Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
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DUBLIN — As a person who has worked behind the scenes in the news, there’s nothing quite as right as a live report going innocently wrong.
I probably feel this way because I’ve personally never reported on live TV — which is an inherently stressful situation in the first place — so of course I’ve never been a victim of or responsible for a live-TV mishap either. But knowing my fair share of TV reporters, it’s safe to say that most of them can appreciate the humor of the unexpected, and their co-workers appreciate it even more.
The things about live, outdoor weather reports is that there’s always, um, weather. So on a gusty, rainy Friday in Dublin, reporter Deric Ó hArtagáin of TV3’s Ireland AM probably wasn’t expecting completely smooth sailing.
That being said, he also probably wasn’t expecting that any problems would come from a traitorous umbrella. In the video, Ó hArtagáin is clipping along in his (lovely) Irish dialect when a particularly cheeky gust of wind pops his umbrella inside out.
That in and of itself would be entertaining on some level, but the particular squeal that comes out of Ó hArtagáin’s mouth plus his unexpected exit out of frame so delights the studio anchors that they have a hard time keeping it together.
Not to be foiled by an inanimate object, Ó hArtagáin heads back into frame, struggling with the mangled umbrella. Of course, this makes the whole thing funnier, but the beleaguered reporter certainly doesn’t make a complete recovery. However, there is grace in humor, so if you read this, Mr. Ó hArtagáin, congratulations on your hilarity-infused grace under pressure on live TV.
