How one man ended up with a Marty Whelan tattoo on his thigh

Marty is a great sport

Mon, 15 Aug, 2022 - 16:04

Sarah Cullen

A man on Twitter has lost a bet, and as a result, he now has a tattoo of beloved Irish broadcaster Marty Whelan.

Phil O'Kelly shared a hilarious thread detailing the bet between him and his friend.

He tweeted the terms of the bet:

"1 - Whoever's Fantasy Footy team got the most points over the 21/22 season, won.

2 - Winner got to choose a tattoo for the loser

3 - Loser got to choose where the tatt went

4 - Tatt had to be minimum size of a €2 coin"

The bet was against my friend @LeHuss. The terms as follows:
1 - Whoever's Fantasy Footy team got the most points over the 21/22 season, won.
2 - Winner got to choose a tattoo for the loser
3 - Loser got to choose where the tatt went
4 - Tatt had to be minimum size of a €2 coin
— Phil O'Kelly (@PhillyOKelly) August 14, 2022

Phil tweeted that while they were debating the many great pictures of Marty over the years, they went with this one.

But @LeHuss had his heart set. There could be only one. Classic Marty pic.twitter.com/MMPb4DixX4
— Phil O'Kelly (@PhillyOKelly) August 14, 2022

But a bet's a bet, so I get in touch with the lads at Live Fast Tattoos in Eustace St in Temple Bar (https://t.co/qN6vUV5KqX) . I'd been to them before to get something done and they were great so figured I'd go to them again. I texted Kit in there and told him I'd lost a bet...
— Phil O'Kelly (@PhillyOKelly) August 14, 2022

At the start I told him the most important thing was to capture his smile (I definitely didn't want a grumpy Marty on my leg forever more), and Kit absolutely nailed it. The pic will only get better as it settles down too pic.twitter.com/mzSJnk4qzu
— Phil O'Kelly (@PhillyOKelly) August 14, 2022

Marty commented on the photo, first sharing he heard he had been "immortalized" by a tattoo, and then saying he was "strangely flattered."

I'm getting a lot of messages that I have been immortalised as a tattoo. What's all this about...?
— Marty Whelan (@martylyricfm) August 15, 2022

I'm strangely flattered, such bravery from @PhillyOKelly https://t.co/rsk0Q6XXaO
— Marty Whelan (@martylyricfm) August 15, 2022

I'm honoured to be on Phil's leg... forever https://t.co/TT3elweDml
— Marty Whelan (@martylyricfm) August 15, 2022

Phil responded that the honour was all his.

The honour's all mine, @martylyricfm 🦵👍
— Phil O'Kelly (@PhillyOKelly) August 15, 2022

We will be keeping an eye out to see if the rematch happens.

P.S. Talk of a rematch for this new season and Terry Wogan being on the cards way off the mark. Marty's the only man for me.
— Phil O'Kelly (@PhillyOKelly) August 14, 2022

Someone has now animated the tattoo, and Marty reckons he may have to make it a Marty Recommends!