WHAT with the constant trail of music and film glitterati through Dublin, we're getting quite blase about superstars these days - but when Richard Linnehan breezed into town we just had to snare him for lunch; after all it's not every day you get to talk to an astronaut.
Looking every inch the spaceman with blue jumpsuit and flight jacket, Richard explained that the name Linnehan was indeed due to an Irish connection; a great grand something or other from Limerick. He is taking time off from preparing for his next mission - a space menagerie due to blast off in March 1998 - to visit Ireland and open a SimEx Virtual Voyage attraction in the Parnell Centre. He explained that the ride, the first of its type in the country, simulates every detail of a space journey except the zero gravity and is so realistic that even he pops in to relax when he's had a bad day at the office in Houston.
After various receptions to meet the US ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith and Dublin Zoo's Peter Wilson (Richard used to be a zoo vet) as well as children's groups, Linnehan plans to spend some time propping up a bar with some Guinness. So if the tippler beside you in the pub tonight says he's a spaceman, you'd better believe him.