HE is the source of much of the Rubberbandits’ acerbic wit and quick turn of phrase and now plastic bag wearing rapper Blindboy Boatclub is on the road to becoming a doctor of art having “lost a bet”.

The Limerick man was awarded an MA in Social Practice and the Creative Environment by LIT president Dr Maria Hinfelaar recently, one of 1,700 students to graduate from the Moylish college.

Blindboy turned heads by wearing the Bandits’ infamous plastic bag garb when receiving the scroll from Dr Hinfelaar and explained that the course had been an ideal one in helping him to delve deep into the theory behind the duo’s “manifesto”.

“It’s an MA inside in the art college, which is perfectly suited for artists who work away from galleries, and tend to focus on society,” he told the Limerick Leader of the masters degree.

“That’s what we do. We’re artists, but our gallery is the internet, and social media. We have an art movement. I can’t say the full name of the art movement on the paper because there’s a curse in it. But I also wanted to use the course to explore the theoretical underpinnings of our artistic manifesto,” he explained.

The Rubberbandits are currently having huge success with their new six part series on ITV2, The Almost Impossible Game Show, which has drawn big ratings, chiefly driven by the Limerick’s duo’s brand of “anarchic” commentary.

Blindboy, one half of the duo along with Mr Chrome, who recently received a top honour from the University of Limerick’s Debating Union, said that his “eventual plan is to move forward with a doctorate”.

“I had an argument with a man called Fanta Slattery at a darts tournament in Janesboro many years ago. Long story short, I lost a bet and now have to become a doctor of art,” he explained.

“If I don’t, Fanta will draw a word on my head with permanent marker, and I’ve to walk around town not knowing what it says. Those were the terms of the bet. I’m looking forward to becoming a doctor though. It will be handy in restaurants if someone starts choking or gets a heart attack. No harm having a doctor around to help.”

On a serious note, Blindboy added that “it was a mad honour to get a masters from LIT”.

“LIT is a very special place for me,” he explained.

“Before it was a college, it was a big field full of rabbit warrens. My great grandfather was very fond of rabbits and he used to take all his clothes off and lie on the ground covered in barley and let all the rabbits eat off him. That used to happen every fortnight after he’d had a few jars in the very field where LIT was built, so it’s a great honour.”

The Rubberbandits return home for a show in Dolan’s Warehouse on December 27.