0:00:02 > 0:00:06This programme contains scenes of Repetitive Flashing Images
0:00:06 > 0:00:10He's the only person in Northern Ireland ever did all the local politicians,
0:00:10 > 0:00:14and now with his demise there's nobody to take that mantle on.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18He brought a bit of light relief into the political process.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21He brought a bit of humour and put a smile on people's faces.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24I like to say it was a caricature,
0:00:24 > 0:00:27maybe he didn't think it was a caricature.
0:00:30 > 0:00:37He was just class, you know, and it just seems so strange that...
0:00:37 > 0:00:40it's not going to happen again, you know.
0:00:51 > 0:00:56Sean Crummey changed the face of political satire in Northern Ireland.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00He was a gifted observer, writer and impressionist
0:01:00 > 0:01:03who took events at Stormont as his raw material
0:01:03 > 0:01:06and shaped them into his own surreal narrative.
0:01:06 > 0:01:11His lampoons could be uncomfortably close to the mark,
0:01:11 > 0:01:15but the targets of his wit loved it, and his finest achievement,
0:01:15 > 0:01:18the radio and TV series The Folks On The Hill,
0:01:18 > 0:01:21became the programme no politician could afford to miss.
0:01:22 > 0:01:27From the political comedies of Aristophanes in ancient Athens
0:01:27 > 0:01:32through to the French satirists such as Aristide Bruant,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36lampooning of political figures has been a healthy facet of everyday life.
0:01:36 > 0:01:41However, I do not expect to be ridiculed in any way in The Folks On The Hill.
0:01:41 > 0:01:42It was a bit like Burns,
0:01:42 > 0:01:47"That God the giftie gie us to see ourselves as others see us."
0:01:47 > 0:01:49And you saw, or got an insight into,
0:01:49 > 0:01:53what the public genuinely had of your character.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55In my case, it was sort of the man who knew everything.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59First case, please, Clerk of the Court Ford.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02The people vs Robert McCartney, M'lud.
0:02:02 > 0:02:03What treachery is this?
0:02:03 > 0:02:06You are charged that you did knowingly and repeatedly
0:02:06 > 0:02:09- behave in a condescending manner. - To whom?!
0:02:09 > 0:02:12Well, to everyone, M'lud.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14He captured a degree of disdain that I had
0:02:14 > 0:02:19for some of the political players, for their ability and principles.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22I have merely, over a period of many years,
0:02:22 > 0:02:25brought my considerable intellect to bear
0:02:25 > 0:02:27on a great number of questions of public interest
0:02:27 > 0:02:31in order to help those less fortunate than myself -
0:02:31 > 0:02:33id est, everyone.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36'In a sense, he captured that by having me'
0:02:36 > 0:02:40as a sort of third party who was with him, looking at the scene.
0:02:40 > 0:02:41DOORBELL
0:02:41 > 0:02:43Who goes there?
0:02:43 > 0:02:47Durkan, Mark Durkan. Leader of the SDLP.
0:02:47 > 0:02:48Yes, I know who you are,
0:02:48 > 0:02:51I'm just deciding whether to grant you admittance or not.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53Look, this is ridiculous, Bob.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55Enter.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57It's easier to see the Pope than you.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59Well, I would suggest that the Bishop of Rome
0:02:59 > 0:03:02has a much less onerous workload than myself.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06'His advice centre scenes with me as the person who was offering the advice'
0:03:06 > 0:03:08and the suppliants, as it were, knocking on the door.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10'They didn't get much time,
0:03:10 > 0:03:14'and if they didn't get to the point quickly they were dismissed.'
0:03:14 > 0:03:16Right, your time's up for this session.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19In the meantime, I would recommend that you read
0:03:19 > 0:03:22chapter three of the Ars Poetica by Horace - good day.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24Oh, for heaven's sake.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26'That was part of the image'
0:03:26 > 0:03:30he created for me, someone who had, shall we say -
0:03:30 > 0:03:35it might be a bit harsh - didn't suffer fools gladly?
