‘Hang on, is this The Irish Times, or Waterford Whispers?’

Minions, cabbage and attractive bachelors: 13 times people ‘confused’ the IT for parody

Bacon and cabbage bribery
Bacon and cabbage bribery

From time to time, a story published on irishtimes.com will be posted to Facebook and catch the eye of an opportunistic joker.

"Wait a minute, is this The Irish Times, or Waterford Whispers??" Hilarious, every time.

But sometimes, to be fair, these commenters have a point.

Here are 13 times people "confused" a real Irish Times story for a Waterford Whispers article.

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And no, this is not a Waterford Whispers article.

Man ‘bribed’ with bacon and cabbage, court hears

A man told a court in July he breached a barring order because he was "bribed" with the offer of home cooked bacon and cabbage to go to his mother's house and cut the back lawn.

Woman sues nephew (12) over birthday hug

A US woman suffered a broken wrist when her (then 8-year-old) nephew hugged her on his birthday - she sued for $127,000 in damages.

Did you hear the one about the horse that walked into Tesco?

A horse was photographed in a Tesco store in Ballinasloe, prompting every "horse meat" joke imaginable.

A rabbi walks into the Vatican and asks the Pope...

An admittedly light-hearted headline on the very, very serious story about Pope Francis appointing a US rabbi as his comedic adviser.

Pope Francis to release pop-rock album, ‘Wake Up!’

The pope's upcoming prog rock collaboration, due for a November release, also raised a few questions. He's always good for a laugh.

Kerry mosque plan approved but no call to prayer allowed

Planners in Kerry gave the go-ahead to build a mosque in Tralee, but stipulated "there shall be no calling to prayer" from a public address system - anywhere on the site.

Giant Minion escapes to cause road incident in Dublin

This story from August opened with: "A Dublin city councillor has referred an escaped Minion to the planning authorities."

Court hears ‘very attractive’ bachelor struggled to clear bar

Back in July, a bar owner in Kenmare described by his solicitor as a "silent rogue" explained why he had served drink after hours on two occasions: The local women found him very attractive and it was hard to get them out of the bar at night. That old chestnut.

Dumbledore and Gandalf to marry in front of gay-hating church

In the wake of the same-sex marriage referendum being passed, Harry Potter author JK Rowling supported the planned wedding of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore and Gandalf the Grey from Lord of the Rings in front of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas. They honeymooned in Rivendell and it was lovely, according to reports.

CIA use Westlife single as part of torture programme

Westlife singer Kian Egan said: ""This is news to my ears, but it was probably very successful for the CIA."

Fury as Putin and Berlusconi drink 240-year-old wine

The Russian president and former Italian prime minister tried a 1775 Jeres de la Frontera during a wine cellar tour in Crimea, resulting in a criminal case.

Man fired for eating jam tarts at work

A bit harsh. In this story, a man named Elton John (yep) failed to have his dismissal declared unfair after he and another worker at a warehouse were allegedly caught jam-handed snacking on some merchandise.

Donegal postman delivers letter to ‘your man with the glasses’

A postman in Donegal successfully delivered a letter that was addressed to "Your man Henderson, that boy with the glasses". He laughs at your Eircodes.

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