Funny Talk: Seán Begley

Seán at the Hardy Har

he one thing about having a dream is that, hey, it’s never too late to make it come true.

And that certainly seems to be the case with comedian Seán Begley.

The man got stage fright early on, and didn’t step out into the spotlight for the next 18 years.

That’s 6,570 days. Or 9,460,800 minutes in today’s money.

So young…

When Seán finally did step back up on stage, he walked off with the Best New Act award at the 2018 Bray Comedy Festival. And he hasn’t looked back, or over his shoulder, since, his new show, Tragic, playing to packed houses up and down the country.

And now it’s coming to The Whale, on Friday, January 26th. Which is why we asked Seán to reveal those early comedy sparks, and his all-time funny people…

The Big Yin abides

Since childhood, I’ve had a keen interest in joke telling, and was vaguely familiar with the art of stand-up comedy from watching the likes of Billy Connolly and Brendan Grace – and many a now-forgotten comedian – on TV.

The concept of comedy clubs or a circuit were alien to me until I became a regular attendee at Murphy’s Comedy Club in Galway. I was enthralled by the styles, themes and physicality of the acts, and very much in awe of anyone that had the courage to stand up in front of an audience. I spoke to the MC Gerry Mallon on many occasions but would have been too self-conscious to ask about performing myself.
The opportunity finally came when I was living in Limerick City during the late ’90s. I entered a competition held by a local pub, which I won with five minutes of fairly dodgy, low-brow material. I tried another few gigs after that and they went reasonably well but my aspirations came to a sudden end when I did a support slot for Des Bishop in 1999. The gig went so badly for me that I didn’t attempt comedy again for 18 years.

What eventually brought me back was a conversation with Adam Burke, the MC of the Hardy Har in Bray. He has always been a huge advocate for new acts and regularly offers open mic spots, one of which he extended to me in August of 2017. It went very well so I was given another spot in December, which was even better. Subsequently, I entered the competition for Best New Act at Bray Comedy Festival 2018, which I ended up winning.

… so full of hope.

I have since gone on to feature in most of the major comedy clubs in Ireland, shared the stage with many of the top acts in the country, including several household names, and was shortlisted for the Ray D’Arcy RTE Stand Up And Be Funny competition 2019.
My debut show, TRAGIC, is a performance which was pieced together over 18 months. It features anecdotes revolving around some embarrassing health issues, nostalgically reminiscing about my granddad, the challenges of marriage and fatherhood, plus several other pivotal moments in my life.

The through line is an honest reflection on the untimely passing of a very close friend. I draw on the many stories from our formative years as well as the aftermath of his death and the process of ultimately reconciling with the decision to move on.

The show has sold out at every performance to date, and enjoyed hugely positive audience feedback. The good people at Whale Theatre are bringing TRAGIC to Greystones on February 5th with Tara Calihman in support. Sure, it’s going to be magic…

My comedic influences are many and varied. Below are just a few examples.

Gerry Mallon
Gerry ran a club in Galway throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s. Week after week he brought the best of Irish, British and US acts to the City of the Tribes. He is still a booker and promoter for some of the larger festivals in the country and to this day, Gerry has written some of the funniest jokes I’ve ever heard.

Stewart Lee
To my mind, Lee is the greatest stand up of all time. He is the most critically acclaimed comedian on the UK circuit and continues to deliver challenging, hilarious and thought-provoking material as he approaches the latter half of his fifties. His style is often topical, observational, self-deprecating or absurd, focusing on topics such as pop culture, family, religion, political correctness and artistic integrity.
I’ve seen him live only once, an incomparable experience where he deconstructed the very nature of what comedy is, and can be, all the while delivering the sharpest comedic insights I’ve ever witnessed.

Eddie Murphy
For several years, Murphy was untouchable. Beverly Hills Cop, 48 Hours, Trading Places and Coming To America are all comedy classics and very much worth repeated viewings. Later on, Murphy made some poor career choices with the exception of Bowfinger and the Shrek franchise but we witnessed a return to form with last year’s Dolemite Is My Name.
The piece of work which had the most profound effect on me was his live stand up performance from 1983, Delirious. Taking modern days sensibilities into account, it is far from the most PC of performances but the jokes are still very funny, littered with relatable pop culture references and delivered with the charisma and confidence of a comic at the very peak of his creativity.

