The Minister for Hardship.

Eamon Morrissey on Hall's Pictorial Weekly, c1977.

[@cahern1968]

35 years later things are still the same, but now, sadly, we don't have programs like this any more.

[@glen7318]

True... god the Coalitiion in the 70s were hilarious

[@cloverfield911]

Hall's Pictorial Weekly. a classic, and so true of the 70s and 80s.

[@lar842]

More true now than ever Xmas lights police the glimmer man is back 2022

[@ciaran5588]

I was about 9 when this was on. Glad things are SO much better now..........

[@paulcorrigan8530]

The "Minister for Hardship" was performed by Eamon Morrissey, known for his work bringing the characters of Flann O'Brien to life on stage. The Minister was intended as a thinly disguised caricature of the unpopular Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave. Morrissey gave the Minister a life of his own, creating a character who could have walked off the pages of any Flann O'Brien novel, and is as memorable as any of the stock characters of Cruishkeen Lawn. The Minister may well have contributed to Cosgrave's downfall, with the real Taoiseach's image increasingly confused in the public mind with Morrissey's character. In any case, he remains the best remembered of the stock characters of Hall's Pictorial Weekly.

[@k3D4rsi554maq]

I thought it was modelled on Ritchie Ryan the Minister of Finance.

[@tomkeegan3782]

Electricity will be twice as dear if ya don't use twice as much!!!!🤣🤣🤣 Hilarious!!!🤣🤣🤣

[@FredJ51]

Brilliant! And it might have been scripted yesterday. NOTHING has changed in Irish politics. No wonder RTE got cold feet over this sort of programme, same as with 'Scrap Saturday.'

[@tsk3392]

RTE has nothing like it anymore.

[@w4nk5r]

we do! the irish pictorial weekly out now!

[@Ruthybobz19]

Lets see the hardship Lenihan sends our way tomorrow!

[@chicken6000]

This is uncannily appropriate in todays context. HAHA

[@glen7318]

Ah Sadly the real Minister for Hardship has passed away....

[@DiscoReaper]

Christ …it could be re-interpreted as Pascal in todays govt of ‘23

[@mrsjaycloth]

Dont tell Cowen that they dont have to hand out free Cheeses!

[@ON8EI]

Quite apt considering how things have changed in IRL over the last few months.

[@ciaranoh]

HAPPY DAYS

[@martinadarcy781]

A comment from a Gript viewer brought me here ah the good oul days 😅

[@johneharold]

I think he's impersonating Liam Cosgrave. I remember this clip from the 70's & never thought it would come back to haunt us! Those jerks in Fianna Fail (especially Bertie)have brought this country to its knees (I'm non party). It will take a miracle and a courageous person to lead us out of this catastrophe

[@glen7318]

Yes of course, Liam C was the Taoiseach at the time

[@snipper1ie]

Although your comment was made a whole nine years ago, I must say (high horse). Was this character not called Richie Ruin? A parody on Richie Ryan FG, who would have been Minister for Finance in 1977. You're really contradicting your, 'non party' thing. There's a thing. As things stand nowadays, nine years later. What do you think of the state of the Country now? Have we been led out of the shite?

[@dinullr1957]

Huh. Timely

[@mrsjaycloth]

Deja vue?

[@JJONNYREPP]

The Minister for Hardship. 1608pm 27.3.23 this is same style of humour as propounded by those chpas from Father Ted and IT Crowd...

Utter nonsense.