The competition to become the first Irish person in space is becoming ever more bemusing. First, Bill Cullen, professional self-made man and memorialist of Dublin in the rare ole times (see here for his musical tastes), announced he would be the first Irishman to be launched into (sub)orbit via the services of Virgin Galactic (which will hopefully be more reliable than Branson’s terrestrial transport). Yet on Matt Cooper’s show on Today FM yesterday evening, Tom Higgins, MD of Realm Communications, claimed that he had received assurances from the Virgin outfit that he, in fact, was the first in line. Like many of his listeners, Cooper was wondering how the hell the MD of a communications company could afford to fork out the $200,000 for the short jaunt into the thermosphere. Yet Realm Communications, as Higgins candidly revealed, is really just a sober facade for his real money-spinner: Irish Psychics Live. This premium-rate telephone “service” costs a jaw-dropping �2.40 per minute, which gives you access to “genuine celtic psychics, the most psychic race in the world.” If further incentive is needed, prospective customers are informed that “only the most spiritually gifted individuals are selected to participate in our service.” It’s easy to laugh at such garbage, but it’s probable that the bulk of Higgins’ considerable revenue comes from the poorly educated or desperate–those who can ill afford to waste two-and-half-euros a minute on Celtic mist. Perhaps in his search for immortality in space, Higgins’ company can adopt the motto adopted by many (including the RAF) who take to the air: Per Ardua ad Astra (Through Struggle to the Stars). Unfortunately, it’s likely that much of the struggle will be borne by Higgins’ deluded customer base as they figure out how to pay their huge phone bills.