Aisling Bea
With a style that is charming, self-deprecating, goofy and clever – Aisling Bea is a comedian, actress and screenwriter who first came to my attention when she appeared in the surprisingly entertaining RTE show Trivia back in 2011. She has worked relentlessly over the past decade and deservedly reaped the rewards. She won the So You Think You’re Funny award in 2012 and more recently she was presented with a BAFTA for her Channel 4 show This Way Up in which she co-stars with Sharon Horgan. She has become a ubiquitous presence on British television, appearing shows such as QI, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Live At The Apollo and Taskmaster.

Simon Munnery
A master of character comedy, I had the pleasure of witnessing Munnery perform live on several occasions, under the guise of Alan Parker: Urban Warrior and The League Against Tedium. He is largely unknown in Ireland and despite some mainstream success on radio and tv, he performs mainly to an alternative audience. His stand-up is satirical, political, bizarre, often surreal and is the most unique act you are ever likely to witness.

Father Ted
The creation of Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, Father Ted lasted for 25 episodes over a three-year period in the late ’90s. Dishonourably exiled on Craggy Island, Ted shares the parochial house with Fr. Dougal Maguire, Fr. Jack Hackett and their housekeeper Mrs Doyle. Ted consistently finds himself in embarrassing situations, often exacerbated by his fellow clergymen.
The show is littered with pop culture refences and acts a broad parody of Irish society, featuring instantly recognisable national characteristics. One of the joys of the show was regularly seeing comedians from the Irish circuit such as Pat McDonnell, Joe Rooney and Tommy Tiernan appear in guest roles. The concept is as brilliant as it is ludicrous, with jokes as fresh as when they were first aired

Trevor Noah
A native of South Africa, Trevor Noah’s rise has been meteoric. I recall seeing him on an episode of Mock the Week several years ago and even then, he was something special. His book, Born a Crime, is quite possibly the finest autobiography I have ever read, definitely my favourite book of the past ten years. Noah took over as host of Comedy Central’s Daily Show when veteran John Stewart stepped down and was quick to make his mark with his unique brand of political commentary.
He tours relentlessly and the fruits of his labour can be seen on his many Netflix specials, including the recent Son of Patricia, a beautiful tribute to his mother.  Noah cites comedy greats Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle as his major influences.

Larry David
A failed stand up, David briefly became a writer for Saturday Night Live in the early ’80s but finally experienced success as the co -creator of the record-breaking show Seinfeld. He has since gone on star as a fictionalised version of himself in the HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm which has just completed its 11th season. I first stumbled across the show on TG4 and wasn’t initially impressed but I gave it a second look after several glowing recommendations.
The show is largely improvised, with a script outline by David and fleshed out by a brilliant cast including series regulars Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman and Cheryl Hynes with guest stars such as Ted Danson, Mel Brooks and Jerry Seinfeld.

Tommy Tiernan
Now one of the elder statesmen of the Irish comedy scene, Tiernan has always been an act worth paying attention to. Having grown up in Galway, I regularly got to witness his hilarious but reckless disregard for political correctness which often led to controversy and public backlash, most notably in light of his infamous appearances on The Late Late Show.
He has mellowed with age but continues to bring the laughs, even in the many serious moments we get to experience in his critically and commercially successful RTE chat show.
He has a also found a new audience as a cast member in the channel 4 show Derry Girls and did a fantastic job as the voice of Seán Óg on the children’s animated feature Wolf Walkers for Cartoon Saloon.

Sean Lock
It was a bit of a shock to everyone in the comedy community when we heard about the recent passing of Sean Lock. His surreal style, deadpan delivery, and dry humour had become a ubiquitous presence on British television over the past two decades.
I first witnessed his mastery of the stage at a comedy club gig in the late ’90s. In just a few short years he had won a British Comedy Award and also been nominated for the Perrier Comedy Award. He went on to become team captain on the Channel 4 comedy panel show 8 Out Of 10 Cats from 2005 to 2015, and on 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown from 2012 until his passing in 2021.
A particular favourite of mine was the short-lived Channel 4 show TV Heaven, Telly Hell where guests discussed their likes and dislikes of items on television. His stand-up specials were always bizarrely brilliant and warrant repeat viewing. He was voted the 55th-greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4’s 100 Greatest Stand-Ups in 2007, and was ranked 19th in the updated 2010 list.

You can find out more about Faux Pa on Friday, January 26th here, and about young Begley on Facebook here and Instagram here.