0:03:35 > 0:03:39And he wasn't entirely incorrect in that.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43Before his full-time comedy career,
0:03:43 > 0:03:48Sean spent 17 years as a teacher at De La Salle College in West Belfast.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51His breakthrough into broadcasting came
0:03:51 > 0:03:54when a colleague approached a well-known radio presenter.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58The first time I heard the name Sean Crummey was in the mid-1980s.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01I was presenting shows on Downtown Radio at the time,
0:04:01 > 0:04:03and I got a call from a friend called Michael Stewart
0:04:03 > 0:04:06who said he knew this very funny bloke.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08I said, "Yeah, I hear that all the time."
0:04:08 > 0:04:11He said, "No, no, this guy is unassuming, he's clever,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14"he's funny, you need to meet him," so I did.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18He did some voices, he showed me how clever he was in an instant,
0:04:18 > 0:04:21and I realised, this guy has something.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25From that day for six or seven years,
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Sean Crummey was a regular feature on any radio show I did on Downtown.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32DEEP VOICE: And now to the man of the moment - Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins...
0:04:32 > 0:04:37Sean worked part-time on the comedy circuit under the stage name Johnny Day.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42ALEX HIGGINS VOICE: No, I think Dennis still takes the death threat quite seriously,
0:04:42 > 0:04:46you know, because last week we were playing an exhibition game
0:04:46 > 0:04:53and I missed a red, and I turned to Dennis and said, "Your shot, Dennis,"
0:04:53 > 0:04:54and he hid under the table.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56LAUGHTER
0:04:56 > 0:04:59But soon his more famous friends were urging him
0:04:59 > 0:05:00to give up the day job.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03I remember saying, "Sean, did you ever think of leaving
0:05:03 > 0:05:06"teaching behind, maybe give this a go as a profession?"
0:05:06 > 0:05:09He said he was toying with the idea, but wasn't convinced.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12He never fully believed in himself, Sean - he was a very modest man.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
0:05:18 > 0:05:19'I first met Sean'
0:05:19 > 0:05:23about 1998 when we did our first Give My Head Peace Christmas special,
0:05:23 > 0:05:27'and he played a priest who ended up being hugged by Uncle Andy,
0:05:27 > 0:05:29'for various reasons that I'll not go into.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32'I ended up sitting with him about three in the morning,
0:05:32 > 0:05:34'and he came across as a lovely fellow.'
0:05:34 > 0:05:36I knew him as Johnny Day before that
0:05:36 > 0:05:39and he was talking about this stage, 1988, going full-time.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41Come in, Barry McGuigan...
0:05:41 > 0:05:44HIGH PITCHED VOICE: Thanks very much, Robert...
0:05:44 > 0:05:45LAUGHTER
0:05:45 > 0:05:50Really delighted to be given this opportunity, of trying my wee chat show.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54As you said, I made a total b...shambles out of it last time.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56'A lot of people spoke to him and said,'
0:05:56 > 0:05:59if you took a sabbatical out of the teaching,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02you could earn as much money doing the voices as teaching.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04So he gave it a lot of thought and indeed he did do it,
0:06:04 > 0:06:08he took a sabbatical, and at the end of the year we said, "Well, Sean?"
0:06:08 > 0:06:09And he said, "I didn't do too bad."
0:06:09 > 0:06:12"I'll have another go," and he took another year out,
0:06:12 > 0:06:16and eventually after that he decided to give teaching up altogether.
0:06:16 > 0:06:17He never looked back, did he?
0:06:17 > 0:06:21AS BARRY MCGUIGAN: Jimmy Stewart, you're very welcome.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23JIMMY STEWART: Aww, thank you very much, son,
0:06:23 > 0:06:26it's mighty good of you to ask me along, see?
0:06:26 > 0:06:27HIGH-PITCHED: Heeheheee!
0:06:27 > 0:06:29LAUGHTER
0:06:29 > 0:06:33I don't enjoy insulting people or offending people, you know,
0:06:33 > 0:06:35I just want to make people laugh.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40By 2001, a year after Sean left teaching,
0:06:40 > 0:06:44The Folks On The Hill was a major success on radio.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47Three years after that it took on a new dimension
0:06:47 > 0:06:50when it moved to television.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53The decision was made to do an animated series, and Liam O'Neill,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56who worked in our graphics department at that time,
0:06:56 > 0:06:58kind of led the charge with that.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Really talented, built lots of fantastic characters.
0:07:01 > 0:07:07And the challenge was to turn round 15 minutes of animation each week, because it had to be topical.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09It's a renegotiation!
0:07:09 > 0:07:10- Review!- Renegotiation!
