| Inchicore O'Donovan was born near a street grate on Wellington Road (District 4), Dublin, Ireland, in the year of our EGL, 1961. His mother couldn't quite make it to the Bloomfield Hospital, a mere 3 blocks away. Despite rough beginnings, it only got worse. Inchicore (or "Inchie", as all the mean lads taunted him) failed grade 1 three times. By the time he entered grade 2, he was a good half inch taller than his mates, making him stick out like a lime green head scarf in a darkened concert hall. This caused him to be the focus of cruel "giant" jokes and endless potstirring. As the taunts continued, Inchicore withdrew into his own little world. He picked up his first guitar at age 8 and found that the art of music-making (unlike mindless "What colour is this?" drivel) came naturally to him. In grade 4, his headmaster discovered Inchicore was not "challenged" as once believed, but the opposite of; quite the little genius. So, up he moved to grade 10. He found himself half an inch shorter than his NEW mates and endured fresh threats. His mother, Siobhan, (after she quit drinking and remembered she in fact HAD a son) quickly moved him over to a public high school. At Mount Temple HS, he was able to fade into the woodwork, but befriended a fairly shy boy by the name of Dave Evans. Dave was also a genius, but ran with a pack of musician hooligans (it's always the "smart" ones that have little to no common sense...). Dave desperately wanted to play guitar in his friends's band, but had no talent for the instrument. Sacrificing himself for a greater good, Inchicore bestowed upon Dave (forthwith known as "The Edge") his guitar god stature and abilities in a private ceremony. Unfortunately, Inchicore left his bedroom window open that night and a stray bolt of lightning (from a far off, freak electrical storm) struck him in his sleep. He disappeared without a trace and was never heard from again (his mother had gone back to drinking by this time and forgot all about her son once more). Inchicore's legacy lives on in a small Irish band called U2. The Edge, U2's mad guitarist, is a constant reminder of Inchicore's importance to the world of EGs. |
