What were the highlights for the team behind Moncrieff this year?

The team got together to consider what strange and wonderful stories they enjoyed covering the most in 2024.

Irish pornstar: ‘I grew up in slums of Dublin but now I’m successful’  

Andy Lee grew up in the “slums of Dublin” but is now a porn star of international fame. 

It’s quite the transformation and one Lee has no regrets about. 

“I met a fella in the gym and walked about the changing room waving my bits about,” he said.

“He says ‘Jesus mate, want to make some money?

“I got 600 quid to go do a video for a website and that’s where it all began.”

Andy Lee. Image: Supplied.

Mr Lee lost his job as a plumber during the pandemic and turned his side hustle as a porn star into a full time gig. 

“To be honest, 80% of people were supportive of me," he said.

“I have a couple of aunties who I’m really close with and they love it and love to talk about it.

“Then if I tried to mention it in front of some of my uncles they’d go ‘no, that’s disgusting.’”

From Tasmania to Malahide: Meet the 500 wallabies off the coast of Dublin 

Why are there wallabies off the Dublin coast? You might think they’re a long way from home but after 70-years in Ireland, it’s safe to describe them as locals. 

The marsupials first made north Dublin their home in the 1950s when Rupert Baring, interested in the ecological world, brought a small group to the island. 

Wallabies living on Lambay Island off the coast of Dublin. Image: Emma Tyrrell.

In the 1980s, their community grew when Dublin Zoo had a surplus of marsupials.

The cold weather seems not to bother them and now generations of wallabies have called Ireland home. 

World’s oldest newly-weds married at 100 and 103

When’s the best age to get married? 

Young lovebirds are often warned against tying the not too young but can you ever be too old too wed? 

It appears the answer is no; earlier this month, Bernard Littman and Marjorie Fiterman got married in Philadelphia, America, after dating for nine years.

World's oldest newly-weds. Image: Guiness World Records.

The couple are 100 and 103-years-old. 

“It was at their nursing home, just in their party room, and it was a traditional Jewish ceremony,” Mr Littman’s granddaughter Sarah Sicherman told Moncreiff.

“We had a Rabbi there, a couple of witnesses and the family.

“It was very short - they did the traditional breaking of the glass at the end and my grandfather got up and was able to do that from his wheelchair.

“Then we just had a little bit of a celebration, some cake and champagne to wrap it all up.”

Wimbledon umpires to be replaced by AI

Is your job at risk from AI? 

The fast-developing technology promises - or threatens - to transform our world in so many ways. 

In Wimbledon that means the centuries’ old job of the umpire has been binned. 

Wimbledon 2024. Picture by: PA Wire/PA Images

Hebe Lawson, former Ball Girl, joined Moncreiff to discuss this radical new innovation.

You can listen to more of the highlights from Moncreiff this year here. 

Main image: Irish pornstar Andy Lee. Image: Instagram @do_it_like_andy