The Man Who Slipped on the Ice

53°20′51.2″N 6°16′30.0″W / 53.347556°N 6.275000°W / 53.347556; -6.275000

Man slipping and hitting his head on wall while walking on ice
Man slipping on ice on Church Street close to Four Courts in Dublin

On 8 January 2010, during a RTÉ Six One News report, a pedestrian slipped on ice in Dublin, Ireland, close to the Four Courts. The man became known as "The Man Who Slipped on the Ice" after the video of him slipping and falling went viral online, gaining several million views on YouTube and the website of RTÉ, Ireland's national broadcaster. Several Facebook groups were created to identify the man, although his true identity still remains uncertain. It is considered one of the "most iconic" clips of Irish television history[1] and an icon of Irish pop culture.[2] Ten years later, on 8 January 2020, Coors Light erected a temporary plaque at the location in Dublin to mark the incident's tenth anniversary.

Incident

During the winter of 2009–10 in Ireland (the coldest since 1987),[3][4] John Kilraine reported on a man slipping and falling on the ice, shouting "Oh shit" as he fell. The video was recorded on Church Street close to the Four Courts in Dublin.[2][5] The video was part of RTÉ's early evening news broadcast Six One showing the effects of inclement weather and how Dublin City Council was working on removing partly melted snow from the streets.[6][1] The report was issued by Bryan Dobson.[7] The event was recorded by Colm McCaughey after he set up his camera on Church Street and filmed the fall. After the man slipped, McCaughey ran over to check whether or not the man who fell was hurt; the man refused a cup of tea at a nearby office and rushed home.[8][9] McCaughey later tweeted that the man was Korean or Chinese.[9] When the video was shown during the news report, Kilraine stated that "Dublin pavements remain very dangerous, although this man was not seriously hurt." Afterwards, the video of the man falling quickly became viral online.[10]

Legacy

Several Facebook groups were created to identify the man, and many claimed to be him.[11] Sasha Brady of the Irish Independent reported that a Facebook site called "We have found the RTE fall guy" [sic] identified the man as hailing from Navan, County Meath.[11] However, the man's identity is still uncertain.[12][8][9]

In 2013, The Man Who Slipped on the Ice placed second in a The Herald survey on the most popular Irish YouTube clips, only losing to the first performance of Riverdance at the Eurovision Song Contest 1994.[13] On 8 January 2020, Coors Light erected a temporary plaque at the site of the incident to mark the tenth anniversary of the event as part of a promotional effort.[2][7] The plaque read: "In honour of 'The guy who slipped on the ice' on RTÉ News 8 January 2010, your memory lives on"[1][14] In 2021, the video was played at the start of the sixth season of RTÉ's Reeling in the Years.[2][15] In 2025, "Man who slipped on the ice" was included in the Irish culture book The A-Z of Being Irish.[16][17]

Ian Mangan of Dublin Live wrote that RTÉ's broadcast of the clip on "Reeling in the Years" prompted nostalgic reactions from viewers, and he described the man who slipped on the ice as a "true Irish icon".[2] Offaly Express reported that the video was one of the "most-watched RTE News clips of all-time" and that Coors Light's plaque was paying "tribute to a legend".[18] In 2026, Colum Motherway of Extra.ie regarded it as "one of the most iconic moments in Irish television history" and said that "The footage of the man's slip has likely been seen by nearly everyone in the country at this stage" Motherway also said that the clip would be shared on social media when temperatures dropped.[1] The Daily Edge said that the man "became a national symbol of the struggle of the Irish winter"[19] and that they were convinced Niall Kelly, affiliated with their own publication, was the person that fell, although Kelly has denied these claims.[7]

The incident also inspired a mockumentary by Tom Walsh and Kevin McGahern about the aftermath of the incident and how the man handled the resulting attention. In the mockumentary, the man is identified as "Brendan Adhere".[10][7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Motherway, Colum (8 January 2026). "One of Ireland's most viral TV moments marks 16th anniversary". Extra.ie. Archived from the original on 10 January 2026. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Mangan, Ian (12 April 2021). "Who was mystery 'man who slipped on the ice' on RTÉ News? All we know about him 11 years on". DublinLive.ie. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  3. ↑ "Past Weather Statements". met.ie. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  4. ↑ "January 2010". The Met Office. Archived from the original on 9 December 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
  5. ↑ Melia, Paul (15 January 2010). "News clip of 'Ice Fall Guy' nets 500,000 online". Irish Independent. p. T8. Retrieved 22 March 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Cold Conditions Cause Problems 2010". RTÉ Archives. Archived from the original on 8 January 2026. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 O'Connell, Hugh (22 December 2011). "Remember the man who slipped on the ice? Here's what happened next..." dailyedge.ie. Archived from the original on 20 July 2025. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  8. 1 2 McCarthy, Clare (11 December 2022). "The story behind iconic RTE News clip of mystery 'man who slipped on the ice'". Irish Mirror. Archived from the original on 8 January 2025. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 "Infamous moment man slipped on ice live on Irish TV commemorated with plaque". Irish Central. 9 January 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  10. 1 2 Pattison, Brynmor (8 January 2016). "Video: Five years ago today, this guy slipped and fell on the ice on RTE News". irishmirror.ie. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  11. 1 2 Brady, Sasha (22 November 2016). "WATCH: Remember the 'Man Who Slipped on the Ice on the Six One'? His 'true story' has finally been uncovered". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 18 August 2025. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  12. ↑ "Who Was The Man Who Slipped On The Ice?". goosed.ie. 8 January 2024. Archived from the original on 7 September 2025. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  13. ↑ O'Keefe, Alan (11 December 2013). "Riverdance and ice slip among our favourite moments caught on film". The Herald. p. 8. Retrieved 22 March 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ O'Connor, Rachael (7 January 2020). "A plaque has appeared in Dublin in honour of 10 years since the infamous 'Man slips on Ice'". The Irish Post. Archived from the original on 16 December 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  15. ↑ "2010: Reeling In The Years". rte.ie. 11 April 2021. Archived from the original on 11 November 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  16. ↑ "Man who slipped on the ice". Sunday Independent. 16 March 2025. p. 19-02. Retrieved 22 March 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ Cassidy, Sarah; McGann, Kunak (17 March 2025). "The A-Z of being Irish: 'Going for one – possibly the greatest and most frequent lie told in Ireland'". Irish Independent. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  18. ↑ Kelly, Justin (7 January 2020). "Plaque erected to 'guy who slipped on the ice' on RTE News in 2010". offalyexpress.ie. Archived from the original on 25 December 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  19. ↑ McLysaght, Emer (15 January 2016). "9 Irish people embodying the spirit of The Man Who Slipped on the Ice". The Daily Edge. Archived from the original on 9 September 2025. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
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