0:07:10 > 0:07:13- Review!- Renegotiation!
0:07:13 > 0:07:18It's an unnecessary and potentially cataclysmic form of political procrastination
0:07:18 > 0:07:21which fills me with a sense of almost apoplectic indignation.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23ALL: What?!
0:07:23 > 0:07:26After you appeared on Folks On The Hill
0:07:26 > 0:07:28your profile went up substantially,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31so from a political point of view, who would complain?
0:07:31 > 0:07:34I knew where Jimbo Allister lived.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37I knew where everybody lived.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39THUNDER
0:07:39 > 0:07:42I like to keep saying it was a caricature,
0:07:42 > 0:07:44'maybe he didn't think it was a caricature.'
0:07:44 > 0:07:46What is your name and why have you come here?
0:07:46 > 0:07:49The name's Bond, Geoffrey Bond.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53I simply came to pay my respects, Professor Goldrim.
0:07:53 > 0:07:54I see.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58Ha! You fool!
0:07:58 > 0:08:01Did you think you could trick me that easily?
0:08:01 > 0:08:04I knew you were a securocrat as soon as you walked in!
0:08:04 > 0:08:08I'm not! I don't even know what a securocrat is, honestly!
0:08:08 > 0:08:09'Securocrats became...'
0:08:09 > 0:08:13..a perfect description, I think, of those in the system
0:08:13 > 0:08:18who'd been there for 40 years and really didn't want them to change too much.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21I just want to help you in your quest for world domination.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24Nonsense! I do not seek world domination!
0:08:24 > 0:08:26In fact, I wish to share power.
0:08:26 > 0:08:31What Sean did was, he invented personalities, largely, for a lot of these people.
0:08:31 > 0:08:32He had their voices,
0:08:32 > 0:08:36and then he developed a back story, if you like,
0:08:36 > 0:08:38a whole rounded personality,
0:08:38 > 0:08:42and invented a parallel world that happened to be Stormont,
0:08:42 > 0:08:45but in fact was a place of his own imaginings, very much,
0:08:45 > 0:08:49and loosely connected to reality but had something to say about it.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52- Son?- Yes, Dad?- Do you know why I've called you in today?
0:08:52 > 0:08:56- Is it about increasing my pocket money, Dad?- No, Son, it's not.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59'It was comic genius, it was so simple,'
0:08:59 > 0:09:02but yet so penetrating in its humour and where it actually got,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05and I think that was probably the magic of it.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09I've had myself cloned and an exact replica of myself reproduced.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13Identical in every way, except, of course, the height.
0:09:13 > 0:09:14Does he talk?
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Of course I talk, and let me assure you
0:09:16 > 0:09:21I will continue to talk, whether you want to listen to me or not...
0:09:21 > 0:09:24'I would watch it with my dad, or listen on the radio if travelling together.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27'We met Sean several times, whenever he did Party events for us.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29'Sean was a gentle man, a gentle giant,'
0:09:29 > 0:09:32An unassuming teacher, then stepped into character,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35then wham! All this humour just came out,
0:09:35 > 0:09:36'and it was incredible.'
0:09:36 > 0:09:40It's power share, but not as we know it.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42'He had us caricatured in this room.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45'Behind my desk was the union flag, and of course, more importantly,'
0:09:45 > 0:09:48was the partition down the middle of the room.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52I should be able to walk over there any time I like without...
0:09:52 > 0:09:53ALARM
0:09:53 > 0:09:56- ..that happening.- I know, it's ridiculous, so it is!
0:09:56 > 0:09:58And Gerry on the other side...
0:09:58 > 0:10:00Would you turn that silly thing off, now?!
0:10:00 > 0:10:03We'll come over whenever we like, right?!
0:10:03 > 0:10:06If humour is to be funny it has to capture -
0:10:06 > 0:10:12in a picture or a cartoon or in just a few words - 1,000 words.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16- Right, I think it is time for the full works, Junior.- Go, Dad.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20LOUD ALARM
0:10:20 > 0:10:22Stop it, Ian! We're sorry! Turn it off!
