The 2024 General Election has led to many fresh faces in Irish politics as over 60 first-time TDs have been elected to the Dáil. But there’s one unexpected inbound addition to the Irish political scene, and I’m not talking about the outbound face of Gerry Hutch. I’m talking about David McCullough. Not that one.
Who is David McCullough?
Well, now the only answer I can offer up here is – it depends. In Ireland, particularly during election season, I expect you to be talking about RTÉ’s Six One Anchor, David McCullagh.
But, in an election that brought us the bizarre constituency with two Eoin Ó Broins, it turns out there are also two Davids; one McCullagh and one McCullough. However, our second David is in Florida, found in a case of mistaken identity by RTÉ’s presenter, Katie Hannon.
Katie, while trying to tag her colleague, tagged another Bluesky account by the same name. The second David, a Florida native now known as Florida Dave, woke up to thousands of Irish followers he didn’t have the night before.
In what truly is the best side of what social media can do, Florida Dave is leaning fully into his newfound Irish stardom. He’s had his mind blown that Irish Smarties are chocolate, but to be fair we’re just as amazed that in America these are more like Refreshers.
Funny, but Significant
It’s a great moment for Bluesky in my opinion. This kind of funny randomness is happening because there are lots of people on Bluesky. Given the fall off in quality seen over on Twitter, these kinds of silly stories are what make platforms like Bluesky engaging.
Florida Dave is going to feature on the RTÉ “Behind the Ballot” Podcast, with – you guessed it – RTÉ David McCullough.
Join me in welcoming Florida Dave to Irish Bluesky.
