Tommy Tiernan Show review: Amy Huberman reflects on intimacy and Jewish heritage
Amy Huberman on the Tommy Tiernan Show
Actress and author Amy Huberman joined Tommy Tiernan on Saturday night to discuss her career, her family’s connection to the Holocaust, and her marriage to rugby legend Brian O’Driscoll, including an elegantly side-stepped quizzing on her sex life.
“I wonder can we talk about sex?” Tiernan asked her, before enquiring if her approach to physical intimacy has changed over the years, from young adulthood to marriage and motherhood.
She responded delicately, to note how important human touch is in any relationship, saying it’s possible to “diffuse everything with human touch and just hugging”.
“He understood the determination that you need to do what you do”@amyhuberman chats to @Tommedian about how husband Brian’s own career, meant he got the bravery you need to have, to put yourself out there as an actor #TommyTiernanShow pic.twitter.com/oIVXYW8R4S
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) February 26, 2022
She also touched upon her family’s journey to Ireland, describing how her grandfather was a Polish immigrant and her father was born in London ahead of the Second World War.
“My dad has incredible stories of family members of his who as kids left Poland and journeyed on their own,” she said. “My dad was born in London just before the war so he also was born in a London that was [being bombed]. He came to Ireland in the '60s.”
Ms Huberman said she found it difficult to feel part of her family’s Jewish ancestry but says a rabbi in Auschwitz-Birkenau changed her perspective.
“I went to Auschwitz-Birkenau with my dad when I was in my 20s and I felt like an imposter. There’s a joke that I say with my dad that I always only ever felt Jew-ish.
"And I'd never think that way, [I felt] that's not a part of history that I had to suffer. But it gave me a completely different perspective on all of it.”
She added: “It's easy to feel removed from [the Holocaust], but it was only my grandpa who left. That's how close [generationally] to a situation you are.”
Also on was Jessica Wade, who shared how she helps homeless people and people who are struggling with addiction, something she experienced in the past.
“Not all dealers have a glorious life Tommy, some of them are out there just selling a bag to buy a bag”
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) February 26, 2022
Jessica Wade talks about her work helping other people find their feet after struggling with addiction herself in the past.#TommyTiernanShow @tommedian pic.twitter.com/xckySJSshn
“I can relate very well with a homeless person because I was homeless myself. I was a drug addict myself. I can communicate with them on a level that they can understand,” she said.
Ms Wade, who marked 20 years of recovery at Christmas, said she has empathy for everyone affected by drugs, from the addicts to the dealers.
“Not all dealers have a glorious life, some of them are out there just selling the bag to buy a bag to get a bag. That was me.
"That's why we're there, it’s to help them and show them that that life is not worth living. Drugs are only a temporary thing. That money won't last forever.”
Finally, Tiernan was joined by storyteller and singer Thomas McCarthy who reflected on his heritage as a Traveller and explained why he is not ashamed to be called a tinker.
“If you don’t have sympathy, you should go and see a doctor.”
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) February 26, 2022
Storyteller Thomas McCarthy talks about sharing stories that are sympathetic to travelling people@Tommedian #TommyTiernanShow pic.twitter.com/JRIS8IZElV
“The tinker was a metal worker. It’s used as a derogatory term, tinker, but I embrace it myself. It’s what my ancestors were, they were metal workers and I’m not ashamed of that,” he said.
Today, Mr McCarthy is a storyteller and shares his tales with children around the country.
“I tell them travelling stories which are sympathetic towards the Traveller. If you didn't have sympathy, you should go and see a doctor,” he said.
He also sings and says Travellers have always been the “custodians” of songs.
“It was our people who brought them all around the island. A new song for a Traveller was like a new prayer for a religious person.
"They adored songs, every Traveller family had a great store of songs.”
