The Rooney bin

He has become widely known in recent years for playing the part of Timmy Higgins in the hit RTÉ comedy series Killinaskully, which, astonishingly has been running for five years now. But Joe Rooney will probably be always best remembered for his role as the gurrier curate, Father Damo, who led Dougal astray in that memorable episode of Father Ted, (‘The Old Grey Whistle Theft’). However, he started his career long before that milestone, as one half of The Quacksquad comedy duo that went on to write and perform on Shay Healy’s Nighthawks as well as appearances on The Late Late Show (where he performed his own interpretation of Riverdance).

A Meath native, Rooney currently resides on the outskirts of Drogheda, where he has lived for the past year and a half. “It’s actually in County Meath, which is a disadvantage when it comes to the postman, sorry the post-person,” he says “I’m originally from Duleek and my two kids live nearby and stay with me quite a bit. I’m renting at the moment, it’s in one of those new developments of apartments and houses that are springing up all around this part of the world.”
Having just finished filming another series of the hugely successful Killinaskully, he says he’s looking forward to a change of pace and planning to mix more live work with TV. (He appears in the Carlsberg Comedy Carnival in Dublin later this month and also has a date slotted in at the Electric Picnic).
“I think I’ll be doing a bit of both,” he says. “I’ve also written a TV pilot with Paul Woodful. But this looks like being the last series of Killinaskully, which I think is good in a way. Five years is probably enough and I want to get up off me arse and do something else. I never thought it would go on that long to be honest.”
As well as appearing in the show he became more involved in the writing end of things: “That was a great experience, I hadn’t done much writing before and it was interesting watching stuff I’d written.”
Presumably as a professional comic and actor the small screen plays an important part in the Rooney household? “I don’t have a big sexy flat-screen or anything fancy like that,” he admits, “it’s a big-arsed old-fashioned job, but yeah, I watch a lot of comedy stuff when I get a chance. Everything from Spaced to One Foot In The Grave, which might surprise people as it’s not considered all that hip. It was Graham Linehan who pointed out to me just how well it was written it is, with several different sub-plots which all come together at the end.”
Movies are also a big part of Rooney’s world and his eclectic collection of DVDs reflects his varied tastes. “Team America is one of my favourites,” he says “For those who don’t know it, it’s a puppet thing from the makers of South Park and it has one of my favourite sex-scenes. Sideways is a big favourite too. On paper it didn’t look all that promising; it’s about two fellas on a wine tasting trip, but it really worked well.
On a completely different tack, he’s also a major Alfred Hitchcock fan.
“I was doing a whole lot of gigs in England a while ago and I had a box-set with me that I got into,” he says. “It really is outstanding stuff. Everyone knows Psycho but I loved The Birds and Rear Window which it taps into that whole voyeuristic world, but Shadow of a Doubt I think is one of his best.”
Like most stand-ups, Rooney is also a bit of a music fan, and his tastes run from Neil Young to Elvis Costello and Arcade Fire among others.
“I wouldn’t see that many gigs because I’m usually working but I went to see Neil Young when he was in Vicar Street a few years ago and I’ve seen Nick Cave a couple of times, There’s a drum kit in the house which my son plays when he’s here. He’s a big White Stripes fan.
“But mostly I listen to CDs or download onto my laptop. Recently I’ve got into the first Raconteurs album, which I got in a bargain bin in Dunne’s Stores. Another long time favourite is the Moon Safari album by Air and I loved Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible. Costello’s This Years Model re-issue is one I got recently and there’s a John Hammond covers album of Tom Waits songs called Wicked Grin that was great.”
When not filming or travelling to shows, Rooney keeps in shape by running.
“Usually when I drop the kids to school I’ll go for a bit of a jog on the beach. I’m not a great one for package holidays but my sister lives in Switzerland and we went skiing during the winter and it was fantastic.”