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Anyone else behind such a popular show
0:10:25 > 0:10:28might have become a household name,
0:10:28 > 0:10:30but Sean let his characters do the talking
0:10:30 > 0:10:33while he preferred life behind-the-scenes.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36When we were doing the Kelly Show, even shows round the country,
0:10:36 > 0:10:39Sean would be waiting in the wings, and he was terrified,
0:10:39 > 0:10:41he hated coming on to do it.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45Sean was happiest when sitting in a small room writing the stuff.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47That's where his main strength was.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50But he didn't realise just how brilliant he was at some of the voices.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53VERY SLOW VOICE: Oh, hello, everyone.
0:10:53 > 0:10:58My name's Michael, and I'm looking for someone to have a good laugh with.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01I can tell you that in here you weren't anybody
0:11:01 > 0:11:03unless you were on Folks On The Hill.
0:11:03 > 0:11:04Helloooo?
0:11:04 > 0:11:07Feeling sorry for yourself?
0:11:07 > 0:11:09Who are you?!
0:11:09 > 0:11:12I'm Michael, your guardian angel.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14I know certain colleagues who went lobbying the BBC
0:11:14 > 0:11:17to get on Folks On The Hill and weren't successful.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21There are lots of people worse off than you, you know, David.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25Just think of Mark, and Bob, and Fordy.
0:11:25 > 0:11:26'I didn't cringe,'
0:11:26 > 0:11:29but I thought, "Gee, I'm not really like that,"
0:11:29 > 0:11:31then my family would say, "Yeah, it's not far away."
0:11:31 > 0:11:35Daphne! Daphne! Everything's going to be all right!
0:11:35 > 0:11:37'The hook he had for me was the voice,
0:11:37 > 0:11:39'and he slowed that right down'
0:11:39 > 0:11:42and had me talking in a very slow voice.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45People would stop me in the street to talk to me at that type of speed.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48He's not answering, let's all just go home.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51'He then portrayed me in sort of a Hammer House Of Horror,'
0:11:51 > 0:11:54and I was living in a castle with a big cellar,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57and everybody was frightened to come to the door.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59McGimpsey, where are you?
0:11:59 > 0:12:02GHOSTLY ECHOING: I'm down in the cellar...
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Why don't you all come and join me?
0:12:05 > 0:12:08Michael, stop this, you're frightening everyone, come up at once!
0:12:08 > 0:12:10Yes, leader?
0:12:10 > 0:12:11Argh!
0:12:11 > 0:12:14Totally unexpected, watching one Friday night with my wife
0:12:14 > 0:12:16and this comes up and suddenly I'm Dracula
0:12:16 > 0:12:18and I think, "Where did he get this from?"
0:12:18 > 0:12:22There was that emphasising the points, creating the caricature.
0:12:22 > 0:12:23Very, very clever.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26# Could you never see a doctor
0:12:26 > 0:12:28# Could you never get a bed?
0:12:28 > 0:12:30# Did the NHS just let you down
0:12:30 > 0:12:31# And drive you off your head?
0:12:31 > 0:12:33# Were you ever stuck in A&E
0:12:33 > 0:12:35# For 14 hours or more?
0:12:35 > 0:12:38# Did they ask you if you're broken arm was really all that sore? #
0:12:38 > 0:12:40I met Sean on a number of occasions.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43I sat in dinners where he stood up and did his repertoire,
0:12:43 > 0:12:46including me, and everybody's looking round at me
0:12:46 > 0:12:49to see how I'm reacting, and of course I enjoyed it.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53EVIL LAUGHTER
0:12:53 > 0:12:55Some of us used to suspect
0:12:55 > 0:12:57that Sean had some kind of mole in the Northern Ireland office
0:12:57 > 0:13:04who was feeding him all the material they were gathering from various conversations,
0:13:04 > 0:13:06but I think he probably was just very astute observer
0:13:06 > 0:13:10of human behaviour and had a very keen political antenna.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14Did someone mention my name?
0:13:14 > 0:13:16Ah, Dr Paisley, thank goodness!
0:13:16 > 0:13:20These two are looking to give in to Sinn Fein and have you
0:13:20 > 0:13:24sit in Stormont as First Minister with Martin McGuinness as your Deputy!
0:13:24 > 0:13:28What?! No! I can't believe it!
0:13:28 > 0:13:33I expressly said I would let my old friend Marty be First Minister,
0:13:33 > 0:13:35and I would serve as his Deputy!
0:13:35 > 0:13:37They're playing with your mind!
