Des Bishop

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Des on stage.

Des Bishop is a New York City born comedian based in Ireland. He moved to County Wexford in 1990. His comedy is heavily based on his observation of Irish society, and is supported by his talent for impersonating the regional dialects of the Irish accent. He became very popular after his TV show The Des Bishop Work Experience screened on RTÉ Two in 2004. The show featured him attempting to survive a month working a minimum wage job in various parts of Ireland. During the series, he worked at Abrakebabra, Waterford; The Aqua-dome, Tralee; Superquinn, Dundalk; and a hotel in Dublin City centre.

His latest TV show, Joy in the Hood, features him travelling to impoverished areas of Ireland's major cities, where he attempts to make stand-up comedians of local people.

Des has been working as a comic in Ireland since the late 90's. He began hosting shows at the International Comedy Cellar, a venue set up by Irish comics such as Ardal O'Hanlon, Kevin Gildea and Barry Murphy. It was here that Bishop honed his act for many years.

Des appears on The Podge and Rodge Show.

Bishop reached the public's attention early in the year 2000, appearing on Don't Feed the Gondolas, a news based topical TV show. He later had to pull out of this show due to personal reasons. Around this time, Bishop was diagnosed with testicular cancer - rather than shy away from this subject, Des went on to turn his experiences into comedic gold. He created performances about these experiences that raised awareness of testicular cancer and amused audiences all over Ireland.

Bishop also created a hip-hopera around this time. This was a huge success^{[citation needed]}, performing in Andrew's Lane Theatre in Dublin.

Des' brother Aidan is now a working comedian in Ireland^[1]. Both are involved in running the International Comedy Club.