Warning: The video contains language that may be offensive to some people
By Ali Ikram
If you got along to the Classic Comedy Club in Auckland over the last two nights you might have caught Irish comedian Tommy Tiernan warming up for his Auckland and Wellington gigs over the weekend.
And as befits a man who once said the English language is a brick wall between him and the audience and the ‘f’ word is his chisel.
In his time he has offended Jewish groups, gypsies, the disabled and methadone users – so has Tiernan changed?
During last night’s act: "I walked straight out and said, ‘Elizabeth Taylor is dead, Elizabeth Taylor is dead, the people of Libya will sleep free tonight’,” he says.
“And they looked at me and thought, ‘what is he talking about?’"
He is happy to admit the joke didn't work but that's the way he rolls – describing his style as creative autism.
"Eskimos have never done any damage to the world we know f**k all about them,” he says. “We don't even know the name of their country; no-one knows what an Eskimo looks like without his jacket on."
A role in cult classic Father Ted made Tiernan a household name in Ireland – that along with ceaseless touring.
"I love to go to towns that might not have heard of you but might not have heard of standup comedy, but they're just going because everyone else in the town is walking towards the same building at right o’clock in the evening,” he says.
“You spend the first 45 minutes trying to get them to face in the same direction.
"Have a nice day, have a nice day, have a nice day; that sounds like a threat to an Irishman – I'll have what kind of a f**king day I want."
In fact, Tiernan is such a live drawcard in his homeland in ticket sales he's second only to U2.
He once performed for 36 hours and 15 minutes; a world record that was eclipsed last year by a US comedian called Bob Marley.
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