0:13:37 > 0:13:41He had the luxury of not actually being in the middle of events,
0:13:41 > 0:13:47in the sense that everyday political observers like myself are too close to it sometimes,
0:13:47 > 0:13:50and so he's taking a step back from all the minutiae
0:13:50 > 0:13:53and he can see the big picture and he's looking ahead,
0:13:53 > 0:13:54and he's also having a bit of fun.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56He's saying to himself, "What if?"
0:13:56 > 0:13:58And sometimes the 'what if' did happen.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00I don't believe this is happening!
0:14:00 > 0:14:05The Shinners have put something in the water!
0:14:05 > 0:14:07Peter! Peter, wake up!
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Oh, It was all just a dream.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12I was dreaming Dr Paisley had done the deal
0:14:12 > 0:14:14and we were now political bedfellows with the Shinners!
0:14:14 > 0:14:16And what's wrong with that, Peter?
0:14:16 > 0:14:19Aaaargh!
0:14:22 > 0:14:24What you doing around here, Attwood?
0:14:24 > 0:14:27I-I was just looking at the gardens.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31I-I-I was thinking a few dahlias would be nice over there.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33'You needed somebody...'
0:14:33 > 0:14:38..from outside the political system in order to comment,
0:14:38 > 0:14:42for us all to realise that we were big fish in a small fishbowl.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45You're not wanted round here, Attwood, right?
0:14:45 > 0:14:47OK, I was just leaving.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49Wait a minute. Give us your odds.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51- What? - You know what we mean.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53But I don't have any money on me.
0:14:53 > 0:14:58Not only did he take us all down a peg or two, he also made
0:14:58 > 0:15:03telling points about the character and content of our politics
0:15:03 > 0:15:07in a way that at times probably said to us to catch ourselves on.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10- Hand what over?- It's all right, it's nothing.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13- Just a misunderstanding. - That's right.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17It was just a misunderstanding. No hassle. Come on, lads.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Go on, clear off and leave him alone or you'll have me
0:15:19 > 0:15:23- to deal with.- Thanks, Mark.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25Give us your odds, Attwood, now.
0:15:25 > 0:15:26Hello. Hello.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30This is George W Bush calling you all the way from Texas.
0:15:30 > 0:15:35- I don't believe it. Hello, how are you?- I'm just fine...
0:15:35 > 0:15:37Despite his tough workload, Sean lent his talents to projects
0:15:37 > 0:15:42by old friends, including the man better known as May McFetridge.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45I know you've been appearing there at the Grand Ole Opry
0:15:45 > 0:15:49House for two decades which must sometimes feel like 20 years.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51LAUGHTER
0:15:51 > 0:15:53It seems strange to me that I never hear him
0:15:53 > 0:16:00when we were playing golf and he hits a good shot, "Oh, yes. Yes, a fine shot."
0:16:00 > 0:16:04Or when he putts a long putt in and he would do Gerry Adams.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08You could say, "Do Seve Ballesteros". He was just class.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12'We used him in our stage shows cos he did the best Gerry Adams.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15'You know Da's always on the phone to Gerry Adams.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17'His only payment he wanted was a bottle of Rioja.'
0:16:17 > 0:16:21He wouldn't swear. He refused to say the F word which I'm afraid I sometimes use
0:16:21 > 0:16:22in live shows, but he refused.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25And in a very nice way, not an offensive way, he'd say,
0:16:25 > 0:16:28"Do you mind if I use a different word rather than the F word?"
0:16:28 > 0:16:32and that's just typical of Sean. He did things his own way and gently got on with it.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36Welcome to David Ford, The Alliance Party leader who's the first
0:16:36 > 0:16:38guest on our new phone-in programme.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41The Alliance Party is the only party...
0:16:41 > 0:16:44It would be worse to not be lampooned than to be lampooned.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46To be thought significant enough is always very exciting
0:16:46 > 0:16:48for anybody in that position.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51The lines are now open and we await the first call.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54'Whether you spoke too much, whether people wanted to speak to you.'
0:16:54 > 0:17:00He twisted those to where the lampoon was funny without getting to the point where it was nasty.
0:17:00 > 0:17:01We have our first caller.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04- Hello, you're through to David Ford, what's your question?- 'Hello.'
0:17:04 > 0:17:07- Hello.- 'Hello.'- Hello, David Ford here, how can I help?
