Cowen’s Croker cig lights up Liveline

THERE’S no smoke without ire, it seems.

Callers to RTÉ’s Liveline programme vented their spleen at Taoiseach Brian Cowen yesterday. His sin? Sneaking a cigarette in Croke Park at the end of the Cork-Dublin football clash last Sunday.

The incident happened some time after the match had ended and the vast majority of the crowd had vacated the stadium. Croke Park is a no-smoking stadium except for a number of designated areas. According to the stadium’s website, the goal of the policy is to “protect all employees, customers and visitors to the stadium from exposure to second-hand smoke”.