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Seagulls on top of a bandstand in St Stephen's Green. Alamy Stock Photo
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April Fool's pranks: A seagull net over St Stephen's Green and a Ha'penny Bridge charge
Here’s a roundup of some of the April Fool’s Day pranks being pulled here and abroad.
THE AURORA BOREALIS? At this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country?
Well, not quite.
Nevertheless, BBC NI’s weather presenter Barra Best might succeed in getting people to look skywards this afternoon with his April Fool’s Day prank.
He’s posted on X about the supposed “rare solar weather event called ‘Aurora Borealis Maximus’ – last seen in 1842”.
Northern Lights will be visible over Ireland today at around 3pm, during daylight. Experts say it’s caused by a rare solar weather event called “Aurora Borealis Maximus” – last seen in 1842. Send photos this way. pic.twitter.com/6Jmq8ipP3u
— Barra Best (@barrabest) April 1, 2025
“Northern Lights will be visible over Ireland today at around 3pm, during daylight,” jokes Best on X.
Elsewhere, you don’t need to worry about getting hit with a fee if you’re crossing the Ha’penny Bridge today.
Discover Dublin, with close to half a million followers on Instagram, took to the app to caution about supposed plans to introduce a €1 fee for crossing the famous bridge.
“The historic bridge will now see the reintroduction of the fee due to rising restoration and maintenance costs of the famous bridge,” Discover Dublin said in its prank.
“The €1 charge will be collected via contactless payment terminals installed at both entrances.”
And don’t worry, there are no plans to cover St Stephen’s Green with a massive net at a cost of over €8m due to seagulls who carried away a tourist, as Lovin Dublin joked on its social media page.
Have you heard that Dublin City have shared their plans to cover St.Stephen’s Green in an 89,000 square metre net? pic.twitter.com/tLb1VWz545
— Lovin Dublin (@LovinDublin) April 1, 2025
Meanwhile, there’s no need for Dublin Airport passengers to worry about their headwear, after an April Fool’s from the airport “as of today, that caps can no longer be worn at Dublin Airport”.
“The ban does not apply to bobble hats, stetsons or bucket hats,” joked Dublin Airport.
Passenger Update
— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) April 1, 2025
Passengers should note that, as of today, caps can no longer be worn at Dublin Airport.
Caps & national airports don’t go well together & must be removed prior to entering the terminals.
The ban does not apply to bobble hats, stetsons or bucket hats.🧢 pic.twitter.com/3EkNvx5iH3
Cork City FC also got in on the act, announcing it had signed Norwegian international defender Loof Lirpa (I wonder what that spells backwards?)
Aged only 18, Cork City joked that Lirpa is know for his “prolific goalscoring record”, having scored one goal in over 500 appearances.
Cork City FC are delighted to confirm the signing of Norwegian international defender Loof Lirpa, who joins the club after a spell in the Saudi Pro League.
— Cork City FC (@CorkCityFC) April 1, 2025
Lirpa, 18, arrives at Turner’s Cross with an impressive pedigree, having previously played in Norway’s Eliteserien and… pic.twitter.com/4LdYgul0zI
And while some people might like the thought of painting their kitchen in “full Irish breakfast fragrance paint”, don’t get caught out by this prank by Stillorgan Decor.
Full Irish breakfast and strawberry fragrance paint might sound like a good idea, but not so much with the fish fragrance paint.
Meanwhile, don’t worry, “Mary” wasn’t screwed out of a prize on RTÉ 2FM’s Breakfast show.
She took part in the show’s A-Z quiz for a €10,000 prize and flawlessly made it all the way to Z before the line cut off.
Mary was brought back on, gave the correct answer, but was informed that they couldn’t accept it as the time had elapsed.
“I’m so sorry Mary, that was an incredible performance,” said the hosts.
Later, the hosts said they were “shaking” and were inundated with irate messages.
“When we don’t hear the answer, we can’t give the prize,” said Carl Mullen.
However, they brought Mary back on to reveal that it was a “big fat April Fool’s”.
Newstalk also got in on the act, joking that US President Donald Trump had made an offer to buy Shannon Airport.
Meanwhile, FlightRadar 24 posted on X that the most tracked flight right now was the AF9999 flying from Paris to New York – an Air France Concorde.
In 2003, Air France and British Airways announced the retirement of Concorde due to rising maintenance costs and low passenger numbers.
Most tracked flight right now - #AF9999 flying from Paris to New York. pic.twitter.com/g1PRn8h1YD
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) April 1, 2025
Darts fans may also have been left disappointed by a prank claiming that the legendary Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor was coming out of retirement to face teenage star Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler.
Who's ready? ☢️⚡
— Target Darts (@TargetDarts) April 1, 2025
12pm. The Nuke vs The Power.#TeamTarget pic.twitter.com/Tk6vfZB8WT
“How do I watch this,” replied one social media user who was duped by the Target Darts prank.
Elsewhere, Terry’s Chocolate promised to make “mundane teeth brushing a delight” with its prank about a new “Chocolate mint Toothpaste”.
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