Bernard O’Shea’s first love

bernard o'sheaโ€œThe theme of the new show is Feral Cats Getting Older and Emotional Eatingโ€, laughs Bernard Oโ€™Shea when Limerick Post Newspaper made an early morning phone call to interrogate the comedian and star of RTEโ€™s โ€˜Republic of Tellyโ€™.
The hapless roving reporter and Georgia Salpaโ€™s love interest on RTร‰โ€™s popular โ€˜Republic of Tellyโ€™, Bernard Oโ€™Shea makes his dรฉbut at UCH Limerick returning to his first love, stand-up.
The fifth season of โ€˜Republic of Tellyโ€™ is back on TV screens on Mondays. Earlier this year Dermot Whelan announced he would no longer be presenting the show. Comedian Kevin McGahern has taken over as host. McGahern is best known for his role as Sim Card on RTEโ€™s โ€˜Hardy Bucksโ€™ and also appeared on television adverts for Three Ireland.
Bernard told Limerick Post, โ€œKevin is excellent, Iโ€™ll miss Dermot but it is good to work with someone new as well. It is a great show to work on. The show has morphed into being based around the three presenters.โ€
Bernardโ€™s stand up show will feature new songs and new routines all delivered in his own surreal comedic style. Among his comedic heroes from his formative years is Limerickโ€™s owns sultans of the surreal, Dโ€™Unbelievables. They toured the country and produced a very successful series of comedy videos in the 90โ€™s. In a comedy landscape of mostly imported talent and sitcoms from the UK and US, Jon Kenny and Pat Shorttโ€™s double act celebrated the madcap antics of life in rural Limerick. Bernard remembers: โ€œIt was the first time you saw culchie types doing comedy really. I knew those characters. They were, for me, an Irish League of Gentlemen. Sketches like โ€˜A Simple oul Saladโ€™ were brilliant. It was unashamedly culchie.โ€
โ€˜Republic of Tellyโ€™ airs every Monday on RTร‰ Two at 9:30pm. Bernard Oโ€™Shea performs on Thursday November 7 at University Concert Hall, 8pm.

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