A momentary lapse from Ireland’s real sportspeople

Comedians tend to worry a lot about the ‘too soon’ moment, that minefield of a border between the darkly funny and the wincingly crass.

If a celebrity dies in, shall we say, unusual circumstances, what is the precise duration of what passes for an acceptably decent interval before the ‘comedy=tragedy+time’ equation can be safely applied? Perhaps the simplest rule of thumb is that if you have to ask, it’s still too soon.

Would that it were as straightforward for those of us who have to sit down rather than stand up to make our living. Even Bill Hicks might have balked at finding a way to mine laughs from a routine in which ‘Ireland’s greatest sporting moment’ and ‘Ireland 1 Denmark 5’ stand cheek by jowl.