Horse hating comedian Jarlath Regan is rearing to go

Jarlath Regan, who will perform a rare Irish gig at the Mill Theatre in Dublin on Sunday (Dec 22), grew up in the Curragh, Co Kildare. His father’s a horse trainer, but the stand-up comic doesn’t have much time for the creatures.

“I never liked horses,” he says. “I’d go as far as to say I hate horses. A horse isn’t a very clever animal. If you walk around the back of a horse, they will try and kick you. I don’t know any other animal that will do that. People give out about cats all the time. No cat will try to kill you at the first opportunity. That is literally the relationship with horses.”

Regan is one of Ireland’s most talented comedians, and familiar to TV audiences from appearances on RTÉ’s The Panel and Russell Howard’s Good News, and to book lovers for his hilarious, Woody Allen-like illustrated greeting-card collections.