About
Second only to U2 when it comes to live ticket sales in Ireland and dubbed the “Bono of Irish comedy” by his peers, festival favourite Tommy Tiernan is ever the spirited provocateur when it comes to comedy.
The actor, comic and TV presenter from County Donegal burst on to the comedy scene in 1996, when he won the So You Think You’re Funny? award for newcomers at the Edinburgh Fringe. Two years later he scooped the prestigious Perrier Award beating off stiff competition from the likes of Ed Byrne and Peter Kaye. His appearance in the late 90’s on The Late Late Show in Ireland caused widespread outrage and media attention for his sketch about the Crucifixion. Never afraid of courting controversy, Tommy is best known for his mischievous and playful take on the world. An international hit Tommy is also so popular figure on the circuit in Canada, where he is a regular at Montreal’s Just For Laughs festival, as well as Australia, New Zealand and America.
Watch Tommy Tiernan: Crooked Man
Showcasing the very best of Tiernan’s trademark wicked humour, Crooked Man tackles big topics – sex, religion and family all the while embracing the darkness, imperfection and difficulty of life. This Irish comedy legend has been recorded at the infamous home of real stand up in Ireland – City Limits Comedy, Cork – lending a wonderful sense of place to this inimitable show.
Short Clips
See Tommy Tiernan Live
Info on Tommy’s latest gigs and live shows can be found here.
Bio
Tiernan’s childhood has provided much material for his comedy: born in north Donegal, he moved to Zambia and then London before descending on Navan when he was nine. After attending the same high school as fellow Irish comedian Dylan Moran, Tommy started doing stand up at the G.P.O club in Galway City, Ireland. He’d “followed a girl there” who later became the mother to his 3 kids.
Aged 24 when his first son was born, Tiernan decided to try his hand at earning a crust through comedy. What started out as playing a few lunchtime shows around Galway led to performing in the US on the Late Show with David Letterman just over a decade later. In 2008, Tiernan and Hector Ó hEochagáin formed as a radio duo on The Tommy and Hector Show on i102-104FM after hinting at a desire to be on the radio, months before on The Late Late Show. Speaking about his role, Tiernan said, “I’ve always wanted to have loads of craic on the radio. What better way to have a mountain of devilment than to do a show with my best friend.”
In 2009, Tiernan set the Guinness World Record for the longest stand-up comedy show by an individual, achieving 36 hours and 15 minutes at Nuns Island in Galway
More recently, Tiernan has appeared on the Michael McIntyre Comedy Roadshow, Lee Mack Show, DAVE’s One Night Stand, QI and joined comedic legends Eddie Izzard and Ross Noble at Laughs in the Park. In January 2017, Tiernan presented the first episode of his own chat show, The Tommy Tiernan Show on RTÉ One.