David O'Doherty

David Nicholas O'Doherty (Template:IPAc-en or Template:IPAc-en; born 18 December 1975)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Best International Comedian at the 2014 Sydney Comedy Festival.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He is the youngest of three children and has an older brother and sister who are seven and eight years older than him, respectively.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

He studied philosophy at Trinity College Dublin, where he was a member of the Jazz Society and a fake Breakdancing Society.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It's also 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."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Comedic career

O'Doherty in 2009

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>David O'Doherty Template:Webarchive at irish-comedy.com</ref>

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".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was presented with the 2008 Intelligent Finance Comedy Award<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and a cheque for £8,000 (€10,000)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> by the previous winner Brendon Burns and the Australian author and television presenter Clive James.

Television career

In June 2012 he became the first Irish comedian to have their own Comedy Central Presents episode on American television.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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Literary career

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 2000. It was illustrated by David Roberts and published by Mammoth Storybooks.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Personal life

O'Doherty is an avid cyclist and owns, as of 2025, 18 bicycles.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He has also stated publicly that he has never once eaten a turnip, and anyone who states otherwise will face legal ramifications.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> O'Doherty is a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur. <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Filmography

In 2008, O'Doherty starred alongside comedian Dylan Moran, Keith Allen and Neil Jordan in A Film with Me in It, a cinematic release written by and starring his brother Mark Doherty.<ref>Template:IMDb title</ref>

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
2024	David O'Doherty: Ready, Steady, David O'Doherty
2025	David O'Doherty: Highway to the David Zone

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 4 So 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He eventually won the if.comedy Award (formerly the Perrier Award) in 2008 for Let's Comedy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was also nominated for the Barry Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2006<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in 2014 received the award for Best International Comedian at the Sydney Comedy Festival.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Template:Awards table |- | 1999 || Edinburgh Fringe || Channel 4 So You Think You're Funny Comedy Competition winner || Template:Won |- | 1999 || || BBC New Comedy Awards || Template:Nom |- | 2000 || || Perrier Best Newcomer Award || Template:Nom |- | 2003 || || Hot Press Irish Comedian of the Year || Template:Won |- | 2006 || David O'Doherty is My Name || If.comedy award || Template:Nom |- | 2006 || David O'Doherty is My Name || Barry Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival || Template:Nom |- | 2008 || Let's Comedy || If.comedy award || Template:Won |- | 2014 || David O’Doherty Will Try To Fix Everything || Best International Comedian Sydney Comedy Festival Awards || Template:Won Template:End

Discography

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.<ref name="David O'Doherty show in Whelan's">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Year	Title	Peak chart position
2007	"Orange"	Template:Flagicon No. 30
2009	Let's David O'Doherty	Template:Flagicon
2012	We Are Not The Champions	Template:Flagicon
2015	You Only Live	Template:Flagicon
2020	Live In His Own Car During A Pandemic	Template:Flagicon

External links

• Official site
• Template:IMDb name
• Modest Adventures at RTÉ
• RTÉ press release
• Template:British Comedy Guide

Template:Edinburgh Comedy Award winners Template:Authority control