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New & Noteworthy: Liam’s "lucky" break

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

By Eileen Murphy

We were sorry to hear that Liam Neeson suffered a broken pelvis and other injuries after his motorcycle collided with a deer last Tuesday. Although his injuries were at first thought to be minimal, a friend has revealed that his accident was "a lot more serious than people thought."

The Ballymena-bred actor suffered "significant internal bleeding and other complications," according to a report in the New York Daily News. "He was very close to going into shock," the friend continued.

The actor, who was riding his 1989 Harley Davidson, was thrown from his bike after crashing into a deer near his Dutchess County home. He was found lying at the side of the road by a neighbor, who called an ambulance.

Neeson’s doctor, the NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2000 grand marshal, Dr. Kevin Cahill, transferred the actor from Lenox Hill Hospital to the Hospital for Special Surgery on Monday. There, Neeson underwent surgery (involving pins and rods) to reconstruct his broken pelvis. Later this week, doctors will operate again, this time to repair his fractured heel.

Once the surgery is over, Liam will be in a cast and on crutches for about six weeks. But we’re sure that Neeson’s wife, Natasha Richardson, and the couple’s two children are just grateful that he’s going to be OK.

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Make Sinead’s ‘medium’ rare

We’ve all gotten so used to hearing strange things come out of Sinead O’Connor’s cake hole that the next item probably won’t surprise you: Sinead sees — or at least talks to — dead people.

Now, we don’t mean people who wish they were dead, like the hapless reporters who are duty-bound to scribble down her latest pronouncements. The singer/priest/whatever, who believes that she’s God’s little hottie (as she announced a couple of weeks ago) has revealed that she’s also a psychic medium. She might even go professional, so if anyone’s got a crystal ball or a turban gathering dust in the attic, you know where to send it.

"To deal with dead people" is a huge thrill, according to Sinead, although there’s no word on how the dead feel about it. We can’t help assuming that most of them would rather R.I.P., but maybe it makes a nice break from celestial choir practice.

"[To} talk to people and tell them something their dead relatives have said, which fills them with huge joy, is better than therapy," O’Connor gushed to the Sunday World. Again, we’ve got to ask: better for whom?

Arlene’s is Kennedy central

The hottest show in town is Brian Kennedy’s gig at Arlene’s Grocery, which has just been extended by popular demand (and we do mean DEMAND).

The singer, who’s one of the main attractions in the Broadway production of "Riverdance," has been trying out new material during his Monday night shows at the East Village nightspot.

We’d advise you to get down there while the getting’s good, since word has spread among Kennedy’s growing legion of fans. In coming years, we’ll bet that people will brag about seeing Kennedy at Arlene’s like they brag about seeing Springsteen at the Stone Pony. (Yes, it’s that good.) Shows are Monday nights, July 31, Aug. 7, 14 and 28, at 9 p.m., and there’s a $5 cover charge. Get there early (Arlene’s is small it fills up fast) and dress in removable layers (you know what we mean) since the place heats up both literally and figuratively.Andrea: dim bulb?

How many Corrs girls does it take to screw in a light bulb?

No, that’s not a dirty joke, so get your minds out of the gutter. The answer, actually, is none — at least, if the light bulb belongs to Andrea Corr. You see, the youngest of the singing siblings isn’t quite sure how it’s done, so she just doesn’t do it. Sigh. Life’s so simple when you’re a 26-year-old millionaire.

Lest you think we’re kidding, the light bulb story comes straight from the horse’s mouth.

"[My house] does look very good by candlelight," she revealed last week. "There’s a reason for that — every time a bulb goes, I haven’t replaced it, because I don’t know how to."

Not that this imposes any great hardship on the singer. After all, Dundalk natives are known for their dreamy, romantic side, aren’t they?

"Now I’m kind of used to living like that," she confided. (Note to self: send Andrea a couple of recipes or she’ll keep eating those raw eggs and potatoes . . .)

By the way, Andrea thinks that it’s a "good thing" that she has money these days, because she’s "always lived like a wealthy person."

"I’ve never been good at living within my means," she confessed. "I’m just thankful now that my earnings have finally caught up with my outgoings." Whew! — now we can sleep at night.

Briefings

OK, we’ll admit it: Tino Martinez and Derek Jeter may be the cutest Yankees ever to don pinstripes, but our Bronx Bomber pinup will always be the 1970s centerfielder Bobby Murcer. Which is why it gives us great pleasure to tell everyone that Murcer, now a Yankee television announcer, mentioned during a recent broadcast that he absolutely loves a certain New & Noteworthy scribe.

Oh, only fooling. What he really loves is Guinness — you know, a pint of plain, the black stuff, whatever you want to call it. Hey — even at the tender age of 11, we could recognize a man with good taste.

We’ve just heard that Black 47’s two upcoming shows at Connolly’s Pub and Restaurant, 14 West 47th St., NYC, have been canceled. Frontman Larry Kirwan must fly to Ireland this weekend, due to the illness of a loved one. The band returns to their regular Saturday night engagement at Connolly’s in October.

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