0:17:07 > 0:17:11Number 49, mate, with fried rice.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14I got suggestions from my family, they never knew I could sing
0:17:14 > 0:17:17so well as when I had a stringless guitar standing underneath
0:17:17 > 0:17:20the street lamp, and those little ditties were always amusing.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24# My name is David Ford-by I'm a cheeky sort of chap
0:17:24 > 0:17:28# I play me little banjo and I wear me little cap
0:17:28 > 0:17:35# I keep me eye on the DUP and the Shinners when I can
0:17:35 > 0:17:39# But I really think our country is going down the pan. #
0:17:39 > 0:17:42It was always good to see people like Gerry Kelly or Peter Robinson
0:17:42 > 0:17:46being given an absolutely spot-on hard time, because I believe
0:17:46 > 0:17:49he got nearly everybody else right, but he just didn't quite get me.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52Wahey, you have to laugh!
0:17:55 > 0:18:00Topical comedy demands a constant supply of fresh material,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03although the team on The Folks On The Hill expanded in later years,
0:18:03 > 0:18:06scripting it initially was largely a solo effort.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09The standard was extremely high, but also the turnover was immense.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12He did ten years of Folks On The Hill on the radio,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15we did about four or five years on the television.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17That's a huge volume of material to go through.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21He's to be hugely admired, and he didn't perhaps get the respect
0:18:21 > 0:18:24he deserved for being able to do that week in, week out.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28I just know there's peace over the rainbow.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39- Where am I?! I'm lost.- Hello.- Who are you?
0:18:39 > 0:18:40I'm Jeffrey, one of the munchkin men.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44If you need to see the wizard, just follow the Orange Brick Road.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46The fact that you made it on to Folks On The Hill was
0:18:46 > 0:18:48success in itself.
0:18:48 > 0:18:53I didn't mind in the slightest the way in which the portrayal went.
0:18:53 > 0:19:00- Niall, of N2, a cover of Sinn... - What was that, Adams?
0:19:00 > 0:19:03I was just trying a new spell, Professor.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06You haven't learned it very well. Your pronunciation is dreadful.
0:19:06 > 0:19:11- God's sake, the Latin ones were hard enough.- Trying to turn yourself into a democrat, were you, Adams?
0:19:11 > 0:19:15No, actually, I was trying to shrink you but I see someone beat me to it.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19If people could have a laugh at Folks On The Hill it helped reduce
0:19:19 > 0:19:23the level of tension that there would have been at Stormont,
0:19:23 > 0:19:26so all in all I think it was a good thing.
0:19:26 > 0:19:32'Sometimes perhaps a bit close to the bone in terms of the humour,
0:19:32 > 0:19:35'maybe closer to the truth than some people might have hoped.'
0:19:35 > 0:19:40Ah, the Thane of Lagan Valley. The noble Jeffrey, he has come.
0:19:40 > 0:19:45Hail good sirs, let us eat and drink our fill for a great victory
0:19:45 > 0:19:47was won upon Westminster Field.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50Aye, and men shall ever speak of Upper Bann
0:19:50 > 0:19:53wherein thy former friend did meet his end.
0:19:53 > 0:19:58Trimble's end was Jeffrey's deed, was it not thus, my lords?
0:19:58 > 0:20:01Not mine, nay, though I shed no tears 'tis true.
0:20:01 > 0:20:06Overall very professional, very well done, and extremely humorous.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09- You have supped with the Devil, sir.- 'Tis a lie.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13This witchcraft is in their minds alone, judge.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16What know these folk of God, I say?
0:20:16 > 0:20:20He blasphemes. He damns himself by his words.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23- Repent and save yourself, David. - Get stuffed, Jeffrey.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26I remember one Christmas sitting watching Folks On The Hill
0:20:26 > 0:20:28and my two daughters were in the room
0:20:28 > 0:20:34and were keeping an eye on what was on the TV and there was this
0:20:34 > 0:20:38'moment when I was portrayed as metamorphosing
0:20:38 > 0:20:40into Daniel O'Donnell.'
0:20:40 > 0:20:47Och, now, told you, honest to God, this is desperate, it really is.
0:20:47 > 0:20:48Did you hear that, Peter?
0:20:48 > 0:20:51They were appalled and were thinking, "How are we going to go back
0:20:51 > 0:20:55"to school after the Christmas holidays when people see this?"
