Bishop's Irish sex appeal is no joke

AN IRISHWOMAN'S highest aspiration once was to be the mother of a bishop now her heart's desire is to be his beau. Pictured: Colin Farrell.

At least that's the suggestion from the latest 100 Sexiest Men list which concludes that the most potent cause of mass drooling among the island's fairer sex is comedian Des Bishop.

A small joke may have been intended given that brash Bishop's edgy style, rotary blade haircut and appetite for expletives hardly makes him an ideal candidate for taking home to mammy.

But then again, with those chiselled features, that athletic physique and the explosive energy and brooding intensity of insight that characterises his stage work, who cares what mammy thinks?

As a native New Yorker, Bishop did well to make the top spot in Ireland's sexiest 100, but the compilers of the list, Social & Personal magazine, reckon his Irish-American lineage, university education in Cork and countless appearances on Irish stage and screen make him a Celt in all but accent.

Des, who is on a short working visit to the Big Apple, was clearly thrilled at the prospect of being pronounced a celebrity idol for the slimmest of reasons given his own love of lampooning the more idiotic preoccupations of the modern Irish mind.

"It's quite flattering to have topped this list," he said bravely. "It's definitely a chink in the armour for people being able to slag me."

If slagging is what he fears, he's in good company thanks to the discerning selection of judging panel, The Clinic actress Leigh Arnold; jazz singer Sharon Crosbie; model agent John Compton; It guy Richard Kavanagh and chairwoman Terry Keane.

They put U2 drummer Larry Mullen at number two and rated actor Cillian Murphy at number four, leaving the likes of Colin Farrell and Liam Neeson among the lower ranks where they shared the limelight with cuddly gardener, Diarmuid Gavin; builders with bobs, Johnny Ronan and PJ Mansfield; newly slimmed Brian McFadden and newly shorn Brian O'Driscoll.