15th anniversary of iconic moment man slips on ice as Ireland grapples with big freeze
On January 8, 2010, RTÉ cameraman Colm McCaughey captured the viral moment a mystery man slipped on ice during a spell of particularly freezing temperatures
It's been 15 years since one of the most iconic shots in Irish TV news history - the moment a mystery man slipped on ice during the big freeze in 2010.
On January 8, 2010, the unknown man became an internet sensation after slipping on a patch of ice on RTÉ News while walking on Church Street near the Four Courts in Dublin city amid a spell of particularly cold weather.
Although more than a decade later the man’s identity continues to remain a mystery, there was one person who witnessed the moment in person, the RTÉ News cameraman who filmed the moment.
READ MORE: Ireland weather LIVE updates as new Met Eireann warnings issued ahead of -10C temperatures
In a video that has resurfaced on X on the anniversary of the fall, while Ireland is once again gripped by a cold snap, cameraman Colm McCaughey recalled what happened on the infamous day as he was filming a news segment with John Kilraine about freezing temperatures in Ireland.
Colm shared: "Out of nowhere this guy just came from behind me and he was just walking by the camera.
"And he just went flying and hit the deck. We ran over to him like straight away because he really took quite a wallop.
"I wasn't even sure if we were recording at the stage. It's one of those shots where you think 'Did I get that or did I not get it?' Luckily I had been in record and we got the shot.
“But we went over and he was okay, he was a bit shook I think. We offered him a cup of tea then down in the office but he didn’t want to, he wanted to just get home I think.”
The famous news bulletin has become such a staple of Irish history that ten years after the incident, a plaque was erected by Coors Light in the spot where it took place paying tribute to 'The guy who slipped on the ice'.
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