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Richard Boyd Barrett has just 'dabbed' in the Dáil

The Dún Laoghaire TD was making a point about listening to young people.

TheJournal.ie / YouTube

RICHARD BOYD BARRETT is a man on a mission.

And that mission is to tell the men and women of the Dáil about what is really going on out in the streets.

To do this, the Dún Laoghaire-based TD showed the chamber how to ‘dab’.

If you’re wondering what that is (don’t worry, you’re not alone), let us give you a quick run through:

Like the macarena and chicken dance before it, dabbing is basically a dance craze and has its roots in the hip-hop scene based around Atlanta in the southern United States.

To get involved all you have to do is lift one arm up to the left at a 45 degree angle and place your head into the crook of the opposite elbow, in an action that Wikipedia says “has been noted to resemble sneezing”.

Demonstrated here by Deputy Boyd Barrett:

ezgif-833204130 Oireachtas.tv Oireachtas.tv

While showing a dance move to Messrs and Mmes Kenny, Conveney, Harris and Fitzgerald etc isn’t likely to affect immediate social change – a more serious point was being made.

The gesture came during a discussion on the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2016

“We need to start to listen to young people, and the people who work with them, and the people in disadvantaged communities,” Boyd Barrett said.

“One thing I promised some of the young people in my area I’d do in the Dáil because they said: ‘what do you guys do in there? Do you have any idea what’s going on?’

“And they asked me to do something, which is a bit of street language – from the street. When kids are trying to make a positive statement on the street they do a thing called a dab. I don’t if you’ve ever seen it, it’s like that.

*Dabs*

“I don’t know what it means – but we need to learn what it means. Learn what young people are talking about, what matters to them, what they consider positive activity. Support them, resource them and fund them, rather than this misguided nonsense.”

The “misguided nonsense” being referred to by Boyd Barrett was the Misuse of Drugs Bill being discussed, something he went on to say was “absolute rubbish” and “repetition of all the failed policies of the past”.

The legislation has been criticised for targeting drug users, failing to meet commitments in the programme for government and for being a knee-jerk reaction to gangland crime.

Read: Three men charged after €290k cannabis haul in Laois

Also: Ireland should stop wasting resources on arresting people caught with small amounts of drugs

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    Mute bacoxy
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    Aug 15th 2015, 6:00 PM

    I wish them the best of luck, really funny and well observed shorts.

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    Mute Micheal S. O' Ceilleachair
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    Aug 15th 2015, 7:11 PM

    Skinny jeans!

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    Mute Ronan Stokes
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    Aug 15th 2015, 9:14 PM

    I wonder how John is gettin on with the Iraqi?

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    Mute Conor Power
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    Aug 15th 2015, 6:03 PM

    Only complaint I have is that there are not a few more episodes!

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    Mute Figo murphy
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    Aug 15th 2015, 6:23 PM

    More episodes please.

    Hilarious stuff

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    Mute Supernova
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    Aug 15th 2015, 6:09 PM

    This and Sminky Shorts are very good.I dont know would the yanks get it though.

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    Mute The Girl
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    Aug 15th 2015, 6:01 PM

    It’s times like that I’m proud to be Irish..

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    Mute Aaron Kavanagh
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    Aug 15th 2015, 6:59 PM

    I love Martin’s Life!

    I wonder if people outside of Ireland would get the humour, though.

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    Mute Jess Foley
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    Aug 15th 2015, 6:31 PM

    hilarious

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    Aug 15th 2015, 6:44 PM

    Love the four, we need to roar for more.

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    Mute Fiona Wederfoort
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    Aug 15th 2015, 8:23 PM

    ‘A couple of what?’ ‘A couple of gay people!!’ HILARIOUS….we need more!!!!

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    Mute Mac L0ve
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    Aug 15th 2015, 9:18 PM

    How could you not hear “game of throws”?

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    Mute Boxer Alice
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    Aug 15th 2015, 8:28 PM

    Martin’s Life is just so funny! Whoever writes it deserves an award of some kind. I do feel only an Irish audience would get it though, but nothing wrong with that!

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    Mute Larry David the 2nd
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    Aug 15th 2015, 10:05 PM

    “Tis’nt it well for them the bisexuals ”

    I bloody love this series!

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    Mute Michael O'connor
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    Aug 15th 2015, 7:37 PM

    Very funny. good luck with it lads

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    Mute molly coddled
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    Aug 15th 2015, 8:40 PM

    Brilliant, hope you do incredibly well.

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    Mute Louise Morris
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    Aug 15th 2015, 7:10 PM

    Too funny, my tummy aches. The only other laugh I got like this is for David O’ Doherty (comedian) . Check him out on you tube if you need more laughs like this. I love being Irish and our accents are the best !

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    Mute Paul Morrissey
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    Aug 15th 2015, 8:57 PM

    it’s a small world!!!!!!!

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    Mute eoin o mahony
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    Aug 18th 2015, 8:36 PM
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    Mute sonny red
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    Aug 16th 2015, 2:17 AM

    Jaysus,those dwarfs are comical.I wonder do they get paid.

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    Mute Cheeto Ballsack
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    Aug 15th 2015, 11:17 PM

    This is brilliant

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    Mute Elizabeth Rohan Lenihan
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    Aug 16th 2015, 2:26 AM

    Absolutely love Martin’ Life. Can’t wait for more. My 91 year old mother loves them too!!

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    Mute sonny red
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    Aug 16th 2015, 2:10 AM

    He’s watching a game of throws,with that small fella and mcully culkin.hahaha

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    Mute Sean O'Malley
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    Aug 15th 2015, 7:04 PM

    youtube search: morning after night in coppers

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    Mute Stephen Mullan
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    Aug 15th 2015, 10:45 PM

    Thing is anyone can make those cartoons. They’re on a package you buy online for €9.99 a month. You just pick your characters, hair colour, clothes etc and put your voice to it. So to say he’s too lazy to do more of them just makes you think. How lazy is he?

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    Mute Laithbheartaigh
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    Aug 16th 2015, 12:48 PM

    ignorance is bliss to some people i guess, over the top superlatives!

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    Mute Laithbheartaigh
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    Aug 16th 2015, 12:29 PM

    This is done using GoAnimate software and is not hard to do, its the script thats the hard thing, which is very funny in this case.

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