
It was the first of April 2004, and there were two listeners queued for the game - Amy
from Cavan and Kevin from Galway.
Years later, Francie Boylan explained that he would talk to the kids over the phone for
a bit before the game went live, during which he got the sense that maybe Kevin didn't really
understand the premise of the game.
Unfortunately, they only had so much time before they were live, and so...
So, it is instantly obvious that Kevin has no clue how this game is played.
Actually I'm not even sure if he realises he's even playing a game.
His opening question, "where'd you get your shades?" has since gone on to be a minorly
popular referential joke in Ireland, where the clip of the segment went viral - largely
due to Boylan's struggles to maintain his composure and progress the game along.
Boylan's eyes can be seen darting around throughout the segment and he later said that this was
because he suspected that Kevin was an actor and that the crew were playing a little April
Fool's prank on him.
He keeps looking at members of the crew to figure out what's going on.
At this point Dustin the Turkey is missing from the frame, having left to ask the producer
if this is a joke.
It isn't.
Kevin is a real caller and they have to try to continue the game with him, even if Kevin
apparently has better things to be doing.
Despite his laughter, Boylan bravely attempts to re-explain the game to Kevin half-way through
the segment
Francie Boylan has gone on to say he was only in the job for about 7 months at this point,
and was a little worried about how things were getting out of hand.
Maybe his job as kid's TV presenter could be in jeopardy if he demonstrates he can't
keep control of it.
He attempts to rectify the matter, before losing control again a mere second later.
At this point, assumedly in a bid not to be outdone by Kevin, Amy, who has so far seemingly
understood
the game, begins to shit the bed.
Sounds like even Snotser is starting to laugh now.
Well, these two idiot kids aren't going to figure this out so let's just end the segment
and get out of here.
So they both win the bikes, despite not actually winning the game.
They were so bad that the show basically had to forfeit them in a way that wouldn't upset
their feelings I guess, especially after this fella just laughed at them the whole time.
But there's a twist to the story.
We now know who Kevin from Galway was.
Thirteen years later, in 2017, Francie Boylan found Kevin, now 24, and invited him on to
his radio show to discuss the now infamous clip.
the man himself.
Seems like a nice fella actually.
so why didn't Kevin get it?
What was going on?
Well, bizarrely Kevin explains he had actually been watching the game for weeks before calling
in, and that the issues he experienced on air were due to a faultering telephone.
He was struggling to hear Boylan and was apparently simultaneously searching for a better phone,
which explains why he asks the presenter to momentarily pause the game while he does something
else.
Although, y'know, that still doesn't really explain his questions or how he didn't seem
to know how the game was played.
He admitted it himself, he was watching it
for weeks!
So did Kevin get his
bike in
the end?
Ungrateful bastard.
He does also explain it apparently took like 7 months to actually receive the bike.
Francie Boylan talks about how giving away both bikes to get out of the segment was actually
a problem.
To end the interview, the two take a trip down memory lane and play another game of
'What's Snots' for old times sake.
I'm going to be honest, I still think he doesn't fucking get it.
It's a bike, Kevin, it's a
fucking bike, c'mon.
So thirteen years later, Kevin from Galway hasn't changed much.
He's apparently still living in Galway too!
On his way out, they give him a nice parting gift.
Also looking at Francie Boylan's Twitter it looks like the pair went out and got pissed
after the show.
Well, isn't that a nice little story.
I hope Kevin is doing well, I wouldn't enlist him for a quiz team or anything but I'm sure
he's a decent fella.
And that's about all I have to say about Kevin from Galway - so please join me next time
I decide to look into what is ultimately an asinine story - and until then, can I get
an amen?
Can I get a hell yeah?
Can I get a subscribe and a follow on Twitter?
Yeah that's the stuff, alright I'll cya.