Cork 96 FM's Neil Prendeville is in hot water today after allegations made in this morning's Irish Examiner. The paper alleges that the morning radio host (and I'm choosing my words carefully here) exposed and then, er, interfered with himself while on a flight from London to Cork in mid-October.
Allegations suggest that Prendeville was seated in the first row of seats, with a young female passenger at the window seat and male at the aisle seat next to him. Two air-hostesses were in temporary seats facing him and shortly after take-off, the radio host, uh, unzipped and took the concept of in-flight entertainment into his own hands. Literally. To be fair, it probably beats reruns of 'Friends'.
Prendeville, 49, the presenter of Cork 96 FM's daily morning show which is broadcast to an audience upwards of 100,000, maintains that he has no memory of the incident - blaming it entirely on the three Nurofen he had taken to ease a back injury, mixed with various alcoholic beverages while at dinner in London. Prendeville claimed on air this morning that not only does he not remember the incident, he doesn't remember being in the airport in London, landing in Cork, or even getting home which really begs the question: what else did could he have gotten up to in these missing hours? What is there to do in Cork, when you have no memory and questionable moral ethics? Answers on a postcard.
The tale doesn't end here for Prendeville. Aer Lingus have contacted the Gardai and intend to make a formal complaint and, wait for it, conducting a "formal investigation". Morto! The only thing we need to make this story even more bizarre is a buzz phrase to be used. Is 'MasturbateGate' too offensive? No? Good.
-John Balfe
