First Quote Added
April 10, 2026
Latest Quote Added
"The Irish are the blacks of Europe. And Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland. And the Northside Dubliners are the blacks of Dublin. So say it once and say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud."
"Soul is the music people understand. Sure it's basic and it's simple. But it's something else 'cause, 'cause, 'cause it's honest, that's it. Its honest. There's no fuckin' bullshit. It sticks its neck out and says it straight from the heart. Sure there's a lot of different music you can get off on but soul is more than that. It takes you somewhere else. It grabs you by the balls and lifts you above the shite."
"I'd like to introduce you to the hardest-workin' band in the world. On bass, Derek "Meatman" Scully. On piano, Steven "Soul Surgeon" Clifford. Dean "Mr Nipple" Fay on sax. Joey "The Lips" Fagan on trumpet. Our gorgeous chanteuses are Bernie, Imelda, and Natalie. Deco "Deep Throat" Cuffe on vocals. On lead guitar, Outspan "Fender bender" Foster. Finally, on drums, Mickah "Don't Fuck With Me" Wallace. Ladies and gentlemen, The Commitments."
"Is this the band then? Betcha U2 are shittin' themselves."
"That's fuckin' blasphemy. Elvis wasn't a Cajun."
"Steve Clifford: [In the confessional] And there's these three girls with the band, I've had lustful thoughts about all of them."
"Natalie Murphy: What do you think, Jimmy, they'll be eatin' chips out of our knickers?"
"Joey 'The Lips' Fagan: [to Dean] Are you doing what I told you? Are you thinking of that reed as a woman's nipple?"
"Robert Arkins - Jimmy Rabbitte"
"Andrew Strong - Deco Cuffe, Lead Vocals"
"Michael Aherne - Steven Clifford, Piano"
"Angeline Ball - Imelda Quirke, Backup Singer"
"Maria Doyle - Natalie Murphy, Backup Singer"
"Dave Finnegan - Mickah Wallace, Drums"
"Bronagh Gallagher - Bernie McGloughlin, Backup Singer"
"Félim Gormley - Dean Fay, Sax"
"Glen Hansard - Outspan Foster, Guitar"
"Dick Massey - Billy Mooney, Drums"
"Johnny Murphy - Joey 'The Lips' Fagan, Trumpet"
"Kenneth McCluskey - Derek Scully, Bass"
"Colm Meaney - Jimmy Rabbitte, Sr."
"Anne Kent - Mrs. Rabbitte"
"Andrea Corr - Sharon Rabbitte"
Young though he was, his radiant energy produced such an impression of absolute reliability that Hedgewar made him the first sarkaryavah, or general secretary, of the RSS.
- Gopal Mukund Huddar
Largely because of the influence of communists in London, Huddar's conversion into an enthusiastic supporter of the fight against fascism was quick and smooth. The ease with which he crossed from one worldview to another betrays the fact that he had not properly understood the world he had grown in.
Huddar would have been 101 now had he been alive. But then centenaries are not celebrated only to register how old so and so would have been and when. They are usually celebrated to explore how much poorer our lives are without them. Maharashtrian public life is poorer without him. It is poorer for not having made the effort to recall an extraordinary life.
I regret I was not there to listen to Balaji Huddar's speech [...] No matter how many times you listen to him, his speeches are so delightful that you feel like listening to them again and again.
By the time he came out of Franco's prison, Huddar had relinquished many of his old ideas. He displayed a worldview completely different from that of the RSS, even though he continued to remain deferential to Hedgewar and maintained a personal relationship with him.