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Kim Jong-Nam was killed by 'most potent' chemical weapon VX nerve agent

The son of Kim Jong-Il died in Malaysia after a seizure.

Malaysia North Korea The murdered Kim Jong Nam, left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un. AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

NORTH KOREAN LEADER Kim Jong-Un’s half-brother was assassinated with a lethal nerve agent manufactured for chemical warfare and listed by the UN as a weapon of mass destruction, Malaysian police have said.

Releasing a preliminary toxicology report on Kim Jong-Nam’s murder at Kuala Lumpur airport, police revealed the poison used by the assassins was the odourless, tasteless and highly toxic nerve agent VX.

North Korea has a vast chemical weapons stockpile, including VX, of up to 5,000 tonnes, South Korean experts said Friday.

Traces of VX were detected on swabs of the dead man’s face and eyes, police said. Leaked CCTV footage from the 13 February murder shows the portly Kim being approached by two women who appear to push something in his face.

Just a tiny drop of the agent is enough to fatally damage a victim’s central nervous system.

One of the two women suspects who remain in custody fell ill after the brazen killing, with police saying Friday she had been vomiting.

National police chief Khalid Abu Bakar added atomic energy experts would sweep the airport’s busy terminal where the Cold War-era attack took place for traces of the toxin, the most deadly chemical agent ever developed, as well as other locations the women passed through.

Khalid added detectives would look for the source of the VX.

“We are investigating how it entered the country,” Khalid Abu Bakar said.

However he added that “if the amount of the chemical brought in was small, it would be difficult for us to detect”.

Malaysia North Korea Malaysia's Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar speaks during a press conference. Alexandra Radu AP Alexandra Radu AP

‘Needed to wash hands’

A leading regional security expert told AFP it would not have been difficult to smuggle VX into Malaysia in a diplomatic pouch, which are not subject to regular customs checks.

North Korea has previously used the pouches “to smuggle items including contraband and items that would be subjected to scrutiny if regular travel channels were used”, said Rohan Gunaratna, the head of the Singapore-based International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research.

Khalid has previously said the woman who ambushed Kim from behind clearly knew she was carrying out a poison attack, dismissing claims that she thought she was taking part in a TV prank.

“The lady was moving away with her hands towards the bathroom,” Khalid said earlier this week.

She was very aware that it was toxic and that she needed to wash her hands.

The leaked CCTV footage shows Kim asking for help from airport staff, who direct him to a clinic, after he is ambushed.

Police said he suffered a seizure and died before he reached hospital.

Detectives are holding three people — women from Indonesia and Vietnam, and a North Korean man — but want to speak to seven others, four of whom are believed to have fled to Pyongyang.

葉榮添 / YouTube

One man wanted for questioning, who is believed to be still in Malaysia, is senior North Korean embassy official Hyon Kwang Song.

Police have acknowledged that his diplomatic status prevents them from questioning him unless he surrenders himself.

However, a North Korean official outside Pyongyang’s Kuala Lumpur embassy said Malaysia had not submitted a request to speak to Hyon, despite the police chief earlier saying the embassy would be asked for assistance.

Chemical warfare

North Korea’s state media yesterday launched a ferocious assault on Malaysia for “immoral” handling of the case and for playing politics with the corpse.

North Korea has never acknowledged the victim as the estranged brother of leader Kim Jong-Un and the lengthy KCNA dispatch avoided any reference to the dead man’s identity, calling him only “a citizen” of North Korea “bearing a diplomatic passport”.

The only known use of VX is as a chemical warfare agent and the US government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes it as the “most potent” of all nerve agents.

Malaysia North Korea The car of ambassador of North Korea to Malaysia. Vincent Thian / PA Vincent Thian / PA / PA

“It is possible that any visible VX liquid contact on the skin, unless washed off immediately, would be lethal,” the CDC said on its website.

