David Shaughnessy, A Counting Genius
David Shaughnessy, professional photographer (he has a website), and the man responsible for booking Kansas City Irish Festival performers, has been having his annual fit about nothing.
Shaughnessy is expressing unhappiness with Irish KC, and he’s doing it in the name of the Kansas City Irish Festival.
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UPDATE: email received 5/18/2007 9:32am:
I have read the slanderous and liable blog postings on Irish KC about me. This is something that I will not tolerate. Unless all information on your Irish KC blog that directly links me, my business, and my family, is removed immediately, I will have my attorney contact you and I will proceed with legal action.
An immediate response is appreciated.
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David Shaughnessy
I did not reply to this email but after I posted it here David then posted a comment below to which I did respond.
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UPDATE 2: September 2007 - Festival disowns David Shaughnessy’s comments
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David’s big beef? His reason for posting 8 comments on this innocuous little post about Cathal Dunne’s 1979 Eurovision appearance?
Supposedly Shaughnessy can’t understand why I referred to the Kansas City Irish Festival as “the Irish festival in Crown Center” (my full phrase was actually “Irish festival in Crown Center last year in Kansas City“, horror of horrors).
So he asked me to explain this most confusing arrangement of words. And I did. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. And Here.
IN SHORT? Using a description instead of an official name is just one of many terms used to help people find what they’re looking for. There’s nothing sinister about it; I did the exact same thing when I wrote the official festival website and blog, and other events get the same treatment.
ANYTHING ELSE? I’m a search engine professional, in the way that David Shaughnessy is a professional photographer. I’ve been doing this for many years. Everybody gains from it: people who search, search engines themselvess, my web site, and the subjects I post on. It’s not black magic.
SHAUGHNESSY’S RESPONSE? People have been confused, and angered, as to why I refer to the Kansas City Irish Festival as the “Irish fest at Crown Center,” “Crown Center Festival,” or “the September 2007 Irish festival.”
Read that last paragraph again. Angered. People have been angered. By the use of the words “the September 2007 Irish festival” instead of “Kansas City Irish Festival”. Of all the things in the world to be angry about. In a country presently at war. Two wars even. Can people be that stupid?
However before I can say return to square one and read again, he asks me “Why can’t you refer to it as it is?” I do, I say yet again. And “Why do you make up names for it?” I don’t, I repeat.
MORE? Irish KC got close to 60,000 page views in March of this year. That’s 8 times the traffic of the official festival blog (a description, not a name). 95% of visitors to Irish KC arrive here by way of search engines, because that’s what I want. In advertising terms over a year, especially with the demographics that visit Irish KC, the publicity is worth thousands. And I provide it for free.
From Kansas City to Ireland performers have thanked me. Organizations have thanked me. Businesses have thanked me. Film-makers have thanked me. Etc. I don’t expect it, but it is very nice. David Shaughnessy however says my references to the Kansas City Irish Festival don’t induce gratitude, instead they anger people.
I should note that David is unmoved by references other than the official festival name being used on:
• The official festival website
• The official festival blog
• The Shaughnessy family website
It’s only on Irish KC that he has a problem.
David’s final salvo: “you will never associate the Kansas City Irish Festival with its true name. We won’t be bothered, especially since you don’t work for KCIF anymore” And once more for emphasis: “I am sick of trying to ask you to refer to the Kanss City Irish Festival properly and I realize that you never will. We, KCIF staff, won’t be bothered by your resistance to refer to the Kansas City Irish Fstival properly [sic]”
Okay then let’s look at how guilty I am of the crime which isn’t even a crime anyway had I committed it.
Use Google. Advanced Search. Exact Phrase. On IrishKC.com
(NOTE: The following counts will all increase over time, as I create more pages and as the number of Irish KC pages in Google’s index increases)
David’s Preferred phrases (I actually use):
• “Kansas City Irish Festival” (found 93 times)
• “Kansas City Irish Fest” (found 87 times)
• “KC Irish Festival” (found 110 times)
• “KC Irish Fest” (found 232 times)
• “KCIF” (found 72 times)
Phrases David Frowns upon (I actually use):
• “Irish Festival at Crown Center” (1 time)
• “Irish Fest at Crown Center” (2 times)
• “Irish Festival in Crown Center” (4 times)
• “Irish Fest in Crown Center” (1 time)
• “Crown Center Festival” (5 times)
• “September 2007 Irish festival” (1 time)
Summary
The terms Shaughnessy says I don’t use and will never use, I have actually used at least 594 times. And the times I’ve used descriptive terms that David is sick and tired asking me not to: 14 times.
