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Yorkshire man wakes up Irish after brain surgery

From top of the head to top of the morning

A Yorkshire man woke up from brain surgery to find he'd turned from a flat vowelled, thrifty dalesman into a blarney kissing, 'Danny Boy' singing, happy-go-lucky Dubliner.

The Daily Mail reports that 30 year old Chris Gregory spent three days on life support, after a blood vessel in his brain ruptured. While the staff were relieved to see him come round, they were non-plussed when he opened his mouth and began speaking in a broad Irish accent.

He then spent 30 minutes lilting away and bursting into a rendition of 'Danny Boy'.

His wife-to-be walked into the ward, and heard a commotion including "someone singing 'Danny Boy' really loud. It sounded like a drunken Irishman, and all the racket seemed to coming from the direction of Chris’s bed."

Mrs Gregory then realised the Ronan Keating-a-like was her future husband who had apparently been reset from tyke to jackeen. On spotting his wife, he apparently declared "It's da broid."

She added, "It’s not as if Chris has any Irish relatives. He’s no connection with the country and he’s never been there - that’s what makes it all so strange."

There's no indication whether Gregory was a Boyzone or Westlife fan or if he'd ever seen an episode of Father Ted or Ballykissangel.

The frightening possession apparently wore off after half an hour, leaving Gregory with no memory of the incident.

It seems that Gregory is just the latest victim of "foreign accent syndrome", where a smack to the head or other trauma leaves the sufferer speaking in a foreign accent, or even a foreign language.

Back in 2007, a Czech speedway racer discovered his inner British toff after another rider ran over his head. Matej Kus, 18, a non-English speaker woke up having lost his memory, but having gained a BBC accent.

In 2004 a Bristol woman woke up speaking French and thinking she was living in Paris. She was subsequently diagnosed with Susac’s syndrome. But as she explained to the Daily Mail last year, "It might sound funny to others, but suddenly thinking you are French is terrifying." ®

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