Limerick’s Blindboy reacts to New York Times article revealing his real name

HAVING your real identity globally exposed after many years of trying to conceal it, was not something one Limerick personality expected when he woke up this Saturday morning.

The New York Times has run a long profile feature on Limerick native ‘Blindboy Boatclub’, a former member of the comedy hip-hop duo The Rubberbandits, and has revealed his real name in the process.

The famous publication conducted the feature interview on Blindboy and his podcast, The Blindboy Podcast, and the article was published online this Saturday, April 22.

The inclusion in the article of the artist's real name came as somewhat of a surprise for Blindboy.

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Sharing his views on the matter, the podcaster tweeted: “I didn't know my real name was going to be all over this. But at this stage, I'm hardly anonymous.

“I have a pen name and a pen face because I like privacy and going to Aldi. I'm diagnosed autistic and having a very quiet and simple life is important to me.”

“To be clear too, the journalist was lovely, I've been a fan of her articles since I started reading them,” Blindboy continued on the social media platform.

“It was a privilege to be profiled by her - the name thing was an editorial decision more than likely. My name is public domain, I'm not entitled to literal anonymity.”

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The 37-year-old from Limerick shot to fame after joining forces with a friend to form The Rubberbandits who released satirical Youtube videos and songs, the most famous being ‘Horse Outside’ which was released in 2010.

To conceal their real identities, the duo famously wore plastic bags over their heads with the nose, eyes, and mouth cut out.

In the interview with The New York Times, Blindboy discusses The Blindboy Podcast, which he started in 2017, which is known for his social commentary and his eclectic, but topical podcast themes. 

The New York Times journalist described it as something of a “cultural phenomenon” in Ireland - noting that President Michael D Higgins has previously appeared as a guest. The article pointed out that half of Blindboy's 700,000 to one million monthly listeners are from outside of Ireland.