So David Shaughnessy’s counting skills, the man responsible for a budget of thousands of dollars in booking acts for the Kansas City Irish Festival, you know the one, the one that takes place in Crown Center, equates “never” with many hundreds rather than the more traditional zero that you or I might go for, and all I ever do (infinity? hundreds?) he equates with a handful.
WHAT? In reality I do the exact opposite of what David accuses me of.
I refuse to believe that Shaughnessy really does speak for the Kansas City Irish Festival and the many fine and very hard working people I worked with for years.
But why does David Shaughnessy, Professional Photographer, get to publicly insult people like this, in the name of the KCIF, without rebuke?
Note: Figures quoted are from the pages in Google’s index. They do not include any pages that may not be indexed. They also include duplicates where a term appears on a post that is in more than one category. Minor variances may occur depending on what datacenters you access Google via, and what time you click those links.
See Other Explanations Given to KCIF Over a Year Earlier: Linking to KC Irish Fest
Eolaí gan Fhéile:
To pick two arguments with two people over their posts seems like a lot of work for someone of your laid back demeanour. Why don’t you go and have a herbal tea or something?
What two people? What two arguments?
I’ve responded to an accusation, a false one as it happens, one person made over my post. How is that picking an argument with even one person, let alone two?
There is no such thing as herbal tea, and that suggestion is the worst one I’ve heard in 48 hours. But thanks anyway.
Ah Jesus, Eolai.
Don’t you know there’s no point arguing with fools?
Sounds like you’re justified being upset about this Eolaí. What a twat. I hope he (and the others) read your post.
Well put, my man. Skip the damn herbal tea and head straight for the Guinness.
What is your responsibility to all this in the first place? Are the festival organisers a client of yours?
Sorry if I have missed something, but I read the post with DS’s comments and the whole thing seemed completely bizarre.
Annie, I have no responsibility to it whatsoever.
The festival organisers are a former client of mine of which the relationship ended almost a year and a half ago. One festival (September ‘06) has already occurred since we parted.
When the festival was a client I was responsible for almost all of the copy on the festival website and the blog which was an unrequested initiative of mine.
Irish KC is wholly my own thing that started after I left the festival and it has never had responsibilites to any other party. It’s a personal blog that I have commercialised for my own benefit.
I see, I get it now. The guy is clearly bonkers.
Any room for a Gay Mocha Skinny Irish coffee Fest ?
Ohh gosh I need some Luv !!
Re DS’s e-mail update: liable ????
Alright Eolaí. You win.
[edit note: The commenter did not type “Eolaí” - the alternative name typed by the commenter was replaced as outlined in the commenting policy ]
Hopefully those two words mean it’s accepted I haven’t done anything bad in how I reference the festival.
This is only a blog, a listings-focused humour blog.
I’m aware that in its frequent silliness it bores the pants off readers in Kansas City, but I’m equally aware that the straight listings of Irish-related events in Kansas City bore the pants off readers further afield, especially those in Ireland. The important thing for me is that we have a lot of people not wearing any pants.
Well this David must have a grand life if this is the kind of thing that he worries about. I hope it stays so fine for him.
Since I get asked a lot, this is to confirm then based on a phone call received from David Shaughnessy that the two words of “you win”by David did not mean it was accepted that I haven’t done anything bad in how I reference the festival.
David called to complain about being called unapologetic whilst stressing he had nothing to apologise for. Apply your own punchline.
David Shaughnessy in that call also was very adamant that he did speak for the festival so I asked the festival Board directly if this was the case regarding his comments on Irish KC.
In the reply received, the Board chose not to confirm that David was speaking for the festival on those occasions.
Three and half months later, a KCIF Board member has finally reacted to Shaughnessy’s comments.
In this post on Tony’s Kansas City the director states: “Dave was not speaking for anybody but himself when he wrote the comments.” and also: “His opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of Irish Fest or anybody else involved with organizing it”
I never believed for a moment that David Shaughnessy did speak for the Festival or its staff as he claimed by comment and phone, not least because some of those staff regularly buy me drinks and email me support, but it’s a pity the board couldn’t have found the moral courage to have stated this publicly earlier.