VIEW, Issue 27, 2014
www.viewdigital.org
Page 15
Tom Hickey confidential www.hickeysworld.com
Out of nowhere, we were drenched by a deluge of ice bucket challenges
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sually nothing much happens during the silly season of August and newspapers and TV news channels have little enough to fill the news cycle. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, we were drenched by a deluge of ice bucket challenges. Everyone was doing it: Justin Bieber, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Lady Gaga – even former US president George Bush allowed himself to be soaked by a bucket of ice. Nearer home, sports stars from Rory McIlroy to Brian O'Driscoll subjected themselves to a quick shower, but this was a phenomenon that embraced everyone from schoolchildren to ordinary folks being doused in their back gardens. If you switched on Facebook you could see your friends and family members' videos of themselves take a soaking, and listen in dread as they nominated three others to accept the challenge, quietly offering up prayers that your name was not among them. The ice bucket challenge stemmed from an idea by Corey Griffin, inspired by his friend Pete Frates who has ASL (or motor neurone disease as it's known here). Tragically, Griffin drowned just a few weeks ago, but by then the success of the phenomenon was apparent. In the Republic and Northern Ireland the challenge was embraced and supported by thousands of people, so much so
Splash story: VIEW editor Brian Pelan does the Ice Bucket Challenge that hundreds of thousands of euro was raised for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association. And yet the challenge has been criticised by some. True, the plethora of videos clogging up your Facebook timeline can be tedious – there are only so many you can view before boredom sets in. For those in the voluntary and charity sectors struggling to raise vital funds, it shows how thinking outside the box can work wonders
and help the bottom line. It made a welcome change from the usual fundraising efforts and gave many of us a laugh – and a wetting. And it has raised the profile of a deserving cause and hopefully helped the battle against a dreadful illness. Meanwhile, I'm hoping I have avoided the ice bucket dunking myself. So far nobody has nominated me, but I’m willing to endure a few seconds of suffering for a good cause. Just not now.