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FACEBOOK PAGE RARE Irish Stuff recently posted a story about a couple of Irish boys who ran off to New York, and it’s blowing up the net.
The story tells the tale of two Darndale boys in 1985 and their escape to the Big Apple without being detected.
Keith Byrne, 10, and Noel Murray, 13, made headlines when they hopped on a Dart and dodged authorities in three countries to make it to New York.
The post, a retelling of an Irish Times article by Alison Healy, documents the boys’ journey when Keith said he wanted to see his favourite TV star, B A Baracus from the A Team.
When his mammy said ‘don’t go far, your dinner’s nearly ready’, he said he wouldn’t.
Lies.
The pair got the Dart down as far as Dun Laoghaire and managed to wrangle their way on the ferry to Holyhead, where they managed to sneak on the train to London and on an Air India flight to New York.
They only got caught when they left JFK and asked a cop which way was it ‘to town’. The lads made headlines all over the world. Keith Byrne is now 40, Noel is 43, and they both live in Darndale.
Since it was posted yesterday, the amazing story has been liked over 27,000 times, and shared over 11,000, with people commending the lads for their big adventure.
You can listen to the entire Radio 1 documentary here.
Written by Nicola Byrne and posted on DailyEdge.ie
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‘Which way to town’
Hahaha.
Class.
Would make a good film.
It’s in the works already I hear.
even getting as far as London was impressive, but all the way to new York, amazing.
It proves how poor airport security was at that time
Ah, back in the days of innocence! When you could board a plane without being x-rayed inside and out…
Hilarious fair play to them. Looks like he’s still gutted he got caught face like a slapped arse in the current photo
Hahaha love the slapped arse comment, unless he’s trying to replicate his younger face
The American cops involved sound great to be honest. Really clued in. Treated the lads well, gave them money, took them sight seeing and made sure they got home safely. Got a good kick out of the two young Dublin lads.
Fair play to them.
Ah tommy..you’re showing your softer side. You actually listened to the doc.
Great story. It’s like ‘Into the West’, but with less horses and more intercontinental air travel.
And let’s face it: there’s no way B A Baracus was getting on a plane to meet them – not without Hannibal slipping him a drugged hamburger.
I ain’t gettin’ on no plane fool!
An old story and a great RTE radio documentary.
BTW RTE have a great documentary archive going back I think to the 1950s
In 1985 this country was a real kip unemployment was sky high the madness was in high gear up north the people had been driven so crazy by church and state that they began seeing moving statues, the best option was to bail out and that’s what a lot of our people did do accross the Atlantic and the Irish Sea
You’re a miserable oul Bllx, a great story like this and you have to poop all over it…
Actually paddy it was a great place..its a time and place I met most of my lifelong friends . Yes it was tough on my parents, it was a struggle on most families, interest rates up on 15% and all that. Families losing homes, we lost ours. I now have a list of life long friends that helped us. Anyway the music, the videos and the dancing of my teenage years way overshadowed the hardship. Being out late, 1am!!!, with all my girlfriends, reading the next mag to see whats in fashion, dragging my mam to shaws to see if they had it, reading the next smash hits mag to get the words of the songs..all that was only 10-15 years ago. The country might still be a kip, actually it is. But at least we can still have some resemblance of a life. Thats what we need.
Great comment. Am of that vintage too, but unfortunately it’s not 10 or 15 years ago but 30. Doesn’t seem like it but it is.
A name change might be in order… Paddy O’Moan
Yes great quality documentaries. Love that one in particular.
If they went to Cape Canaveral, just imagine how further they could’ve gotten. One small step, an’ all dah.
How did they get on a flight without tickets or passports?
When asked their line was “mammy is coming behind us with the tickets” and kept walking.
Great script for a Hollywood movie.
I pity the fools
This country is not a kip, I hate that word. Make of it what you will. If your life is so miserable go back to school and make it better, it’s relatively cheap here…
Why did you come back.
Best blag story ever, and by two Irish lads so young. What guile!
Hope Keith and Noel get adequately rewarded, 30 years on, for their daring 1985 adventure.
Yeah… Looks like Keith Byrne’s claim to fame alright ….
There was a crazy airline story a few years ago when a few SAUDI Arabians got onto a plane and crashed them into the world trade centre. Then the world reacted by destroying IRAQ.
Let’s hope the Irish film board get on to this and get this story on the big screen,classic
they were disguised as air hostess.s
This is what I see 2 kids that got through all the security barriers here England and the USA only for they asked the police officer Which way to Town (priceless)God only knows what would have became of these kids .New York is the greatest city in the world but there a lot of lunatics floating around there
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