FDNY firefighter Michael Moran touched more people than he could know with his words to Osama bin Laden at last weekend's benefit Concert for New York. He summed it up for everybody when he spoke his message to bin Laden:
"Kiss my royal Irish ass!"
Moran's words drew wild applause from the crowd, and have continued to draw attention from others as the media spreads his story.
The firefighter said he was sitting in the audience at Madison Square Garden,shortly before his turn to go up on stage to introduce a band. While he waited, he kept thinking about how much he wanted to say something for those that he lost in the September 11 attacks: his brother Battalion Chief John Moran, 12 firefighters from his own Ladder 3 and Battalion 6, and about 20 players from the fire department's football team.
He said his now famous quote comes from an old expression used in his neighborhood of Rockaway, Queens, which he hasn't spoken in a very long time. But the phrase popped into his head Saturday, when the time was right.
Before he went on stage, Moran spoke with actors Adam Sandler and former FDNY firefighter Steve Buscemi about his plans.
"I asked them if I could get away with saying that. They laughed hysterically," Moran said, and Steve Buscemi pointed at Adam Sandler and said, "Didn't you hear what he said?"
After his comments the crowd went wild, and as Moran tried to walk off stage the stage manager pushed him back out. So, he said, he went back over to the microphone and took off his hat, and said, "This is so you can see my face," and called Bin Laden a bitch.
The crowd responded by chanting USA.
Moran, a firefighter for over 16 years, said he had never done anything like that before. The only other speeches he has ever given were the toast at his friend's wedding, and the eulogy at his brother's recent funeral.
"Those are the two times I've spoken in public in my life," he said.
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