The name Joe Brolly is no stranger to Twitter’s trending list.
And it was no different on Monday when his appearance on a TV debate about a United Ireland generated plenty of reaction.
The barrister and GAA pundit appeared on RTÉ’s Claire Byrne Live on Monday but claimed he was later “taken off air”.
The Derry All-Ireland winner made a number of claims about the DUP, saying the leadership often appeared to be publicly "chuckling and guffawing when people are trying to have a serious discussion”.
He accused the DUP of "laughing at the Irish language, laughing at Gaelic sports" and claimed the party had made hom*ophobic and racist statements.
Referring to earlier remarks made by DUP MLA Gregory Campbell, Brolly said Campbell was living in "a fantasy land."
Host Claire Byrne said Campbell, who was no longer present on the show, would likely deny some of the charges made by Brolly.
Given Campbell’s absence and therefore his inability to defend himself from Brolly’s comments, the host moved away from Brolly and back to the guests in-studio.
The link to Brolly’s video chat was then removed from the RTÉ studio screen.
Brolly later tweeted to say he was “taken off air” and he shared screenshots of news stories which he said backed up his points.
It isn’t the first incident that has seen the outspoken pundit make headlines. Here are a few previous moments that set his name alight on social media.
‘Ugly’ comments
In 2015, Brolly’s comments about Marty Morrissey caused a storm when he made light of the GAA commentator’s appearance.
Speaking on The Sunday Game he made a comparison between Mr Morrissey and the Cavan football team’s defence.
“I’ve called Cavan over the last few years the Black Death because the football has been as some people have said, as ugly as Marty Morrissey,” he said.
Brolly later apologised on-air while the broadcaster’s head of sport at the time, Ryle Nugent, said the comments were “inappropriate and extremely hurtful”.
Morrissey said the comment “crossed the line” but he had accepted Brolly’s apology.
“I’ve known Joe for a long time, obviously, and have worked with him on The Sunday Game and other programmes,” he said.
“I was disappointed but to be honest Joe has apologised which I have accepted.”
Gough-gate
The 2019 All-Ireland final between Dublin and Kerry saw a lot of the build-up focus on the referee.
Meath man David Gough was chosen to officiate the game, but it was met with criticism by former Kerry players due to the ref being Dublin based.
Dublin’s Johnny Cooper got sent off for a second yellow card in the game, with Brolly questioning Gough’s decision.
He claimed the official had been “clearly influenced by the propaganda coming from Kerry”.
Gough said that Brolly later apologised and that they’re still friends.
“Joe picked up the phone and rang me during the week. We had a chat. He explained his viewpoint, I explained mine. He apologised. We got on with life.
"We had a chat about various other different things and we’ll sit down and have a drink again when we see one another. There’s no fallout and we’re still as good friends as we always have been,” Gough told The Six O’Clock Show.
Who’d be a referee, eh?
Sean Cavanagh: The tackle and the man
An infamous outburst on The Sunday Game caused more controversy following a tackle by Tryone’s Sean Cavanagh in an All-Ireland quarter-final.
Cavanagh’s pull down on Monaghan’s Conor McManus in the 2013 clash earned the midfielder a yellow card and denied The Oriel County an almost certain goal.
Brolly said he thought it was an “absolute disgrace”.
The pundit added that Sean Cavanagh “is a brilliant footballer but you can forget about Sean Cavanagh as far as he's a man.
“What he did there tonight was a total and absolute obscenity.”
Brolly later said that he stood by the criticism but that he had apologised to the Tyrone star for one comment.
"I meant everything that I said - everything that I said - and you know it is a cancer in the game and it's destroying the spirit of the game, it's permeating through to underage levels and all of that,” he told Ireland AM at the time.
"But I spoke to Sean yesterday and apologised to Sean for one line which I hadn't realised I said at the time… about: 'you can forget about him as a man'.
“What I meant obviously was as a man and how he conducts himself on the field. But it's nothing to do with his private life."
'What do you think of that?'
A lighter, but just as iconic Joe Brolly moment came after Kerry claimed All-Ireland success in 2014.
Kieran Donaghy felt that the pundit had written off his side that year and after the final whistle he couldn’t resist a mention of the Derry man.
“I think Joe Brolly told us the production line was finished in Kerry. Well, Joe Brolly, what do you think of that?"
It’s since gone down as one of the most famous lines in recent Irish history.
Donaghy later said in an RTÉ interview that it was all “pure hop ball”.
‘Complete bollocks’
Brolly’s day job as a barrister came to the help of Antrim’s Matthew Fitzpatrick after the footballer was hit with a proposed 48-week suspension.
Brolly helped the Antrim player appeal the suspension and announced it on social media with some...complex legalese.
“Matt Fitzpatrick's appeal upheld by CAC just now. Decision quashed. Free to play on Sunday. The law will set you free,” he wrote on Twitter.
He later added: "I can reveal that the case v Matt Fitzpatrick was thrown out on the well known legal basis that it was complete bollocks."
I can reveal that the case v Matt Fitzpatrick was thrown out on the well known legal basis that it was complete bollocks.
— Joe Brolly (@JoeBrolly1993) May 18, 2017
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