COMEDY: Dara O’Briain in profile

Mar 7 2008 by Emma Pinch, Liverpool Daily Post

Irish comedian, Dara O'Briain _320

Who is he: Dara O’Briain, (pronounced O’Bree-an). Well thought of stand up comic and satirist.

Where is he from? County Wicklow, in Ireland.

What is he famous for? Best known here for appearances on Have I Got News For You, hosting Mock the Week and recently was one of the Three Men in A Boat with Rory McGrath and Griff Rhys Jones. Famous for years in Ireland as a children’s TV presenter.

Distinguishing features? Unlikely to give George Clooney any sleepless nights, but you’d be ill-advised to take the mickey. As well as being a lumbering 6ft 5in, he’s a national champ in debating (in two languages) and studied mathematical physics at University College Dublin.

Career High? Slow to break into the mainstream but right now hotter than ever. Sold out shows at the Edinburgh Festival from 2002-2005, a 75-date UK tour in 2006, and a regular guest on Jonathan Ross.

Career Low? There was a point in 2001, he says, when, after appearing at four Edinburgh Fringes on the trot, and getting nowhere, he considered giving up his assault on British affections.

Significant others? Wife Susan, a doctor.

Not to be confused with? Ardal O'Hanlon, Diarmuid Gavin, Daryl Hannah.

Interesting fact? His grandmother was a teenage member of the old IRA, hiding in a ditch to escape from a British army patrol and having her house turned upside down by troops.

He says: “The one thing you don't do is jokes about having a child. I don't have a child so I can make jokes about other people's children and how they're scumbags in general, but the day you walk out there and go ‘God, my baby gurgled in such a sweet way’, that is the end of a comedy career.

DARA O’BRIAIN appears at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, on Saturday, March 15.