Paddy Irishman

Paddy Courtney is side-stage at The Laughter Lounge where he’s MC when the comic on-stage, David McSavage, makes a cryptic comment in response to a heckler. “Go for it,” McSavage tells the heckler, “do whatever you want, lick the baby’s back…” “The bastard,” observes Courtney, who upon seeing my perplexed expression explains:

“It’s a game we play here,we give each other weird phrases and you’ve got to incorporate them into the show. It’s become a bit of a challenge because we’ve used up all the obvious ones like ‘rhino’s arse’ and ‘chocolate dildo’. I thought he’d have trouble with ‘lick the baby’s back’.” Well, thanks for clearing that up.

One of Ireland’s most established stand-up comedians, Paddy Courtney has a strange theory concerning his career choice.

“My dad was a Garda and I have a brother in the force also but they’re both big guys and I’m not,” he observes. “You see when I was 13 years old I fell through a plate glass window and badly gashed my leg. I was taken to hospital where I was given a blood transfusion and I figure I got some Oompaloompa-type blood that stunted my growth and gave me the comedy bug. But initially I worked as an accountant at EMI. I used to go along to the Comedy Cellar at the International Bar and I got to know some of the guys like Barry Murphy and Brendan Dempsey and they suggested I should give it a go. And the first time I went on I was so nervous but it went really well. Of course the second time I did it I died, I did about 15 minutes of material in three minutes. But the only way to get better is to keep at it. And you know you’re hooked when you’re chasing that first night feeling again and again.”

From such humble beginnings he’s now taken over, with his partner Fiona Byrne of the Tongue Tied comedy agency, the booking at the seminal Wednesday night club. He’s also a veteran of hundreds of gigs in this country and has performed at the Edinburgh Festival and in some of the UK’s top comedy clubs. More recently he has worked as a warm-up act on RTE’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and BBC Northern Ireland’s Almost Live with Patrick Kielty.

“The Cellar’s been great for both myself and Fiona,” he enthuses, “because you get the chance to see what sort of talent is out there and watch how people are developing. I’m a great believer in patience and persistence. A lot of people compare themselves to other comedians or resent that someone’s doing something that you might have liked to do. I don’t buy into that, it’s not a competition. In a way I think things like the Perrier encourage that kind of mentality but it’s not good for the scene or the peformers. Mind you, I wouldn’t throw it back at them if I was offered it. Mainly so’s I could make a speech about Nestlé and piss them off! But with regard to The Cellar it’s always been passed along after a couple of years in order to keep it fresh and interesting. In fact I think we’re about ready to pass the mantle onto someone else, but I’ll still play there. Funnily enough, it’s the one gig I do that I always get nervous about, because of the memory of that bad gig.

“The Millionaire thing was funny,” he remembers, “because I had applied to go on as a contestant and when I heard the answering machine message from the show I thought I’d been selected. By the time I called them back the next day I had the million quid practically spent. So when they said they wanted me to warm up the audience I was really disappointed. But I went on and did it and it really worked, I just chatted to the audience. One of the nice things about doing the warm-up work is that I’ve been offered a couple of projects by people I’ve met, and I’ve also pitched a couple of ideas which should see the light of day in the near future. I think a lot of television is crap, to be honest and I’d like to do something a bit different.”

What sort of projects is he considering?

“I think Irish people are naturally funny,” he considers, “and I’d love to do something where I’d just take off with a cameraman and a sound guy and just explore Ireland county by county. Interview the mad guy in the corner of the pub. I’m fascinated by what different people find funny, and why people find things funny. One of the best things about performing live is that frequently the audience is making me laugh as much as the other way around. But I have seen that appearing on TV can add a couple of noughts to your booking fee so I think I’m ready to try it now.

“The other thing I’ve been doing is an acting course at the Gaiety School of Acting,” he adds. “I like the idea of telling stories on screen and it’s a logical extension of what I do live. But it’s very different because on stage everything is exaggerated and on screen you need to really tone things down. I still think it’s a shame that we haven’t produced a home-grown sit-com that’s first class. But I’m working on it.”