David Nicholas O'Doherty (/oʊˈdɒhərti/; born 18 December 1975)[3] is an Irish comedian, author, musician, actor and playwright and son of renowned jazz pianist Jim Doherty. His stand-up has won many international awards, including the if.comedy award in 2008[4] and Best International Comedian at the 2014 Sydney Comedy Festival.[5]
He attended Trinity College Dublin, where his comedy career began. "I spent a lot of my time introducing things", he says, "concerts and bands, that sort of thing". "I remember my brother once bet me I couldn't get the word 'spaghetti' into an introduction for a piano recital in the Edmund Burke so I stood-up and said 'my brother has bet me I can't say the word spaghetti' and I got a laugh."[6]
O'Doherty has written several books, written two plays and released three comedy CDs. His latest book for children, Danger Is Everywhere, illustrated by Chris Judge has been selected for the UNESCO Dublin, City of Literature Citywide Reading Campaign.[7] In 2015 it was published in 10 languages around the world.
He regards himself as "a failed jazz musician, scrambling about for something else to do with his life".[8]
Early life
O'Doherty's father is pianist Jim Doherty. His grandfather was Kevin O'Doherty, an Irish hurdles champion, and his great-grandfather was Séamus O'Doherty, a head of the Irish Republican Brotherhood.[9] He is the youngest of three children and has an older brother and sister who are seven and eight years older than him, respectively.[10]
He studied philosophy at Trinity College Dublin, where he was a member of the Jazz Society and a fake Breakdancing Society.[11]
Comedic career
O'Doherty worked in a bicycle shop and in telemarketing and temping before he made his first stage appearance at Dublin's Comedy Cellar in 1998.[12] His first full show was The Story of the Boy Who Saved Comedy which received a nomination for Perrier Best Newcomer when it was performed at Edinburgh Fringe. In 2006, he was nominated for an if.comedy award for his Edinburgh show, David O'Doherty Is My Name. O'Doherty has performed at festivals across the world in locations that include Adelaide, Melbourne, Montreal, New York City and Wellington NZ, Moscow and Iceland. As a support act he first toured Ireland with Tommy Tiernan, the United Kingdom with Rich Hall and the United States with Demetri Martin.[13] he has since returned to those places with his own tours. He has often worked with Flight of the Conchords.
In August 2008, O'Doherty won the If.comedy award at the Edinburgh Fringe for his show Let's Comedy, which featured "a relationship in text messages, tunes played on a 3ft electronic keyboard, and a badger attack".[14] He was presented with the 2008 Intelligent Finance Comedy Award[15] and a cheque for £8,000 (€10,000)[16] by the previous winner Brendon Burns and the Australian author and television presenter Clive James.
He has returned to the Edinburgh Fringe every year since with a new show, that he has toured around the world for much of the following year.
His first CD Giggle Me Timbers (Jokes Ahoy) was recorded at his bedsit flat in front of 35 people. O'Doherty's second CD release called Let's David O'Doherty was recorded at Whelan's in Dublin and released in December 2009. His third CD We Are Not The Champions was recorded in the same venue and was released in 2012.
Edinburgh Fringe shows
Year
Title
2000
David O'Doherty: The Boy Who Saved Comedy
2002
David O'Doherty: Small Things
2003
David O'Doherty Creates Something New Under The Sun
2004
David O'Doherty in World Champion of Some Things
2005
David O'Doherty: Grown Up
2006
David O'Doherty Is My Name
2007
It's David O'Doherty Time
2008
David O'Doherty: Let's Comedy
2009
David O'Doherty: David O' Doh-party
2010
David O'Doherty: Somewhere Over The David O'Doherty
2011
David O'Doherty Is Looking Up
2011
David O'Doherty presents: Rory Sheridan's Tales of the Antarctica
2012
Seize the David O'Doherty (Carpe D'O'Diem)
2013
David O'Doherty Will Try to Fix Everything
2014
David O'Doherty Has Checked Everything
2015
David O'Doherty: We Are All in the Gutter, But Some of Us Are Looking at David O'Doherty
2016
David O'Doherty: Big Time
2017
David O'Doherty: Big Time
2018
David O'Doherty: You Have To Laugh
2019
David O'Doherty: Ultrasound
2022
David O'Doherty: whoa, is me
2023
David O'Doherty: Tiny Piano Man
Awards and nominations for stand-up comedy
O'Doherty has been decorated with numerous awards for his achievements in comedy. In 1999, he won the Channel 4So You Think You're Funny Comedy Competition at the Edinburgh Fringe and was also a finalist in the BBC New Comedy Awards in the same year.[17] He has received the accolade of Hot Press Irish Comedian of the Year in 2003 and 2010. [citation needed] In 2000, he was nominated for Perrier Best Newcomer Award for his show, David O'Doherty: The Boy Who Saved Comedy[citation needed] followed in 2006 by a nomination for The if.comeddie award for his show, David O'Doherty is My Name[citation needed] He eventually won the if.comedy Award (formerly the Perrier Award) in 2008 for Let's Comedy.[18]
In 2009 O'Doherty was made honorary president of The Monumental Brass Society, after a particularly well received routine on brass rubbing at the previous year's Edinburgh Fringe. St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, is his favourite place for brass rubbing.[citation needed] He was also nominated for the Barry Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2006[19] and in 2014 received the award for Best International Comedian at the Sydney Comedy Festival.[20]
Best International Comedian Sydney Comedy Festival Awards
Won
Style
O'Doherty combines his comedic performance with tunes played on his miniature electronic keyboard. He describes his style of comedy in his song "FAQ for the DOD" as "very low energy musical whimsy" – or "VLEMWy", for short.
