A cheeky Ireland fan who gatecrashed live French TV coverage of the World Cup has gone global after hilariously declaring: “I am a baguette”.
Limerick man Eddie O'Keeffe, who lives and works in Dubai and was attending the World Cup in nearby Qatar, says his phone has been hopping since footage of his stunt went viral.
The lone Boy In Green has even caught the attention of football legends like RTE broadcaster George Hamilton and World Cup top goalscorer Gary Lineker with his impromptu performance.
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Amazon engineer Eddie, from Kilfinane in Limerick, went viral online after he jumped on a live interview with a France supporter and said on air: “Je suis une baguette.”
Eddie, who was dressed in a green Ireland soccer jersey, then disappeared after the light-hearted interruption.
However his face has now gone global, with Eddie admitting his mother has been embarrassed by the stunt.
It all happened as the Limerick man, who made the trip to Qatar over the weekend with four pals, was passing a French football supporter being interviewed live on French TV when he saw his opportunity for a bit of good old-fashioned craic.
Jumping into shot, Eddie, who can be seen decked out in an Ireland jersey, shouted: “Je Suis Une Baguette”!
Asked about the reaction since, Eddie told Today FM's Ray Foley: “It’s mental, my phone has been hopping. I can’t even do a day’s work here!”
Eddie also joked that his mother, back in Limerick, can’t understand it all, adding: “My mother’s disgusted with me! She’s seen all this stuff online”
Eddie also took the opportunity to give a shout out to his Leaving Cert French teacher from school, Ms Marie Power, and said he missed the “aul parisien’s”, “the chicken fillet rolls”.
But Eddie said he is enjoying life in Dubai, telling Ray he’s out socialising every weekend.
He added: "Dubai is full of Irish, there’s brunch on every weekend, there’s hurling, there’s football.. you’d definitely miss Ireland as well; you’d miss the 15-a-side and the spuds”!
Eddie's stunt caught the eye of RTE commentator George Hamilton (72), who is best known for his own iconic commentary lines “danger here” and “a nation holds its breath”.
George asked his 21,000 Twitter followers: “Who is this boy in green?”
Meanwhile, Gary Lineker (62), who won the 1986 World Cup golden boot as top goalscorer, retweeted the video clip with two laughing emojis.
Thousands of people retweeted and commented on it yesterday.
Some soccer fans, watching the World Cup back home at TV, claimed the Irishman is a dedicated football supporter.
One tweeted: “In fairness, he’s a dedicated fan. We didn’t even qualify for the World Cup. Please send him home to his mammy.”
Another wrote on social media: “Best Irish performance at this World Cup.”
The Frenchman, who was being interviewed, said: “He’s Irish, he’s already KO for sure.”
Meanwhile, the humble French baguette is being added to the UN’s list of intangible cultural heritage as a cherished tradition to be preserved by humanity.
Unesco experts gathering in Morocco this week decided that the simple French flute - made only from flour, water, salt, and yeast - deserves UN recognition.
The move comes after France’s culture ministry warned of a “continuous decline” in the number of traditional bakeries, with some 400 closing every year over the past half a century.
The UN cultural agency’s chief Audrey Azoulay said the decision honours more than just bread; it recognises the “savoir-faire of artisanal bakers” and “a daily ritual”.
Ms Azoulay, a former French culture minister, said: “It is important that these craft knowledge and social practices can continue to exist in the future.”
With the bread’s new status, the French government said it plans to create an artisanal baguette day, called the Open Bakehouse Day, to connect the French better with their heritage.
In France, bakers seemed proud - if unsurprised.
Asma Farhat, baker at Julien’s Bakery near Paris’ Champs-Elysee avenue, said: “Of course, it should be on the list because the baguette symbolises the world. It’s universal.
“If there’s no baguette, you cant have a proper meal. In the morning you can toast it, for lunch it’s a sandwich, and then it accompanies dinner.”
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