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Tommy Tiernan - Comedian

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Tiernan has been a regular performer at national and international comedy festivals including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Just for Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival, New York Comedy Festival and the Kilkenny Comedy Festival. He also acted in the acclaimed Father Ted series on Channel 4 playing the manicly depressed Father Kevin.

• Won the 1996 the Channel 4 "So You Think you're Funny" award.
• Won the 1998 Perrier Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Festival.
• Is noted to wear (becoming trademark) red trainers on stage, a pointer to his 'cracked' methodology.

Comedic Style

Tiernan's views on Irish Catholicism have often drawn controversy.

Tiernan is well-known Ireland for his up-front take on the Catholic presence in Irish culture. Both of these topics are possibly his most prominent material, and also his most infamous.

His general style could be compared to that of the old style storytellers of Ireland, the Seanchai. Also reminiscent of this is his RTE TV programme, Supertramp, in which Tommy walked across the length of Ireland, meeting people, collecting stories and performing shows along the way.

He is best known for his use of intelligent observation dressed up with energetic physical comedy and a loud, impassioned delivery. Tommy dissects the older traditions of Irish culture, throwing a contemporary light on them. For example: he compares two fictitious Catholic priests, one African and the other Australian, reciting the same sermon, but he demonstrates how the way you approach religion can make all the difference. Also famous are his takes on the yuppie culture hitting Ireland, in the form of the Celtic Tiger.

Tommy philosophises that life should be enjoyed instead of mourned and that life is pointless (and that's precisely the point). He is quoted as saying (in reference to the Universe being infinite): "Nobody knows we're here... so... let's wreck the joint!".

Tommy Tienan is compared to the late great Bill Hicks on the back of his DVD.