VX was used by Japan’s Aum cult in the 1994 murder of an office worker in Osaka, and in the attempted murder of two other people.

The doomsday cult led by guru Shoko Asahara used sarin nerve gas for a deadly attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995. Asahara was sentenced to death for the subway murders as well as producing deadly substances, including sarin and VX.

© – AFP 2017

Read: North Korea’s secretive media breaks its silence on Kim Jong-Nam murder >

Read: Heavily armed police guarding body of Kim Jong-Un’s half-brother after attempted morgue break-in >

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    Mute O Swetenham
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    Jul 5th 2017, 10:13 PM

    In fairness, he really was terrific at haranguing. A masterful haranguer. No better harangutan has ever graced Irish television.

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    Mute An_Beal_Bocht
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    Jul 5th 2017, 11:47 PM

    @O Swetenham: There are so many. Can’t seem to copy in links but you can find them handy enough. The episode with crazy Conor “I’ll come at you” Lenihan was classic Vinny and the grilling of Regina O’connor running for the Senate was brilliant. One of my favourite ever was the interview with independent candidate Gary Birmingham running in the Dublin West by-election, YOU HAVE TO WATCH IT! It’s absolute comedy gold. All on YouTube

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    Mute An_Beal_Bocht
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    Jul 6th 2017, 12:11 AM

    @An_Beal_Bocht: Found the link to that one, enjoy: https://youtu.be/JWqFWYIQEmE

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    Mute Chris Kirk
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    Jul 27th 2017, 9:47 AM

    @O Swetenham: With the calibre of clowns on the VB show who set themselves up to be harangued.

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    Mute Paul Santry
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    Jul 27th 2017, 10:38 AM

    @An_Beal_Bocht: OMG, so funny

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    Mute Joe Conlon
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    Jul 27th 2017, 10:46 AM

    @An_Beal_Bocht: thank you for that, that is still hard to watch!

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    Mute Perry2016
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    Jul 27th 2017, 12:28 PM

    @An_Beal_Bocht: thats hilarious

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    Mute Mark D'Arcy
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    Jul 27th 2017, 3:50 PM

    @An_Beal_Bocht: Here is the link to the full mockumentary:

    Watch “Shamrocracy (Full Length)” on YouTube
    https://youtu.be/L2tJI6BceT8

    Definitely worth a watch

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    Mute Mick Micky
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    Jul 27th 2017, 6:35 PM

    @O Swetenham: Don’t forget the ultimate which the Journal didn’t include because it’s so bad (it’s the funniest thing ever!)…. Regina O’Connor https://youtube.com/watch?v=ePYNPPh2dCI

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    Mute GO GREEN
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    Jul 5th 2017, 10:38 PM

    He was the best, gave life to a zombie TV3, never boring, knew his stuff better than the politicians, incisive and full of passion in his quest to get answers out of politicians. Maybe he could do one hour specials as TV3 will never be the same again.

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    Mute An_Beal_Bocht
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    Jul 5th 2017, 11:57 PM

    @GO GREEN: Vín B single handedly educated me about Irish politics. His depth of knowledge and command of language was unrivalled and inspirational. I developed a serious addiction and obsession with his show around the time of the collapse and then up to the 2011 election. An extraordinary broadcaster. We were so lucky that he got that late night slot with TV3 that allowed him such editorial freedom. His shows painfully highlighted just how staged and choreographed Rte shows were and still are. One of the icons of live Irish TV of the last 20.

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    Mute David Kavanagh
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    Jul 6th 2017, 10:08 AM

    @GO GREEN: TV3 should get him to do a Friday night show for an hour (not live) with current affairs and entertainment to compete with Tubs and show a decent film after the show. Fork out decent cash for guests and they’d be sorted.

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    Mute GO GREEN
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    Jul 6th 2017, 12:05 PM

    @An_Beal_Bocht: Totally agree well said. At at time of recession where people were hurting as a result of vile banksters Vinnie bursted onto our screens and was the voice of the people.

