In this blog posting and the next I want to salute two great servants of Ireland.
The first is the fantastic radio DJ Ian Dempsey (known as "Iano" to all and sundry).
I was switched on to Ian's fabulous breakfast show by my wife. She's a huge fan.
What impresses me most is how "up" he is every morning.
And then (back in October of last year) Today FM had a "This is your life"-type celebration to mark 25 years of Ian presenting the breakfast show (more).
How anyone can present a breakfast show for 25 years, and still be so cheerful, is a mystery to me.
So hats off to Iano.
You can listed to the tribute program here.
One thing which he wife said which really stuck me was that she remarked that it was nice to see Ian being honoured when he spends so much of his time making the people around him look good. Very valid point I think.
And here's a picture of Ian and his family on the day: