Advertisement

“Pat the B******s” - Pat Spillane shares hilarious story on receiving x-rated hate mail from Armagh

Former Sunday Game pundit and ex-Kerry star Pat Spillane
-Credit: (Image: ©INPHO/James Crombie)


Pat Spillane has opened up on receiving hate mail from disgruntled GAA fans back in the days before online trolling on social media.

The former Kerry star and Sunday Game pundit was an outspoken critic of Ulster football and he often courted controversy with his opinions, particularly regarding Armagh and Tyrone in the noughties.

He infamously labelled Tyrone’s 2003 All-Ireland semi-final win over the Kingdom as “puke football” while he claimed his mother would be faster than Armagh’s All-Ireland winning full-back Francie Bellew in 2002.

Read more: Marc Jordan would welcome McKenna Cup return, but thinks pre-season competition could be improved

Read more: GAA managers should be paid a grand a week from Croke Park says former boss

It might be little wonder then that Spillane found himself receiving a few letters from GAA fans over the years.

However, appearing as a guest on ‘The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock in' on RTÉ2 on Thursday, he recalled one incident when a letter arrived at his home despite a somewhat questionable mailing address.

“Now, with social media, it is very easy, but in the early days, in the first 10 or 15 years when I worked on the Sunday Game, people had to go to a bit of an effort to abuse me,” said Spillaine.

“The had to write to me. When you hate somebody. . . how do you spend an hour writing a letter of abuse? You’ve just wasted an hour abusing me.

“It is amazing, a letter addressed to ‘Pat the b******s, Co Kerry’ posted in Armagh arrived in the door. It just goes to show how good the postal service is in Ireland!”

The eight-time All-Ireland winner and nine-time All Star also insisted he was enjoying his retirement claiming he spends most of his days watching sport on television.

“I have the perfect day - I do nothing and I do nothing very well and I do it all day long,” added Spillane.

“Monday to Thursday, I watch five hours of sport on television and, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I watch 10 to 12 hours of sport. I tell my wife it is all for the purposes of research.

“Everything from racing to cricket to basketball, anything, I love it and I watch it all.”

Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox