Open arms for Tommy in Cork

Prancing onto the stage dressed in attire he likened to a “North Korean Santa Claus”, comedian Tommy Tiernan commanded the packed Live At The Marquee tent on Sunday night.

Performing to a backdrop of abstract artwork by Waterford artist Mick Mulcahy, Tommy held the attention of the 4,000-person audience perfectly.

Regaling the audience with stories of all sorts — ranging from his nomadic upbringing (moving from Donegal, to Africa, to London, to Navan, where he perfected his accent) to the war in Ukraine (do you think Putin will come round?) and how he met his wife — the night flowed like perfect porter.

For a man whose comedic wit and stand-up act were his bread and butter for years, Tommy has had a sort of reincarnation, embracing new audiences through his acting roles in popular shows such as Derry Girls and Conversations with Friends, as well as reaching people through the Tommy, Hector, and Laurita podcast’.

The deep love between Tommy and his Bernese Mountain dog was a beautiful story, made all the more special when compared to his hatred for his smaller pet dog, which he described as “mix between a mop and a panic attack”.

Tommy finds comedy in every situation: He has three children from his previous relationship and three in his marriage and “they all live in the same town, so we can never get over it”.

Of course, it wasn’t all Tiernan, with warm-up act John Colleary putting everyone in good form early on with his observations on Covid-19 and Irish mannerisms.

Colleary shared his experiences of being recognised and, in one particular instance, of being asked in Dublin, ‘Here, are you who I think you are?” a question that no one can really answer, but one John engaged with, much to the delight of the audience.

A lovely evening at the big tent in Cork and a ticket worth its price.