Crokey performance

Date: 12/09/1996

Ireland's Agriculture Minister Ivan Yates could barely speak when he turned up to address MEPs at the start of the European Parliament's special committee of inquiry into mad cow disease last week.

It was not so much the awesome nature of the occasion, but more the fact that the poor man had virtually lost his voice.

Yates, the first 'witness' to address the committee at the launch of its three-month investigation, was so hoarse he probably could not have cried off even if he had wanted to.

Instead, he gamefully waded through a prepared 20-page speech covering every aspect of BSE down the ages. It was a sterling performance, but what had caused Yates' problem? A virus? Laryngitis? A heavy cold?

In fact, it was none of these. It turned out that the minister had shouted himself silly in Dublin the previous day supporting Wexford in the All-Ireland Hurling Final. His vocal encouragement worked, because Wexford (which is Yates' political constituency) beat Limerick by two points. Irish officials say Yates has now got his voice back The name of the venue for the hurling final? Croke Park.