I have been doing the comedy writing malarky for a while now and have learned that most comedians are a little messed up, which is what makes them good at what they do. There is one comedian that I am awe of and that is Tommy Tiernan. I have a bit of a love/hate thing for Tommy. I used to love him years ago, then kinda didn’t, and now do again. I think most of this new love for him comes from an interview I watched of him recently.

Tommy is very open about the fact that he is not well mentally. For me this is a huge thing. It is a very brave and courageous thing for someone so much in the public eye to come out and admit it. You can see the difference in Tommy between the different times in his life, I have chosen two videos to do this…. the first is an interview on the Late Late, done with Gerry Ryan at the time who was filling in….

Tommy on the Late Late

To be fair to Tommy, Gerry is not helping! Tommy looks off his head though! He looks like he is falling apart and that quite worries me a little! It’s never fun to watch someone fall apart in front of your eyes! So compare that to this….

Tommy and Mike Murphy

That is the one that make me fall in love with him again! He talks about getting control of his illness and the benefits of it. I really do take my hat of to him (if I was wearing one!)

Tommy is one of the best Irish stand up comedians, hell he’s one of the best stand ups full stop in my opinion. I really admire his courage and determination to get past his illness and seek help.

He is an inspiration to many, he has shown that mental illness is not a bad thing and doesn’t need to be locked away in a a box never to be spoken about. He is a damn funny comedian to boot!

What are your opinions of Tommy? Do you love him? Hate him? Or do you not really care and just think he is damn funny?!? Let us know!