Voyage Around My Father Damo

Joe Rooney 20JULY18

t’s a conundrum quite a few lucky artists have faced down through the decades…

There you are, a jobbing actor, and that one role comes along that makes you a star.

Hooray for Hollywood, and all that. But then, that role begins to define you. It’s the one role that Joe and Joanna Sixpack know you for. And it means that, hey, they’re usually not all that bothered about seeing you as anyone else. Not even yourself.

It happened to William Shatner with Captain Kirk, to Mark Hamill with Luke Skywalker, and it looks like it might just happen to Daniel Radcliffe and his role as Harry Potter, given his string of so-so outings ever since the Hogwarths hero hung up his wand.

For Irish comedian Joe Rooney, the five days spent rehearsing and then shooting the Father Ted episode The Old Grey Whistle Theft felt, at the time, like just another gig. Sure, the role of the rebellious Father Damo was a delight to play, but, a gig in Galway the following weekend proved the bigger thrill for the Tuam-born funny man.

Today, with dozens of TV shows, big screen outings and shorts to his credit, Rooney is happy to accept that most people will know him as the reckless and feckless young priest who tried to drag Father Dougal to the dark side.

“The great thing about such a role is that people will give you a chance,” says Rooney. “Everyone’s got nothing but good feelings about Father Ted, and about Father Damo, and that good feeling is a great way to start a show…”

As those present for The Whale’s recent Father Ted night will know, Rooney joining forces with his longtime buddy, Patrick McDonnell, for a night of Craggy Island craziness. Only, this wasn’t a Greatest Hits night, or Tedfest Lite. This was a celebration of comedy itself, where two of Ireland’s finest, who just both happened to be in the country’s finest-ever sitcom (McDonnell played Eoin “I have no willy” McLove), were able to be their usual silly selves in a room full of people who plainly loved to watch Irish people being silly.

That silliness was turned up to 11 for The Comedy Improv Show at The Whale on Friday, June 15th,  when Rooney joined forces with Bridget & Eamon star Sharon Mannion and Moone Boy favourite Danny Kehoe for a night of unpredictable comedic nonsense. The great thing about improv comedy is that you never know what you might end up with, or how the hell you got there.

Which is why the trio are back on Saturday, October 20th, for The Comedy Improv Horror Show, a fittingly Halloween-themed night of, yep, unpredictable comedic nonsense.

We caught up with Rooney in a seedy Dublin alleyway outside the IFI in Temple Bar – it was just too noisy inside – to talk Damo, Dubai, and delivering delicious and deliberate dumbness…

You can find out more about Joe Rooney on his website here, listen to his groovy Pod-A-Rooney podcast here, and find out more about The Comedy Improv Horror Show on Saturday, October 20th here.