Colin Sheridan: Dodgy boxes have become Ireland’s worst-kept secret — but can the State really crack down?

As costs rise and subscriptions multiply, illegal streaming has slipped from taboo into everyday life for many Irish viewers

‘If you want to follow a few sports, watch a couple of decent series, and keep the household entertained, you’re suddenly juggling subscriptions like a man spinning plates.’

Before we begin, I should declare that I do not own or operate a dodgy box. I say this not from any great well of moral superiority. Honestly, if I were a bit more organised, I’d probably have one. I’m not. So, I don’t.

But I am a man of the world, and I can tell you this: if you stood on the terrace at a football match this weekend and threw a rock into the crowd, you’d hit a dodgy box user. Same goes for Sunday Mass. The seemingly innocent chap helping to give out Communion? Dodgy box. Possibly even the priest himself. Nobody is above suspicion. They walk among us, dressed as lambs.