Don't Make Unnecessary Journeys — RTE reporter in beanie holding green microphone wincing in pain during rainy night broadcast

Don't Make Unnecessary Journeys

2015viral videotrending

Published August 27, 2026

On December 5, 2015, Irish RTÉ reporter Teresa Mannion urged viewers to avoid 'unnecessary journeys' during Storm Desmond, seconds before an edited clip made it look like a stop sign smacked her mid-broadcast. Over the next decade the audio kept resurfacing, and in August 2026 it powered a TikTok mourning trend after the deaths of Dolly Parton and Tim Curry.

tiktok sound trends audio memes british memes accidental fame memes hoax memes

Overview

Don't Make Unnecessary Journeys, also known as Reporter Hit By Sign, pairs Mannion's frantic three-part warning with visuals of public figures the poster wants to protect from harm1. On TikTok the audio typically plays over slideshows of aging celebrities, with captions begging them not to leave their homes5. The joke runs on the gap between Mannion's very sincere Galway weather report and the absurd internet uses her voice has been drafted into1.

Earlier viral cycles focused on the doctored footage itself, in which a stop sign appears to strike Mannion mid-sentence2. That fake clip fooled enough viewers that Full Fact eventually rated it 'altered' in 20221. The reused audio and the shock edit both circulate under the same title4.

Origin & Background

Platform
RTÉ (broadcast) / YouTube (viral edit)
Creator
Teresa Mannion / Gerard Walsh
Date
2015

RTÉ broadcast Mannion's live report from the west of Ireland on December 5, 2015, as Storm Desmond battered the coast, with her telling viewers, 'Don't make unnecessary journeys, don't take risks on treacherous roads, and don't swim in the sea'1. The next day, December 6, YouTuber Gerard Walsh uploaded a doctored version in which a stop sign flies into the frame and appears to strike her, a clip that collected more than 848,000 views over the following decade2.

How It Spread

RTÉ's The Late Late Show invited Mannion on for an interview about the viral edit on December 11, 2015, and the segment itself pulled more than 580,000 YouTube views over the years that followed3. The stop sign edit kept returning during major UK storms, and Full Fact ran its debunk during the Storm Dudley, Eunice and Franklin cycle in early 20221.

The audio started a second life on TikTok when creator x.slay.x set it to a slideshow of Julie Andrews, Stevie Nicks and David Attenborough in September 2024, framing the warning as a plea to elderly celebrities4. On August 26, 2026, following the deaths of Dolly Parton and Tim Curry, TikToker @bylethswife posted a version listing the celebrities they most feared losing next, which pulled roughly 6 million views in its first day5. Copycat posts from creators such as @leahkxllyy6 and @ludoinchains7 followed within hours.

How to Use This Meme

Common versions layer Mannion's audio over a slideshow of famous older figures, with on-screen captions pleading with each one to avoid roads, risks and the sea. Some creators swap in fictional characters or public figures they see as fragile, and the bit typically lands when the earnest weather-report tone crashes into the celebrity-death subtext.

Frequently Asked Questions