Guess who I saw

So I was at Notting Hill Carnival on Monday when a man who I recognised walked past me. After a minute trying to work it out, I realised it was Neil Horan. Cornelius Horan is a defrocked Roman Catholic clergyman who is noted for his traditional Irish dancing and preaching the words of the bible.

However, Horan is better known for an incident at the 2003 Grand Prix at Silverstone. Wearing a kilt, Horan ran across the track waving a religious banner saying ‘read the bible, the bible is always right’, while playing chicken with the Formula 1 cars moving onto the 200mph Hangar Straight.

A year later, at the 2004 Olympic Games, Horan ran onto the course of the Men’s Marathon event near the 35km mark. Carrying a sign saying ‘The Grand Prix Priest. Israel Fulfilment of prophecy says the Bible, the second coming is near’, Horan pushed Brazilian Vanderlei de Lima (who was leading the race) into the crowds alongside the course.

Horan was arrested and Lima started to suffer from leg cramps and muscle pain. Although he continued the race, he finished third. Lima was awarded the ‘True Spirit of Sportsmanship medal’ but said about the incident, ‘That’s what cost me the gold medal’.

Before the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Horan wrote to Angela Merkel and ‘The Kingdom’ newspaper in County Kerry saying that he would dance a peace jig outside the stadium in Berlin and carry a sign saying ‘Adolf Hitler was a good leader who was following the word of Christ’ before giving a Nazi Salute and lighting a candle for Hitler at the Gestapo Headquarters. He was arrested by German police before he was able to do any of this and and spent 2 months in custody.

I’m sure you’ll agree, what a absolute bastard!