Family ties: Pat Shortt and daughter Faye double up on the laughs

The well-known entertainer has a new comedy show with his daughter Faye

Tue, 28 Feb, 2023 - 21:30

Maeve Lee

Actor and entertainer extraordinaire Pat Shortt has had a long and successful career. But since going solo in 2002, much of the 55-year-old’s time has been spent touring the country on his own and now, he is thrilled to be doing it alongside his daughter, Faye.

Pat and his eldest daughter, 24-year-old Faye, first began collaborating during the pandemic and are bringing their new show Well to Cork Opera House on March 4.

Writing, performing and touring together, the hilarious father-daughter duo spend a lot of time with one another. For some, it might be hard to imagine working so closely with a family member but even during a busy press day in Cork, Pat and Faye are in flying form – and cracking plenty of jokes.

“It's weird, because it doesn't feel like we spend loads of time together, but we actually do. I only realise when I go back to my siblings,” says Faye, looking to her father beside her on a small couch upstairs in the Opera House.

“I always kind of let them off with you because I like to just get away from you - as in let them have their time with you,” she adds as Pat begins to chuckle beside her. “It’s only then I realise Jesus, I'm with you 24/7. I always get slagged about that now at home, that I'm a teacher's pet and all.”

Pat and his wife Caroline have two other children, Lily who is 22, and Lugheidh who is 19. As the eldest child, did Faye have a particularly special bond with her father?

“My brother was the favourite for years,” she insists.

A grinning Pat stays silent on this one until pressed. “My theory on it is girls tend to go with their mother quite a lot,” he says.

“Because they don’t want to go fishing,” Faye quips.

While Tipperary native Pat had never ruled out that one of his children might follow in his footsteps, he never imagined they would be on stage beside him. After joining forces, the dynamic duo have discovered they, evidently, work well together.

The pair bounce off one another and during our chat, there are plenty of jokes, laughs and lots of “ah no, we’re only slagging’s”. But what is the secret to their success?

“We have a very similar sense of humor,” explains Pat. “I think a lot of people don't acknowledge that they have the same sense of humor as their dad until later on, and they look back.

“We’d often see something and the two of us would start roaring laughing - somebody across the bar or the room,” Pat continues.

“And you don’t even say anything,” says Faye, “we find the same things funny.”

Pat describes that sense of humour as a love for “silliness and daftness”. One thing that really makes them giggle is seeing a young child that acts like their mother or father. The notion of a young boy with a farmer’s walk is enough to get them laughing again.

“I worked as a double act with Jon Kenny before. We had the very same sense of humour and still do. I remember that was the same dynamic, when we'd be writing sketches and creating characters – roaring laughing and its exactly the same with Faye,” he says.

Faye struggles to find any negatives with working so closely with her father. As a drama graduate (she studied at the Gaiety School of Acting and Bow Street), she is grateful to be on stage and working. To have her dad alongside her is a bonus. “The memories we're making are brilliant and I'll always have them,” she says.

However, they can get under one another’s skin at times. “I love being on stage with Faye, it's great fun,” Pat starts. “She's extremely funny and she's great and very professional and brilliant. The negative part of it is probably when we spend a bit too much time together it gets niggly whether it's the car travelling or whatever. But they’re dad and daughter things anyway.”

Sometimes they lose track of the fact that they are also father and daughter but, for example, when Faye heads off with 'the girls' for a drink after a show. “You realise, yeah, I'm her dad,” Pat says.

Being back at the Opera House is a special moment for Pat, who tells me the first big gig he ever did was right here on the Cork stage alongside Jon Kenny on his 21st birthday.

“I've always had great gigs here. There's a wonderful backstage crew here. Everybody is just amazing here and I'm not just saying that,” he says, “I’ve always looked forward to coming down to the Cork Opera House because it’s just a beautiful crew, place to play and the Cork atmosphere is something that I can’t wait for Faye to see.”