I think Martin is younger. He could be anything between 45 and 55.

Schools do have social accents. Possibly in this context, no, but in much of the world, yes. Especially in Canada, I can often tell which residential school a person went to by their accent – the school often has an even stronger influence on the language than the person’s native language.

Donal, it would be nice to know where he is. If he is Maltese (and I’m not too sure he is) a bit of help from the Maltese community here in Ireland would surely be welcomed by him. It’s not hunting – its generosity, a virtue we are brought up with.

[Daphne – He’s Maltese, Meath, unless there are people around who are in the habit of assuming the speaking voice of 1% of the population of a small Mediterranean island, just for kicks. Contradicting somebody about their own home accent is defiantly arrogant. Who is more likely to know – they or you? I feel like going out tomorrow with a recorder and telling my old friends and neighbours to speak into it so that I can play it back at you all and perhaps you’ll just stop the chat. What stuns me, really, is the accent and intonation I and so many others take for granted as normal is completely alien to the rest of the population who don’t even recognise it as Maltese, still less are able to pinpoint its origins. Was there really such great separation between different social groups that the accent of one group is completely unknown to the rest? It’s incredible. But as for the rest of it, you’re right.]

‘your educational level’ haha, i am very much capable of writing and also have diplomas and other qualifications. Once again you judge with no proof. The reason as to why I write this way is because its quicker, not because of my educational standards, hoping someone with your level of education understands. With regards to being simplistic, I far from it. You are the one assuming he is not happy after he clearly said he was, because u have a dictionary that explains happiness and what it consists of. Guess what happiness can mean many different things to many people, it is unique to every individual. There is no set rule as to what triggers happiness that can be generalised. It is far more complicated than what you invision it to be. I suggest you spend some time with these people before you comment in such a manner.

[Daphne – Exactly how is it quicker to write that way, Kira? Because in the time you save writing ppl instead of people you can go and make yourself a nice cup of tea, perhaps? ‘You judge with no proof’ – on the contrary, I have plenty of proof right here before me. ‘I suggest you spend some time with these people before you comment in such a manner’. There are no such people in Malta, Kira, which is just my point. When offered a space in a shelter, they take it. And that is why we do not pick our way over prone bodies on the pavement at night, as happens elsewhere, even though the weather in Malta is milder and should make living outdoors as a lifestyle choice even more popular and fun, resulting in many happy tramps.]

you’ll be surprised how many ppl dont need the above to be happy. Maybe not so much in Malta, I only know 2 ppl in Malta that chose to be homeless as it made them happier. Granted the weather conditions are different here but at the end of the day everyone thinks differently. I personally wouldnt be happy without food water and shelter but I dont know this person so I can only go on what he said and how he said it. Saying ‘its impossible to be happy without warmth, comfort, regular food, a roof over your head in bitter weather, and medical treatment’, its def untrue but ur entitled to your opinion Daphne.

[Daphne – Thank you for letting me know that I am entitled to my opinion. Like many others of your educational level who write in SMS language, you confuse the right to express an opinion (which is enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights) with the right to have one. Rights do not enter into the latter as there is no government which has yet invented a device for seeing what opinions you hold before you express them. And please forgive me for saying that your view of life is far too simplistic.]

[Daphne – Not cheap, Greenhouse, just ignorant. And that is why you haven’t noticed the man’s graceful manners, the fact that he can carry on a polite conversation even while avoiding questions, and the other fact that he has the linguistic skills of the properly educated. Or perhaps you have had several conversations with tramps who discuss books by saying “it’s all very subjective, really”. Your average person wouldn’t even know the word, let alone understand the entire concept it embraces.]

In all seriousness, despite this man’s origins, I can not see the value of this exercise, it is particularly voyeuristic and unfair on this poor man, who most likely wants to be left alone that he is being commented about en-masse, online and has become some sort of local or international internet meme, as well as a rather perverse type of guessing game for the enjoyment and fascination of others.

[Daphne – The fact that some people might view this as a sort of fiction or entertainment, Greenhouse, does not mean other people’s motives are not those of real concern. I do not subscribe to the theory of minding one’s own business when others are clearly in trouble. That is exactly the attitude that, for generations, led to a lot of suffering and abuse going undiscovered and unresolved because those who suspected there was something bad going on just closed their eyes to it and said they should not interfere. But I do agree with you that unnecessary prying is out of order. In fact, there are several leads to this man’s identity which are being looked at, and they are not being looked at in public, but with total discretion.]

It seems to me vastly unfair on this man, and something that could easily get out of control and disrupt the way of life that he appears to have chosen. Whatever the origins of this man are, whether he requires this singled-out international aid and mental help or not, it seems frankly to be of no concern as a guessing game to the voyeuristic internet masses.

[Daphne – It’s unlikely to get out of control. The only people who are interested, with the exception of Mr Moloney, are in Malta, not Dublin. And how you can have concluded that anyone actively chooses to freeze in a bag under a railway station and live on random food hand-outs is beyond me. The widespread poverty of insight into human nature and situations, despite all the advantages we have in acquiring that insight, never fails to astonish me. If you don’t want to freeze under a railway bridge, rest assured that nobody else does, either. This is not a liking for football or travel that we are talking about, but two of the human fundamentals: food and shelter.]

[Daphne: ‘Who are we to judge how and when ppl can be happy’: a good start is warmth, comfort, regular food, a roof over your head in bitter weather, and medical treatment, Kira. Without those, it is impossible to be happy, whatever the conscience-salvers say. Give vagrants a choice between their own room and the street, and they’ll take the room. But give them a choice between a crowded shelter and the street, and quite frankly, I’d take the street too.]

Besides the slight Irish lilt that he has attained, the subtleties, nuances and intonations of this accent seems particularly familiar to me as it does to you. I highly doubt that this man is Maltese and would bank on it. What’s more, i would agree that this man seems resigned to his lifestyle to the point that he is contented with it, but to brandish him as being mentally ill and schizophrenic is particularly premature and unfair based on the 7 minute recording that you have heard.

[Daphne – What is it about this business that you people just don’t get? I am not an outsider hazarding a guess at somebody else’s accent. I am somebody who has instantly recognised my OWN accent and that of an extended network of familiars. It’s like recognising a face. When you recognise a familiar – your own sister, for example – you do so beyond doubt. And you get extremely annoyed with total strangers to your family who come along and say, ‘You know, you might be wrong. That’s not necessarily your sister. It might be just somebody who looks like her’.

You have no idea of the identity of some of the people commenting here. And even where they have used their real names, you haven’t a clue who they are. But I do. And know this: everyone, but everyone, from the neighbourhood in which I was raised, which was practically socio-culturally homogenous, has recognised that intonation and accent beyond doubt. You know why? WE GREW UP WITH IT AND LIVED WITH IT ALL OUR LIVES. And you and all these others who are speculating did not. So who is better placed to be the judge of that? WE ARE.

You have a situation here which is unequivocal. Everybody from that 1% of the population who has heard that man speak has instantly recognised him as ‘one of us’. Everybody else is busy doubting and speculating. So who is right? Go on, answer that.]

[Daphne – That’s resignation, not happiness. Learn the difference. Have you ever seen/heard an old person on his/her deathbed, going over their life while being resigned to death? That’s what you’ve got right there.]