A quick word with The Hardy Buck’s Eddie Durkan

Mayo’s very own Hardy Bucks are set to become the county’s biggest star exports since Louis Walsh weedled his way onto the X Factor judging panel.

The YouTube favourites won RTÉ’s Storyland competition last year, and since then their popularity has continued to grow. People have tuned in to YouTube in their hundreds of thousands in order to get an insight into the everyday life of five lads living in 21^st Century West Ireland and whose pastimes are essentially schmokin’, fightin’ and shite talkin’.

Now RTÉ have sent the cameras down to their Castletown base, and have been following them around for a three-part fly-on-the-wall series that airs this month.

We gave The Bucks’ Edward T Durkan a quick call to see how things were going...

JOE: Hi Eddie.

How’s it goin’?

What’s this we’re hearing about you doing something with RTÉ?

There’s a few ol’ camera boys and schity slickers been comin’ down asking questions and wanting to see what the craic is with us boys, ya know, down the town.

So do you think RTÉ are looking to have a base in Castletown? Do you think they’ll be moving lock, stock and barrel from Dublin to save on the rent? Are you getting a few quid for showing them around? Any other perks, maybe?

I got a three way off two fat birds the other night, d’ya know. That was great, like. That wouldn’t happen usually. And as they say, so two rough birds is equal to one good looking bird, so I was happy enough with that. Two women fighting over one microphone, if you get what I’m saying.

Girls from RTÉ?

Well no, these girls would be local, like. From out the road.  They’d seen all the cameras and shtuff, and it got them interested. They were eyeing me up from across the street. I was just standing outside the chipper, like. One night after a few schcoops. The beast in me took over an’ I went into autopilot.

Pushed the boat out, I did. Went and got a room. There’s a hotel here. It’s mighty, so it is, for that kind of craic.

So with all this media attention, is Castletown starting to get the big city vibe?

It’s by no means a big city. Not at all. But we’ve got serious choice of big cities around here. Longford, for instance. Or Sligo or Galway. Plenty of choice.

...and Dublin?

It’s been known. If we do, we go to the real big spots like the Cat and Cage in Drumcondra to score St Pat’s girls. Teachers and nurses. They can’t get enough of our Mayo love washing all over them. Then we go down to Coppers. Now that’s a real classy place. An unreal bit of craic to be had there.

How do you get to these places?

I’ve got the old Almera, so I take that for a spin. She’s not so bad on juice. You’ve just got to keep her in low revs. Low revs all the way. Keep her low.

The money from RTÉ must be helping you keep the tank topped up...

I’ve seen no money in my hand, now, despite all the fuss that’s been going on here. I do wait with baited breath to see what kind of finances will potentially be coming my way. For the amount of schtuff I’ve been doing with them, it’s only fair and decent that they throw a few bob in the claw. We need to get the old claw greased.

They’ve been following us around as we do our everyday encounters around the town. My head’s a bit wrecked, to be honest with ya. I just want to get away from them, but they keep turning up.

We’ve been spinning in the car, they’ve watched us do some drinking and there was a bit of a fight down in the town the other night and they filmed that. A lot of fast windmilling going on, like.

So what’s next? Is there anything beyond RTÉ?

Hopefully I’d like to do something in Hollywood. I’m thinking of being a stuntman.  I met some fella in a pub who  said he was really connected with the big stars. He’s met Dáithí O Sé – top people like that. He was on about getting me a stuntman job.

If you’re heading to LA, do you have an agent?

Not yet. We met Gerald Kean at the party you guys threw in Dublin. That man... you can see in those eyes that he’s been a part of some lucrative deals. That man has lived a luxurious life. There were no callouses on those hands, man. He could be the right man to represent me, I think.

We noticed you’d got your eye on Claire Tully back in April at the launch of JOE.ie. She’s a good looking girl, isn’t she?

You know man. If she was around here I’d take her for a pint. Maybe even buy a bottle of wine from Centra and a packet of those fancy Chilli Sensations from Walker’s and give here the going over. I’d lick her arse – and I don’t do that often, out of hygiene’s sake.

The wind was at her heels, and I reached out and felt what it’s like to get too high too soon. But by God, man. I saw the whole of the moon...

Anyway. Gotta go. I can see the RTÉ crowd approaching. Talk to ya...

'The Hardy Bucks' airs on RTÉ on Tuesdays at 10.50pm