Neil Delamere.
BY SEÁN P. FEENY
ON Monday night Irish comedy star and broadcaster Neil Delamere delves into the life of Red Hugh O’Donnell in his new television series Holding Out For A Hero.
The new four-part documentary series on RTÉ2, written and presented by Neil, offers a wry and humourous look at the lives of four Irish heroes from history: Grace O’Malley/Granuaile, Red Hugh O’Donnell, Cú Chulainn and Fionn Mac Cumhaill. It follows in the footsteps of the IFTA and Celtic Media Award-winning TV programmes on the Vikings and St. Patrick, also written and presented by Delamere.
The Donegal News recently caught up with the popular comedian of who spoke of his fondness of Donegal and its people.
“What I like about Donegal, in particular, is there is a wildness about the county and its people; there’s a real glint in people’s eyes here. You can really tell that an audience is from Donegal; there’s a kind of ‘we’ll go our own way’ attitude in Donegal. Comedians are traditionally those who are meant to go against the grain.
“Whenever you see referendum or election results and the country goes one way and Donegal goes ‘to hell with you, we’ll go whatever way we want’, comedians love that. I really like the atmosphere and that wild spirit that exists in Donegal and I think that’s why comedians love playing here,” said Neil.
The popular comedian will be visiting the county again on February 6 when he performs in Letterkenny’s An Grianán Theatre as part of his upcoming tour The Fresh Prince of Delamere.
“It’s another show full of new tales of mischief and mayhem.
Apart from the usual audience interaction it hopefully casts an acerbic eye over some of my recent adventures. Free tips include honeymoon etiquette, appropriate machine gun usage and how to get 400 euro cash out of a petrol station owner.”
Neil has been one of Ireland’s most successful comedians over the past decade, and now he aims to tour in all 32 counties on his new tour. “People say to me sometimes, ‘you’re away a lot’, but it’s not a big country. Letterkenny’s one of the furthest places you’d go and that’s only three hours, less at night.
“If you’re a comic in Ireland you can have a family life and a meaningful engagement with society.
“When I started doing Stand Up it took you two and three quarter hours to get to Belfast. Now when I do the Blame Game on BBC, it’s an hour and a half each way. I know people say we wasted the boom, but they built a nice motorway for comedians to travel home on.”
With his extensive television work over the past years, such as RTÉ’s The Panel, Republic of Telly, BBC’s The Blame Game, his historical documentaries on St Patrick and The Vikings, and his radio work, Neil is very much in demand for live performances.
Neil said: “I really love touring and it’s nice to know a little bit about the places you visit, it shows that you are paying attention. If I haven’t learned a bit about each place by now after touring every year for past eight years, I should be shot. There are places that you look forward to visiting every year. I have always liked Letterkenny and Ballybofey as it’s as much about the place and the venue as it is about the audience.”
Don’t miss this Friday’s print edition for an exclusive new interview with Neil Delamere.