2013: "LOVE/HATE FANS AGREE THESE T-SHIRTS ARE COOLA BOOLA". The Herald. 11th July, 2013
IN the hot weather, they are going down a bomb.
The stars of RTE's Love/Hate drama are really in fashion after turning up on a new line of T-shirts.
Battling the downturn in the art business, an art gallery in the upmarket Westbury Mall is doing a roaring trade in T-shirts with Darren, Nidge and other stars from the hit show.
Selling for €25, they are proving popular with fans of the gangland show.
"You wouldn't want to be seen on Portmarnock beach wearing anything else," joked Frank O'Dea, owner of the Balla Ban Gallery in the Westbury Mall, who said he is having trouble keeping up with demand.
By far the biggest seller is the woman's shirt featuring character Darren complete with the two bullet holes in his forehead, marking the finale of Love/Hate series three.
A close second is Coola Boola, the catchphrase of gangster pal Fran, played by Peter Coonan.
"I've had people walking into my gallery getting these, who I can tell you, have never set foot in a gallery before," he said
The caricatures are the work of Irish artist Niall O'Loughlin, who admits the T-shirts were printed up without the permission of either Octagon Films, or RTE who are behind the hit series, repeated on RTE2.
"The characters are all done as caricatures, so I think we can get away with it, "he said.