0:20:55 > 0:20:59But I was laughing, and hurting my sides laughing,
0:20:59 > 0:21:02because it was just brilliant humour,
0:21:02 > 0:21:06and you have to take it in the way it's intended.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09# I want to dance with you
0:21:09 > 0:21:13# I want to dance you right across the floor... #
0:21:13 > 0:21:14Help! Quickly, someone help!
0:21:16 > 0:21:19Away from politics, real or imagined,
0:21:19 > 0:21:23Sean could be relied on to add extra personality to any big occasion.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26When Graeme McDowell won the US Open I was charged
0:21:26 > 0:21:28with providing the entertainment.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32I thought no better man than golf-crazy Sean Crummey
0:21:32 > 0:21:34who came down. It was a wonderful evening
0:21:34 > 0:21:38because Sean took charge of the microphone and welcomed Graeme home.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41Now we're going over to South Africa to join Nelson Mandela.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43Nelson Mandela.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46(MIMICS MANDELA) Greetings from South Africa.
0:21:46 > 0:21:51I send my congratulations across the world to Graeme McDowell
0:21:51 > 0:21:57on this fantastic achievement even though you beat Ernie Els.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01Graeme and some of his friends from America were doubled over laughing.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05Then Sean turned it upside down and started to do Graeme himself.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08(MIMICS MCDOWELL) After Celtic Manor I knew my game was on fire
0:22:08 > 0:22:10and I just wanted to get the putter...
0:22:10 > 0:22:13CHEERING
0:22:13 > 0:22:16'At this stage, not only his friend, the entire room
0:22:16 > 0:22:18'just collapsed in hysterical laughter.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22'None moreso than Graeme himself who thought it was brilliant.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26As you guys know I grew up on the east side of Portrush
0:22:26 > 0:22:30and I was like any other kid doing crazy things,
0:22:30 > 0:22:33hopping on the back of the garbage truck, and...
0:22:33 > 0:22:35LAUGHTER
0:22:35 > 0:22:37..practising my putting on the sidewalk. It was awesome.
0:22:43 > 0:22:50Hello, Jim Allister here with another of my little broadcasts.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52Ever since I told my loyal supporters that
0:22:52 > 0:22:58I had gone all virtual my website has been positively inundated with
0:22:58 > 0:23:00hits, as I believe they're called.
0:23:00 > 0:23:07Very often now when people learn that I am available 24/7 online they
0:23:07 > 0:23:12say, "You tube", and I tell them to keep a civil tongue in their head.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15'He lampooned us all. He lampooned me from time to time.'
0:23:15 > 0:23:20Sometimes as the arch conspirator he would line me up
0:23:20 > 0:23:22on occasions with Bob McCartney
0:23:22 > 0:23:28and had us on some far flung ancient radio system conspiring together
0:23:28 > 0:23:32as if we were something out of the French Resistance.
0:23:32 > 0:23:38Snowy Owl to Bald Eagle. Snowy Owl to Bald Eagle. Are you reading me?
0:23:40 > 0:23:44Bald Eagle to Snowy Owl, reading you loud and clear.
0:23:44 > 0:23:52- 'Why are you called Snowy Owl?' - I would have thought that was self-evident.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Snowy because of my thatch of luxuriant white hair,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58and Owl because it is synonymous with wisdom
0:23:58 > 0:24:01and has been since the days of the ancient Greeks
0:24:01 > 0:24:04when Athena the Goddess of Wisdom
0:24:04 > 0:24:07had as one of her numerous symbols the owl.
0:24:07 > 0:24:13I am Bald Eagle because I too am a fearsome and proud predator?
0:24:13 > 0:24:15No, because you are bald.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19He realised in a sense I was a bit of a John The Baptist to Allister.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23We were cast in this role of a sort of resistance to this
0:24:23 > 0:24:26overwhelming drive for a result.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28What else have you to tell me?
0:24:28 > 0:24:31If the DUP puts forward a candidate against me
0:24:31 > 0:24:34the Unionist vote will be split three ways,
0:24:34 > 0:24:39the Shinners will gain an extra seat and then the DUP will be blamed. Ha-ha!
0:24:40 > 0:24:45- And you'd lose your seat. - Oh, crap, I hadn't thought of that.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49I will go and work on Plan B. Over and out.
