Shape I'm In: Jason Byrne, comedian

TAKING his cue from the Chinese year of the horse, comedian Jason Byrne is galloping through 2014, travelling over and back between Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Scotland.

In this jam-packed schedule he’s finding time to train for the New York marathon — it’s on November 2 — in aid of Temple Street Hospital.

Whether it’s his wonky eye or flaming red hair, his free-wheeling childhood underpins Byrne’s comedy act. From Ballinteer, Co Dublin, his father was a cooper in Guinness, while his mother stayed at home to look after their four children.