Eleanor Tiernan: Being Tommy Tiernan's cousin is more help than hindrance, believe me

I'm supporting my first cousin on his UK comedy tour and I'm loving it

Eleanor Tiernan

“I have a few dates if you’re up for it?” says he. It was Tommy Tiernan calling to see if I’d be interested in supporting him on the remainder of his UK tour. The first part had been cut short by the pandemic in 2020 and he now had about 12 dates left to see out the rest of it. I’d be doing about 25 minutes on stage to get the audience warmed up before his show. I was more than up for it.

Tommy and I are first cousins so I won’t pretend there was any rigorous testing process in getting the gig. Despite having completely different styles, we are a good entertainment match though. He’s more of a loud howl at the moon while on stage I’m like a sneaky Russian spy slipping people laughs before they’ve even realised. I believe we have enough in common that people will enjoy a good night’s entertainment from us both.

We started on a sunny evening at Alexandra Palace overlooking North London, a venue pristine in its’ crumbliness. Up the hill I traipsed until I turned around to see the city. From there, the view is really something, all haze and gold and red and blue. I took it in, then turned around and stepped into the breach.

The moment the gig started I realised that this tour was going to put me in a situation I hadn’t quite expected. “Are there any Irish in?” I said and the roar that went up! A cathartic shriek of relief and pride. The words weren’t discernible but the feeling was palpable. Of course I knew there would be Irish folk at a Tommy Tiernan show in the UK on St Patrick’s Day. I was surprised however by what that felt like though. I forgot just how much I missed the company of Irish folk. Living abroad, you don’t generally seek out such situations but when they come along, you sure do soak it up. And now, because of the tour I had ahead of me, I had night after night where I could just luxuriate in it.

Tommy Tiernan

The next night we went onto Basingstoke. I know, you didn’t think there were Irish folk in Basingstoke but there are many. We saw the marinas of Brighton, Poole and Margate. Then we went up north to Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Our final show is in Bristol on Friday after we’ll have done the Hammersmith Apollo the night before. Every night I am reminded that the experience I’ve had of being here over the past two years is one I share with many.

I expect most Irish people in the UK have been home since the pandemic by this stage but that doesn’t mean the feelings brought on by the distance have gone away. It was a strange time for us all, to find yourself thrust into an emergency situation in a country that isn’t your own. And now when you go home there’s a feeling of having missed out. Your family and friends might ask about things in the UK but often they have already decided in their minds that, whatever it was, it’s not a patch on Ireland. You can answer but it doesn’t really matter what you say.

Irish folk in the UK learn the skill of keeping our heads down and getting on with people. We are immigrants but also not-immigrants. When you tell people you’re Irish here, people never say “Oooooh how exotic”. We are just too similar to the locals to evoke any kind of similar reaction. We speak the language, we get the jokes. It’s why they still get confused and claim Irish sporting and Oscar victories as their own. We have learned that to try to explain this is futile and it’s best to roll with it.

I do many gigs in the UK where I don’t even mention my nationality. Not so at a Tommy gig though. People coming there aren’t tolerating him being Irish, they come because of it. At a time when the world is grappling with how to express nationality in a healthy way, his shows are a profoundly positive celebration of Irishness.

People sometimes ask me if I think it’s a help or a hindrance to my career being related to someone of Tommy’s stature in the same field. They worry I’m in his shadow or that it influences how I’m perceived by audiences. I think this is the wrong way to look at it. To get overly concerned about your personal brand is a cynic’s approach and ignores the big picture. He’s Tommy Tiernan for heaven’s sake. Of course my life is enriched by being even slightly adjacent to him. I’m sorry to disappoint some folk but the man is a treasure to the family and, cheesy as it may seem, I am only proud to be cut from the same cloth as him.