0:24:49 > 0:24:54It was more than comedy. It was in itself political commentary
0:24:54 > 0:24:56done in a comic fashion
0:24:56 > 0:25:03and he was a talent we probably won't see the like of again in that regard.
0:25:03 > 0:25:09The Folks On The Hill ended its TV run in 2008, but continued on radio.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13"Have you seen this, Bobby?" "Please do not refer to me as Bobby.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16"In fact, please do not refer to me at all."
0:25:16 > 0:25:22A decade on, the original cast of characters had changed radically,
0:25:22 > 0:25:26but a painful personal struggle was going on behind the scenes.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30Sean became ill at the start of 2011.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34Things went very quiet. No more Folks On The Hill for a while.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37Sean was getting treatment.
0:25:37 > 0:25:42So it was a real joy in the summer of 2011 when Sean was fit enough
0:25:42 > 0:25:45to come back to work as it were, though we never called it work,
0:25:45 > 0:25:49and we were back in Studio Three, doing lots of impressions.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51He'd perfected a few new characters.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55We have Tom Elliott now on the political map.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59(MIMICS ELLIOTT) Tom is a very interesting character, from Fermanagh
0:25:59 > 0:26:03obviously, and I think the people of Northern Ireland are behind me
0:26:03 > 0:26:07as I attempt to alienate as many sections of the population as I can.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10We were doing six programmes and about two thirds
0:26:10 > 0:26:15of the way in, Sean began to feel unwell again, but continued.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19'Insisted on doing it. It must have been like an instinct'
0:26:19 > 0:26:21because as soon as the red light went on in the studio
0:26:21 > 0:26:25he was brilliant and did some really challenging sketches.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28Who cares if McGuinness becomes president or not?
0:26:28 > 0:26:33(MIMICS MCGUINNESS): The First Minister knows this is not the vote to which I am referring.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36I am talking about Janet Devlin on the X Factor. She's the pride of Tyrone, so she is.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40He said goodbye to the studio, goodbye to us,
0:26:40 > 0:26:44and he died about ten days later.
0:26:44 > 0:26:50But his very last radio programme went out the day before he died.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53So he kept us laughing right to the end.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59- I suppose this place must be full now.- Heh-heh!
0:26:59 > 0:27:02What are you laughing at?
0:27:02 > 0:27:04I think you've forgotten,
0:27:04 > 0:27:07there is one more chap who's gone over the hill as it were.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09- Who?- You'll find out soon enough.
0:27:10 > 0:27:15- Hey, fellows, look who's here. Ha-ha!- Good grief.
0:27:15 > 0:27:22This place looks like Guantanamo Bay. Do I know you? Laura? Laura?
0:27:26 > 0:27:29Sean will be remembered as a comic genius,
0:27:29 > 0:27:33but to all of us who knew him his real legacy will be the way
0:27:33 > 0:27:35he touched the lives of those around him.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39He never claimed the limelight when we were together.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42We were all just guys together playing a game of golf.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46He would listen to a joke every bit as much as tell the joke and he would enjoy our company.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50Of all the voices I will miss it will be Sean's own voice
0:27:50 > 0:27:54that I'll miss over the years. He was just such a gentleman, was Sean.
0:27:56 > 0:28:02It's a tremendous loss because as so often is the case,
0:28:02 > 0:28:05people with this sort of talent, and one can think of many
0:28:05 > 0:28:10comedians among them, who can bring a bit of joy, a bit of fun,
0:28:10 > 0:28:16a bit of laughter to life in general, are cut short.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20He will be enormously missed, certainly by me.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24I went to his funeral. It was huge.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26It was huge out of respect.
0:28:26 > 0:28:32He gave back what he gave out which was decent humour, wit,
0:28:32 > 0:28:36with a sharp edge, but not anything that would hurt anybody.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42When I went up to the wake, the young fellow, Brendan 12 years of age,
0:28:42 > 0:28:45says, "I heard what you said on the BBC and I just want to thank you.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48"Your words were very kind." That's from a 12 year old.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50Then at the funeral...
0:28:58 > 0:29:02..his son was just... I mean...
0:29:02 > 0:29:08Just a real sound family and a lovely husband and father.
0:29:08 > 0:29:14He was all that. We could all take a leaf out of his book.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:29:42 > 0:29:45E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk