Pat Shortt

Patrick Shortt (born 12 December 1967) is an Irish actor, comedian, writer, and entertainer. His role in the 2007 film Garage led to him receiving the IFTA for Best Actor. He is most notably remembered for his role as Tom in the television series Father Ted.

Career Shortt toured alongside Jon Kenny as the comedy duo D'Unbelievables. They released "One Hell of a Video", "D'Unbelievables", "D'Video" (a live random sketch show), "D'Telly" (featuring Shortt and Kenny playing various characters – primarily two brothers who run a shop together), "D'Mother" (in which Kenny's character oversaw the running of a public house alongside his "mother" – who was later revealed to be his father, in a role played by Shortt) and "D'collection". One character played by Shortt was Dan Clancy, known for telling "his stories". The pair were highly successful in Ireland, selling out the Vicar Street venue for 14 weeks.

Shortt played the role of Tom, a crazy man, in the comedy series Father Ted. His character maintained a unibrow and wore a tee shirt with the slogan "I shot JR".

In 2003, RTÉ approached Shortt to create a comedy series, Killinascully. The cast included Sue Collins. Shortt won the Best Actor award at the 2008 IFTAs for his performance in this film. In 2008, An Post issued a postage stamp featuring Pat Shortt, as Josie, in the film Garage.

In 2014 Shortt appeared in Episode 3, Season 2 of the Sky 1 programme Moone Boy. In the episode, the main character Martin Moone and his friend Padraig float down the River Boyle on a raft. They land on an island in Lough Key where Shortt's character, the caretaker, entertains them and helps them to return to the mainland.

Personal life Shortt was born in Thurles, County Tipperary, one of 11 children of Mary (née Scully) and Christy Shortt. He studied at the Limerick School of Art and Design, and began his stand-up career shortly after graduating.

Shortt and his wife Caroline have three children. In 2020, he and his daughter Faye, an actress who trained at the Gaiety School of Acting, began creating sketches for social media. Faye Shortt subsequently co-wrote and performed in a sketch for RTÉ Does Comic Relief. Between 2020 and 2021, Pat and Faye Shortt co-wrote and performed two live-stream shows, before going on tour with their live comedy show, "Well".

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Director Notes 1993 In the Name of the Father Jim Sheridan Uncredited 1996 Angela Mooney Dies Again Dunner Tommy McArdle 1998 This Is My Father Garda Ben Paul Quinn 2000 The Closer You Get Ollie Doyle Aileen Ritchie Saltwater Mr. Fanning Conor McPherson Wild About Harry Ronnie Declan Lowney 2001 Mapmaker Patsy Johnny Gogan 2004 Man About Dog Fergie Paddy Breathnach Inside I'm Dancing Nightclub Doorman Damien O'Donnell 2007 Garage Josie Lenny Abrahamson Strength and Honour Wheeler McCoy Mark Mahon 2008 Spacemen Three Dr. Glen Hosey Hugh O'Conor Short film 2010 Soulboy Brendan Shimmy Marcus 2011 The Guard Colum Hennessey John Michael McDonagh 2013 Life's a Breeze Colm Lance Daly Breakfast Wine Mr. Kelliher Ian Fitzgibbon Short film 2014 Calvary Brendan Lynch John Michael McDonagh Queen & Country Private Redmond John Boorman Song of the Sea Lug Tomm Moore Voice 2016 Twice Shy Pat Collins Thomas Ryan The Flag Harry Hambridge Declan Recks 2018 The Belly of the Whale Ronald Tanner Morgan Bushe 2019 Animals Bill Sophie Hyde Dark Lies the Island Daddy Mannion Ian Fitzgibbon Satnav Radio Comedian Eugene O'Connor Short film Maya Ken Sophia Tamburrini 2020 Pixie Father Daly Barnaby Thompson 2022 Give Him Time Liam Walsh Danny McCafferty Short film Lambing John Katie McNeice The Banshees of Inisherin Jonjo Devine Martin McDonagh2024VanillaSimonTony O'DonnellShort Film Baggage John Jason Ruddy Short film; In Development Raynor In Development The People's Champion In Development

Television Year Title Role 1995–1996 Father Ted Tom 2000 The Fitz Bobby 2004–2008 Killinaskully Various 2009–2011 Mattie Mattie Dwyer 2014 Moone Boy Island Joe 2015 Toast of London Larry Muggins 2016 Smalltown Tom 2021 Frank of Ireland Padraig 2024 Bodkin Darragh 2026 How to Get to Heaven from Belfast Charlie