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    Mute The Risen
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    Jul 5th 2017, 10:15 PM

    Or the time he filleted Klaus Masuch? We needed 100 more VinBs before, during and after the crisis.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAf7J4a_T1g

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    Mute An_Beal_Bocht
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    Jul 6th 2017, 12:02 AM

    @The Risen: Surely it’s been more than a decade since he’s first on?

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    Mute james connolly
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    Jul 27th 2017, 11:12 AM

    @The Risen: The way he filleted that evil terrorist mcguinness was a joy to behold. I’ll never tire of watching that

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    Mute Brian MacCarthaigh
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    Jul 27th 2017, 2:52 PM

    @The Risen: Absolute gold. He’ll be sorely missed.

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    Mute Turlough O' Connor
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    Jul 27th 2017, 6:40 PM

    @james connolly:
    P!ss off Connolly

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    Mute Mark D
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    Jul 5th 2017, 11:36 PM

    Oh my god, just looked at the Joan Burton clip. Is it any wonder she was held in a Garda car, she just goes on & on like a broken record

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    Mute john Appleseed
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    Jul 27th 2017, 10:41 AM

    @Mark D: the drone of her voice… unless woman. How she held onto her seat, I’ll never know

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    Mute JJ O'Carroll
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    Jul 5th 2017, 10:09 PM

    The man is has been at the cutting edge of Irish journalism for decades.

    Recently though he’s gone off the boil, absolute array of z listers on every night.

    Vincent is disgusted that the left in Ireland are in a shambles

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    Mute An_Beal_Bocht
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    Jul 6th 2017, 12:17 AM

    @JJ O’Carroll: Always enjoy this filleting of Regina O’connor: https://youtu.be/ePYNPPh2dCI

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    Mute Joe Bloggs
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    Jul 6th 2017, 11:22 AM

    @An_Beal_Bocht: that is the first video that springs to mind. He absolutely ruined her!

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    Mute Eanna Mc Grath
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    Jul 5th 2017, 11:17 PM

    I was really hoping that the clip of him getting out all the books in front of Martin Mc Guinness about him being in the IRA.

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    Mute An_Beal_Bocht
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    Jul 6th 2017, 12:05 AM

    @Eanna Mc Grath: Epic fail. Martin openly admitted many times that he was in the IRA you clown!

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    Mute John003
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    Jul 6th 2017, 12:40 AM

    @An_Beal_Bocht: The point Vincent was making with the books was that Martin McGuinness was not telling the truth when he said he left the IRA in 1975….Not that he never was in the IRA….

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    Mute Honeybadger197
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    Jul 6th 2017, 8:08 AM

    @John003: https://youtu.be/uCnH2v1h_dw
    Here it is.

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    Mute Eanna Mc Grath
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    Jul 6th 2017, 11:15 AM

    @An_Beal_Bocht: Ha, I didn’t say that he did or didn’t admit anything, I just thought it was a classic Vinny B moment.

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    Mute Mary Elizabeth Whittle
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    Jul 27th 2017, 12:00 PM

    @Eanna Mc Grath: it was Gerry who had the issue admitting who he was affiliated to…. Martin was upfront.

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    Mute james connolly
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    Jul 27th 2017, 2:02 PM

    @Mary Elizabeth Whittle: that evil terrorist mcguinness never assisted the police with anything, to call him upfront is laughable.

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    Mute Stephen Redmond
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    Jul 6th 2017, 12:33 AM

    The one about gorse hill where he door stepped the property in the day and had a guest on that evening who he tore shreds off, went to an add break came back and the guest had gone! He was someone supporting the family’s right to keep the property, can’t remember his name

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    Mute Darren Bates
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    Jul 6th 2017, 10:10 AM

    @Stephen Redmond: some freeman on the land loonie if I remember correctly

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    Mute Daniel Patrick Carry
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    Jul 7th 2017, 5:37 PM
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    Mute Deborah Behan
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    Jul 27th 2017, 11:24 AM

    @Stephen Redmond: lol! Everyone was just standing outside and VinB said it’s not their property what are you all waiting for? And charges through the gates just stopping to fix his microphone because even his sound man was shocked at what he did!

