Tommy Tiernan

Tommy Tiernan (; born 16 June 1969) is an Irish comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for his stand-up career, hosting The Tommy Tiernan Show (2017–present) and playing Gerry in the sitcom Derry Girls (2018–2022).

Early life Tiernan was born in Carndonagh, County Donegal in 1969, the son of a mother from County Limerick and a father from County Kerry. He moved with his family as a child; after spells living in London and Zambia, he attended the Catholic ex-junior seminary St Patrick's Classical School in Navan, where his schoolmates included Hector Ó hEochagáin and Dylan Moran.

Career Tiernan has appeared several times on The Late Late Show. In the United States, he has appeared several times on the Late Show with David Letterman. He has also appeared on Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, The Lee Mack Show, Dave's One Night Stand, QI, and joined Eddie Izzard and Ross Noble at Laughs in the Park.

In "Going to America", the final episode of the clerical sitcom Father Ted, Tiernan plays a young priest. In the 1999 Channel 4 sitcom Small Potatoes, Tiernan took the lead role of Ed Blewitt, an underachiever who works in an east London video rental shop. It ran for 13 episodes over 2 seasons, ending in 2001. Following the success of their show on iRadio Northwest, the show moved to the nationwide slot of Saturday 10am-12pm on 2FM.

In 2013, Tiernan performed in Vicar Street, Dublin, for his 200th show, in front of an audience of 1,000 people.

To date Tiernan has eight stand-up comedy DVDs: Tommy Tiernan Live, Cracked, Loose, Jokerman: Tommy Tiernan in America, Ok Baby, Bovinity, Crooked Man and Stray Sod.

On 5 January 2017, Tiernan presented the first episode of The Tommy Tiernan Show on RTÉ One.

Tiernan starred as Da Gerry in the sitcom Derry Girls for three seasons between 2018 and 2022.

He was a presenter of the Tommy and Hector Podcast with Laurita Blewitt from September 2020 until its closure in April 2024.

Controversies In 2007, some families of people with Down syndrome complained about a routine in Tiernan's act about people with the condition. It had caused some surprise to some of the families as he previously ran a marathon in support of Down Syndrome Ireland.

2009 anti-Semitism controversy In September 2009, while being interviewed by Olaf Tyaransen for Hot Press magazine at a pre-performance Q&A session at Electric Picnic in County Laois, Tiernan was asked by an audience member if he had ever been accused of antisemitism. He responded by making remarks about the Holocaust and Jews and the death of Christ. He later suggested in several interviews that his points were intended as a commentary on how somebody's words can easily be taken out of context when a small segment of a dialogue is quoted. The response of the audience was criticised as "disappointing" by Fine Gael's Alan Shatter, who also said, "I would regard it as particularly sad that people found that sort of outburst in any way amusing." Tiernan later released a statement that said he had not meant to cause offence and that his words had been taken out of context. He said that the comments were part of an attempt to explain his belief that comedians have a duty to be "irresponsible and reckless", to allow "whatever lunacy is within you to come out", and that they should never be taken out of context. Holocaust Education Trust Ireland labelled the statements "appalling". Rabbi and comedian Bob Alper accused Tiernan of attempting to "weasel out" of the controversy. However, Tiernan received some support. Hot Press editor Niall Stokes defended him, claiming the comedian was "satirising anti-Semitism" and that interpreting the remarks as hateful was "wrongheaded". Olaf Tyaransen, who hosted the event, maintained that Tiernan’s comments had been taken out of context and were prompted by a question on past accusations of anti-Semitism. He described the performance as "very funny". RTÉ presenter Emer O'Neill, who is black, was in the audience and left with friends after a while to avoid being heckled. However, unlike Bruce, he does not regard himself as being a comedian "with a message". 1998–2001 Small Potatoes Ed Hewitt Main role 2012 Little Crackers Dad Episode: "Tommy Tiernan's Little Cracker: Howler" 2017–present The Tommy Tiernan Show Himself Main role 2018–2022 Derry Girls Gerry Quinn 19 episodes 2018 Hardy Bucks Priest Episode: "The Viper" 2022 Conversations with Friends Dennis 3 episodes Music videos Year Song Artist 2017 'Galway Girl' Ed Sheeran

Personal life Tiernan has three children with former partner Jayme Street. He married Yvonne McMahon, his partner and manager, on 9 August 2009 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in County Monaghan; they had been together since December 2002. They have three children. Tiernan enjoys attending Mass. He has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Awards In 1996, Tiernan won the Channel 4 "So You Think You're Funny" award. Two years later he was awarded the Perrier Comedy Award at the 1998 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and won the Best Stand-Up Award at the British Comedy Awards. In 2003, he won the Nokia Best of the Fest Award and the Orange People Choice Award at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival. In 2006, he won Ireland's Funniest Living Person Award at the People of the Year Awards.