Dara O'Briain
Dara O'Briain is the busiest man in Irish comedy these days, juggling his roles as one of RTE's big new stars at home, with his growing reputation as a stand-up around the world, including his appearance this year at the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal. Having made himself a household name in Ireland from his contributions to Don't Feed the Gondolas, the satirical panel show, he then stepped into the mainstream limelight with the hit mid-evening show It's a Family Affair.
At the same time he has travelled the globe bringing his sell-out comedy shows to audiences from Edinburgh to Adelaide, and from Dubai to Shanghai. He is currently dividing his year between London and the English and European circuits, a second tour of Australia, numerous Irish commitments, and, of course, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where this year he presented his fourth new show in as many years.
This stand-up work makes him a regular on television's top stand-up showcases, including the BBC's Never Mind The Buzzcocks, The Stand-up Show, and The Empire Laughs Back; RTE's The Lounge; and Channel 5's Bring me the Head of Light Entertainment. Last year in Australia he was such a hit as special guest on The Panel (Channel 7), he was immediately invited back to become a panellist, plus given an open invitation for his next Australian tour.
Dara is also highly in demand as a Master of Ceremonies in Ireland. When starting out he was extremely popular during his residencies as MC at both the largest comedy club in Dublin and that in Cork.
"One of the biggest and best comics in the country... Real class." - The Irish Times
"Unassuming, likeable and very, very funny" - Time Out
"Top stuff. If you haven't heard of him yet - you soon will" - The List
These days Dara can be found fronting prestigious awards ceremonies such as the Irish times/ESB Irish Theatre Awards or the Golden Spider internet awards, and luring hundreds of thousands of pounds out of the pockets of the great and the good at charity events like Paul Newman's Barrattstown Gang Camp Charity Auction.
In 2002, Dara is even busier. In February he did his first shows in New York, by March he was doing a sell-out three week Irish tour, and he spent the summer on a UK tour with Emo Phillips, as well as bringing a
brand new show to the world's most prestigious comedy festivals, in Kilkenny, Montreal and Edinburgh. All this while currently devising more TV projects with his company, Happy Endings Productions, both for RTE in Ireland and for UK television.