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    Mute Terry O'Callaghan
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    Jul 5th 2017, 10:20 PM

    And good riddance

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    Mute John003
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    Jul 5th 2017, 10:27 PM

    The time he had some new SF European parliament member on…..In the middle of him going on about some policy….Vincent says “Did you ever meet Slab Murphy”….His face went white all he could say was “No Vincent” ….He was very good at the left field unexpected question…..Tbank you Vincent you will be missed….

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    Mute Seamus Og
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    Jul 5th 2017, 10:49 PM

    @John003: Or the nightly face reddening of ff/fg td’s, senators and mp’s when he cornered them and showed them up for the liars and cheats they are. And you remember 1 incident with Matt Carthy who said he hadnt met slab. So what. I saw the episode but missed the white face you speak of.

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    Mute Turlough O' Connor
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    Jul 27th 2017, 6:42 PM

    @Terry O’Callaghan:
    Friend of Bertie’s Terry?

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    Mute Frederic Slimane
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    Jul 5th 2017, 11:39 PM

    it is a good move from him,he is the one who decided this was his time to go and not overstay until he was sacked/asked to leave that’s the least he deserves for sharing his political knowledge and making it easier/ less boring for many people!!

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    Mute Kate Flaherty
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    Jul 27th 2017, 9:59 AM

    Vincent I salute you!, a true legend, continued good health, success and happiness……

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    Mute Darren Bates
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    Jul 6th 2017, 10:35 AM

    Great story of him when he was editor of the Sunday Tribune. Tony Ryan had bought the newspaper and him and Vincent were like cat and dog. They had a board meeting and Tony went to punch Vincent but didn’t he miss. The punch ends up glancing the head of the (by then very old) nobel peace prize winner Sean Mac Bride. Sean was a bit of a drama queen and went down like a bag of spuds, and Vincent got the satisfaction of everyone walking into the room seeing Tony’s fist above the old man. Ryan exited the newspaper soon after.

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    Mute Chris Kirk
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    Jul 27th 2017, 9:43 AM

    Vincent shot himself in the foot on more than one occasion like the time before the 2011 general election, when he suggested; ‘Enda Kenny take himself with a pistol and a bottle of whiskey and lock himself in a small room’. Since then Kenny refused to be interviewed by Vincent Browne.

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    Mute Turlough O' Connor
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    Jul 27th 2017, 6:46 PM

    @Chris Kirk:
    You really believe that Kenny wouldn’t go on Vincent’s programme because of that statement??
    He was too scared to and used that as an excuse

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    Mute Brigid Popps
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    Jul 8th 2017, 8:00 AM

    I will really miss Vinney Brown! He was Brilliant really loved the Joan Burton show

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    Mute Mark Moloney
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    Jul 5th 2017, 10:30 PM

    Ah lads, this has to be one of the best.

    Bernard Durkan refusing to shut up: https://youtu.be/R8BQCqgnIrI

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    Mute Jason Carroll
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    Jul 5th 2017, 10:38 PM

    Thanks for that, super! He really is super journalist.

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    Mute An_Beal_Bocht
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    Jul 6th 2017, 12:10 AM

    This is the Gary Birmingham one, tops them all: https://youtu.be/JWqFWYIQEmE

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    Mute Ken Pepper
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    Jul 27th 2017, 9:38 AM

    The off screen ”ah yeah…..ah yeah……jaysus”

    - best responses to any Politian’s claptrap ever….

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    Mute Peter Higgins
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    Jul 6th 2017, 5:22 PM

    One of the best alright. Over the years his frustration at the lefts inability to unify and offer a cohesive alternative to the usual right wing politics, was palpable.

