The comedians discussed Ó Briain’s own difficult past.
Comedian Dara Ó Briain appeared on RTÉ’s The Tommy Tiernan Show on Saturday evening, in which he discussed his own journey with adoption.
Speaking to the process of meeting his own birth mother, Ó Briain began the interview in typical comedic fashion, remarking “I’ll give you 500 quid to not mention adoption in this interview”.
“I’m not saying you stole it, Tommy!”
The show, which centres around the premise of host, Tommy Tiernan, interviewing a selection of surprise guests for roughly 20 minutes, is in its seventh season at present, with Irish stars such as Roy Keane, Damian Dempsey and Roz Purcell all appearing on this season alone.
However, Ó Briain shocked Tiernan at the beginning of the interview when revealing he had in fact pitched the same show idea to RTÉ two decades prior, only for the state broadcaster to turn down the proposal.
“I’m not saying… I’m not saying that you stole it,” said Ó Briain.
“No,” Tiernan cut in, “you’ve said it!”
Tiernan’s and Ó Briain’s chemistry was palpable to the viewer from the off, with the pair managing to discuss a vulnerable and serious topic with humour interspersed throughout the conversation.
One such example being Tiernan interrupting his friend as he began to tell his adoption story, when the Donegal comedian quipped “Have you told this story on The Late Late show?”, to which Ó Briain replied “No, I’m going to tell you different parts of it. I’m a professional”!
Dara Ó Briain on his biological mother
The most poignant moment of the interview came when the comedian, who is best known for hosting BBC’s Mock of the Week, told Tiernan his reasoning behind wanting to meet his biological mother.
“I felt an obligation to let this person know that it worked out okay”, said Ó Briain, in an interaction which left the show’s host stunned.
“I didn’t have a void and I didn’t think it was going to fulfil me, because I have a very strong relationship with my (adoptive) parents, as I will always refer to them”, the former Father Ted actor added.
The Tommy Tiernan Show
Season 7 | Episode 9 #TommyTiernanShowDara Ó Briain, Matthew Collins, Rebecca Tallon de Havilland, MC Fred Cooke with music from Iarla Ó Lionáird with Cormac McCarthy and Matthew Berrill
Stream now on @RTEplayer via https://t.co/EjFy7E9eit pic.twitter.com/BnVKKWKF9a
— Tommy Tiernan (@Tommedian) March 5, 2023
The incredibly difficult process of trying to research the whereabouts of an adopted child’s biological parents was also discussed, with Ó Briain highlighting the fact that as recently as 2001, Irish politicians were seeking to make it illegal for adopted children to receive their birth certs.
Thankfully, as the comedian noted, the Birth Information and Tracing Act was signed into law last year, providing every citizen with a “full and clear right of access to birth certificates, birth and early life information”.
Tiernan ended the interview by thanking Ó Briain for coming onto to show, with the latter joking “when does it get funny?!”
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