Tommy Tiernan
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Tommy Tiernan is an Irish comedian, actor and writer, born in 1970, in Donegal. He attended the same class as Irish television presenter Hector Ó hEochagáin, in St. Patrick's Classical School, Navan,Meath,[1] a former Roman Catholic junior seminary which remarkably produced two winners of the prestigious Perrier Comedy Award in the 1990s (The other being Dylan Moran).
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[edit] Comedic Style
Tiernan is well-known for his up-front take on the Catholic presence in Irish culture. His general style has been compared to that of the old style storytellers of Ireland, the Seanachaoi. Also reminiscent of this is his RTÉ TV programme, Supertramp, in which Tiernan walked across the length of Ireland, meeting people, collecting stories and performing shows along the way.
He is best known for his use of observation dressed up with energetic physical comedy and a loud, impassioned delivery. Tiernan 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.
Tiernan 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!".
Tiernan is noted to wear (becoming trademark) red trainers on stage, a pointer to his 'cracked' methodology.
[edit] Appearances & awards
On June 17th 2006 Tommy appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, after which he expressed his delight at being mentioned between actor Robert Duvall and music group Sonic Youth at the start of the show.
In 1996 Tiernan won the Channel 4 "So You Think you're Funny" award. Two years later he was awarded the Perrier Comedy Award, at the 1998 Edinburgh Festival.
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 Cat Laughs Comedy Festival. He also acted in the acclaimed Father Ted series on Channel 4 playing the maniacally depressed Father Kevin.
[edit] Appearances
- 2006: Just for Laughs Comedy Tour
- 2006: Late Show with David Letterman (June 17, 2006)
- 2006: Jokerman (RTÉ documentary)
- 2005: Loose DVD
- 2004/5: Loose tour
- 2004: Cracked tour, DVD release
- 2003: Tell Me A Story tour
- 2002: RTÉ serial documentary, Supertramp
- 2002: Tommy Tiernan Live
- 2001: Channel 4 sitcom Small Potatoes
- 1999: Hosted two series of The Stand Up Show
- 1999: About Adam (Simon)
- 1998: Last episode of Father Ted (as Father Kevin)
[edit] DVDs
- Tommy Tiernan: Live (2002)
- Tommy Tiernan: A Little Cracked (2004)
- Tommy Tiernan: Loose (2005)
- Jokerman: Tommy Tiernan Takes On America (2006)
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Tommy Tiernan: Comedian Profile — biography from the Comedy Zone website, retrieved 28 November 2006.