    I thought Sarah McInerney did a very good job when covering for Vincent recently; she’s a worthy contender.

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    Mute Ken Pepper
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    Jul 27th 2017, 9:37 AM

    The one with Lenihan was comedy gold…he will be missed

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    Mute Pie O ' My
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    Jul 5th 2017, 10:24 PM

    Didn’t he have a run in with the workers party years ago?

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    Mute Darren Bates
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    Jul 6th 2017, 10:10 AM

    @Pie O ‘ My: Think aul Vinnie has had a run in with everyone!

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    Mute Daniel Patrick Carry
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    Jul 7th 2017, 5:38 PM

    This annihilation of Dara Murphy is by far my personal favourite https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEcUBXI4ZX8

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    Mute Joe Soap
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    Jul 27th 2017, 11:10 AM

    Bertie ahern, what a slimey little bollox

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    Mute Andrew Brennan
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    Jul 6th 2017, 9:42 PM

    After two hours ‘debating’ with Joan, Vincent, Higgins and the fellow that lost to the fellow who got socks from Canada, all jumped into the Liffey and were drowned. Gardai charged Joan with murder …. needless to say she was acquitted by the jury.

    Listening to the political & legal grapevine there is talk that the charges were over the top and she should have been charged with interrupting Vincent 117 times.

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    Mute Deborah Behan
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    Jul 27th 2017, 11:30 AM

    I’ll definitely miss VinB. They broke the mould when they made him! I wish him a long and happy retirement. Who can fill his boots? My vote would go to Ursula Halligan, fantastic journalist, well respected and extremely knowledgeable. It would be a different show but I’d give it a watch.

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    Mute Miriam Kane
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    Jul 6th 2017, 1:19 AM

    Looking at Joan’s performance on the show is mortification its self. Do they deliberately only let shit women into positions of power so that when they mess up it provides a stick to keep all women out.

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    Mute gerry fallon
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    Jul 27th 2017, 9:54 AM

    Thank God he’s finally decided to retire.
    He’s hard work and very annoying.just a narky old man really.

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    Mute Anthony Gallagher
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    Jul 27th 2017, 2:20 PM

    Vincent brown was great entertainment ,but i doubt very much that he has changed the course of irish history. a pity because he had a great brain .

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    Mute Patrick Paukie Cleary
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    Jul 27th 2017, 10:52 AM

    A bellicose bombastic buffoon with his head permanently stuck up his own echo chamber in case he would see anyonelse’s points of view especially ones he disagreed with!!!

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    Mute Turlough O' Connor
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    Jul 27th 2017, 6:49 PM

    @Patrick Paukie Cleary:
    Another friend of Bertie eh?

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    Mute Andrew Eager
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    Jul 27th 2017, 11:38 AM

    The haranguer-in-chief getting a bollocking by Fionan Sheahan gives me an inordinate amount of joy. He was no more able to deal with it than the very many political sacrficial lambs that were sent out to Ballymount to face his bollockings. Goose and gander and all that guff.

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    Mute Rachel Didleu
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    Jul 6th 2017, 10:44 AM

    Ara, he is not well, an cratúr

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    Mute Dolly White
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    Jul 27th 2017, 10:27 AM

    Vincent Browne can certainly die happy after all this slavering lickspittle. Something he professes to despise but I doubt it. I’m Browned off with the canonisation of a very flawed individual. I’ve encountered Browne roadkill and they aren’t politicians.

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    Mute Paul Culligan
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    Jul 27th 2017, 10:36 PM

    Vincent the Great.

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    Mute Martin Ryan
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    Jul 6th 2017, 4:25 PM

    Good luck Vincent it was great watching your performance, you did not have any mercy on any one who tried to fool the people. Hope you enjoy retirement will miss your wit, it doesn’t matter who takes your place,they will not fill your boots, the show will not be the same.

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