In June 2012 he became the first Irish comedian to have their own Comedy Central Presents episode on American television.[21]
In May 2007, O'Doherty's first TV series, The Modest Adventures of David O'Doherty, began airing on RTÉ Two. The six-part series was directed by John Carney, following the completion of his Academy Award-winning film Once.[22] The premise of each episode was to have the comedian attempt to achieve a goal which he set for himself. The show features O'Doherty, his neighbour Bryan, and his friend Maeve Higgins. A running gag in the show is a reference to road racing cyclistStephen Roche.
#
Title
1
"Galway"
David attempts to cycle from Dublin to Galway, for a show later that night. He quits 100 kilometres from his destination.
2
"27"
David attempts to have "a minor hit", preferably charting at number 27. His song "Orange" instead reaches number 30, losing the number 27 spot in the Irish Singles Chart to Jibbs's "Chain Hang Low".
3
"Job"
David tries to make his rent. A number of strategies are employed for this end; these include: betting money on a game of golf he plays with his nephew (and losing); betting money at a dog track (and losing); attempting to sell an office chair he found in a skip (and eventually making €1.70 on the sale); trying to find a job where he states in an interview that he can touch-type at around 40 words per minute. He turned down a telemarketing placement; and eventually acting as an assistant to his neighbour Bryan, whose work involved erecting signs about planning permission, leading to a string of jokes concerning erections. He eventually earned the €260 through the latter.
4
"Tour"
David does a stand-up tour which he has t-shirts printed for. One show is for children. He does a gig at Vicar Street (a 1200 seater venue), but due to it being cancelled and re-instated repeatedly only about 20 people attend. The t-shirts do not arrive until after the tour has finished and are too small.
5
"Movie"
David tries to make a short film. The film is to be about Ernest Shackleton's reasons for trekking to the Antarctic and heavily features penguins. He sneaks his crew into Dublin Zoo dressed in clothes of an 1800s style. Due to too many people walking into frame, he opts to acquire a penguin elsewhere in Dublin. This proves to be a difficult task with O'Doherty eventually buying an inflatable penguin on eBay for €35. The inflatable is blown away by the wind. O'Doherty subsequently dresses up to play the part of the penguin. The film premieres in a local pub during the half-time of a football match on TV. The film's plotline goes as follows: Shackleton's blocks are knocked over by bullies, one of whom has a picture of a penguin on his shirt. His girlfriend breaks up with him at the penguin enclosure at the zoo. The penguins seem to mock him. His parents choke on Penguin chocolate biscuits. He goes to the Antarctic. He shoots a penguin. There is no applause for his film, however there is a cheer when the match is put back on.
This episode is dedicated to O'Doherty's friend's pet kitten, Tony, who appeared in the episode and died in 2007.
6
"Live"
David attempts to record a comedy CD. The CD is recorded in his one-room apartment. He then advertises the gig on A4-sizedposters, asking to be contacted via e-mail if anyone is interested in coming to the show. Upwards of 30 chairs are squeezed into the apartment.
O'Doherty has written widely for newspapers and magazines and also has two plays, two books and a radio series to his name. His debut book was a children's book entitled Ronan Long Gets It Wrong, written in 2001. It was illustrated by David Roberts and published by Mammoth Storybooks.[23]
His first play is entitled Saddled and was written with Bryan Quinn. It was claimed as "the world's first theatrical production to feature live repair of audience members' bicycles". In 2008, he and fellow Irish comedian Maeve Higgins performed I Can't Sleep, a play recommended for children aged 5–8. This was O'Doherty's first play for children. The play, which involved the audience entering the theatre to find both performers asleep in separate beds, was performed in both Dublin and Edinburgh.[24]
He has also written a series for RTÉ Radio about bee detectives with his brother Mark, entitled The Bees of Manulla. O'Doherty released a book detailing 100 false facts about pandas called 100 Facts About Pandas. He followed this up with 100 Facts About Sharks which is 100 false facts about sharks. In 2014 he and illustrator, Chris Judge, released a children's book, Danger Is Everywhere: A Handbook for Avoiding Danger.[25]
Personal life
O'Doherty is an avid cyclist and owned, as of 2024, 19 bicycles.[26] He has also stated publicly that he has never once eaten a turnip, and anyone who states otherwise will face legal ramifications.[27]
O'Doherty has also released five live audio albums, Giggle Me Timbers (or Jokes Ahoy!), recorded in front of 35 people in his studio apartment and Let's David O'Doherty (2009), We Are Not The Champions (2012) and You Only Live (2015) recorded at Whelan's in Dublin.[29]Live in His Own Car During A Pandemic was recorded in his car in June 2020.
