Pat Fitzpatrick on Ireland's class system and how Reggie is climbing the Irish social ladder

As Cork’s favourite snob makes a triumphant return to the Everyman Theatre, Pat Fitzpatrick discusses the class system in Ireland and tells Ed Power how he has broadened Reggie’s social horizons for his new show

The character of Reggie from the Blackrock Road was created by humorist and writer Pat Fitzpatrick. Picture: Miki Barlok

Reggie from the Blackrock Road is moving on up. The character, created by humorist and writer Pat Fitzpatrick, is looking beyond the sunlight uplands of Cork City’s most desirable suburbs. He wants to be a big cheese, not just at his local farmer’s market but across Ireland, and potentially beyond.

“You can’t drop the fact he’s from Cork,” says Fitzpatrick, who created Reggie while writing his Ask Audrey agony column for The Irish Examiner. “Cork people don’t tend to drop the fact they’re from Cork. They drag it into everything, no matter where they go”.