Horse Pox conspicuous by his silence.
You left a serious burn last night @Horsebox
Itâs great to see the giddiness though after so many years of hurt. Striding about the forum chest out and giving it loads.
After not posting on a United thread for 3 or 4 years in case a mean poster might hurt his feelings 
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You left a mark yesterday, make no mistake
Thatâs the problem really. I thought it a good and powerful article, and I suspect that itâs nearly all correct, but it has been completely undermined. FWIW, I see no shame at all in having AIDS, nor in how it was caught. A horrible horrific illness which as an added bonus pandered to vile people and behaviour. You look at it now, and suspect the poor lad didnât want to see some blackrock jock because of the stigma and mockery attached to being gay back in the 80âs in Ireland, with the school jocks inevitably at the forefront. Itâs a very sad story. Iâm glad he had his family and friends around him, may God give them strength. I donât know how you could keep breathing after watching your son or daughter go through that.
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Franno should have got all his facts right. It shouldnât deflect though away from the issues that he raised.
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Disappointing to see lads using this sad tale as a political football âŚof a Sunday morning and allâŚ
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Hard to feel sympathy for him, some of his comments were very poorly thought out and the decision to publish them was the act of utter madness. Heâll resurface somewhere no doubt, like a bad penny.
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Sure we dont know what the issues are cos he told so many porkies
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Is this about the Blackrock college article?
It is
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Fuck sake. I remember him being lauded for it. Spoofing cunt.
The Irish Times
(Opens in new window)
Media
Neil Francis âno longer workingâ at Sunday Times after factually incorrect article
Erroneous claims made by rugby columnist about a former schoolmate led to a front page apology
Rugby writer Neil Francis has left The Sunday Times just months after a column of his prompted a front page apology.
The Irish rugby ex-international wrote an article about a former schoolmate at Blackrock College, Dublin during the early 1980s named Angelo Andreucetti which proved to be factually incorrect.
The former Ireland rugby international alleged that Mr Andreucetti had died from a heroin addiction in a squat in London in the 1980s destitute and friendless and that his body was brought back to Dublin for burial.
The article was published on Sunday, January 8th.
None of these details turned out to be correct. The Sunday Times published an apology a week later stating that Mr Andreucetti died from an Aids-related illness and not heroin addiction in a Middlesex hospital in August 1994, aged 32, with friends and family by his bedside.
âHis body was not, as incorrectly stated, brought back to Dublin for burial. He was buried in London. He was aged 17 and not 15 in the photograph which accompanied the article.
âThe Sunday Times and Neil Francis take this opportunity to correct the record and to apologise for these mistakes.â
Mr Francis has now left The Sunday Times as a columnist, following an internal review by the newspaper of the erroneous column.
A spokeswoman said: âThe Sunday Times Ireland confirms Neil Francis is no longer working with the paper.â
The paper also agreed to pay âŹ25,000 to HIV Ireland after issuing the apology. At the time HIV Ireland executive director Stephen OâHare said it was an âextraordinary gesture by the Andreucetti family following what must have been a very hurtful and distressing experience.
âNot only were the claims in the article shown to be false, they perpetuate, by their very nature, the sort of stigma and shame that has dogged experiences of both HIV and addiction for decades.â
Asked by The Irish Times on Friday about his departure from The Sunday Times, Mr Francis said: âI donât want to say anything at the moment. Thank you.â
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I wonder did Francis pony up the 25k himself as an act of good will
Heâll probably get a job with the ditch.
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I was just thinking the same.
I doubt it, and Iâd say the Times were thanking their stars it was only costing them 25k
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Load of franno heads on here lauding him for it no doubtâŚa spoofing cunt as right
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Wrote a brilliant article on Fergus Slattery few weeks ago.