Liston nickname sparks bomb alert aboard plane

Eoin Liston was the subject of an in-flight Google search

It's 40 years since Eoin 'Bomber' Liston first caught the eye as his three goals helped Kerry demolish Dublin in the 1978 All-Ireland final.

The Kerry star's famous nickname came from an apparent childhood resemblance to soccer legend Gerd 'Der Bomber' Muller, who scored 68 goals in 62 caps for West Germany.

The 'Bomber' monicker has stuck with the seven-time All-Ireland winner since. However, it did cause a bit of incident last weekend when the man himself was travelling on a plane from Cardiff to Cork.

"We were over in Cheltenham. It was (Kerry footballer) David Moran's stag and we were coming back from Cardiff to Cork," Liston told RTÉ Radio 1's Today with Sean Rourke.

"I was sitting at the front of the plane with Kieran Donaghy and three or four rows behind a friend of ours called me.

"He said 'Bomber' and then when I didn't hear him said "Bomber!"

"The air-hostess was alongside him and she got concerned. She said 'I'm reporting you to the captain'.

"I was trying to explain to her but she wasn't having any of it. She just asked your man to stay on, that the captain wanted to talk to him when we land."

Liston said that the captain had initially considered turning the plane around but that the confusion was quickly cleared up upon landing, with the aid of a quick google search.

"He (Liston's friend) went into the cockpit and they were filling out a report.

"He got out his mobile phone and googled Eoin Liston and showed a picture of me, and 'Bomber' was there alongside it. He said 'I was only calling him and that's his name'.

"In fairness, the captain then realised what had happened. It was much ado about nothing in the finish."