Five things you should know about David McWilliams

Economist David McWilliams has been blasting the "pathetic" Government in his column. Here's five things you may not know about the economic ginger avenger.

David McWilliams has blasted another salvo into the lap of the Irish Government in the latest edition of his Sunday Business Post column. He hailed Bill Clinton’s speech on Ireland but was upset by how much optimism it included, pointing out that the black tie event Clinton spoke at “began to feel like a self-help group for men in tuxedos”. Positive thinking? Down with that sort of thing!

Anyway, here’s five things you may not know about the economic ginger avenger:

David is a Blackrock old boy

McWilliams attended Ireland’s most exclusive secondary school, Blackrock College. He then went on to Ireland’s most exclusive university – Trinity. His educational history and behaviour have led some commentators to liken him to a real-life version of a Ross O’Carroll-Kelly character, a theme often followed in satire magazine, Phoenix.

McWilliams believes that his reputation in that regard is unfounded and that he in fact comes from humble origins. He has given radio interviews in which he has backed up his claim by pointing out that his father was unemployed. At some stage.

David used to be a speech writer

McWilliams claims to have written speeches on behalf of current News of the World sports columnist Bertie Ahern. However, he was also a vocal critic of Ahern's Government and his economic policies in particular.

David took to the stage at Electric Picnic

McWilliams made it onto the performers list at Irish summer music festival Electric Picnic twice in the past. He hosted Leviathan: Political Cabaret, a live discussion and satire event, on three occasions – once in 2006 and again in 2007 and 2010.

Brian Lenihan is David’s arch-nemisis

Back in 2009, when McWilliams was promoting a book, he made claims that a "dishevelled looking" Brian Lenihan arrived at his house late one night munching cloves of raw garlic and asking for assistance on how to solve Ireland's economic problems. Lenihan admitted that the pair had met, but said McWilliams had been pestering him for a job as a government advisor. McWilliams denied having done so. Lenihan has since become a regular target for McWilliams in his commentary in the media.

David has his own website

It's called www.davidmcwilliams.ie. It features a range of his books, interviews, columns, podcasts and several pictures of the man himself. Happily, the site also assures us that you can have David at your next party or event: ‘David McWilliams is a popular MC, chair or guest speaker at events both at home in Ireland and internationally.’ He can also make an amazing balloon giraffe.