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11th Nov 2017

Tommy Tiernan: “We have a gay Taoiseach, it’s not that long ago we weren’t allowed be left handed”

"What an amazing country."

Conor Heneghan

Tommy Tiernan

“That’s how far we’ve come.”

Comedian Tommy Tiernan railed against descriptions of Ireland as a conservative country in an interview on The Late Late Show on Friday night.

Speaking in the overall context of his religious beliefs, Tiernan suggested that the fact that Ireland now has a gay Taoiseach, when it’s not that long since being left-handed was frowned upon, is an illustration of how far Ireland has come.

“I’m very drawn to churches, I love them,” Tiernan told Ryan Tubridy.

“I would call myself a Catholic, I would call myself pro-choice, pro-transgender, pro-homosexual… what an amazing country.

“People think Ireland is so conservative. We have a gay Taoiseach, it’s not that long ago, here, we weren’t allowed be left handed. That’s how far we’ve come.”

Elaborating upon his religious beliefs, Tiernan explained how he’s been fulfilled by Catholicism of late.

“You have to choose a path that rewards you the most,” he said.

“Even though you know it’s an enchantment of sorts, you choose a path. For me, right now, this particular moment in time, it’s Catholicism.

“My heart gets so rewarded, I feel like it’s a bountiful, proper place for me.

Asked by Ryan Tubridy if he goes to mass every Sunday, Tiernan replied: “Once or twice a year (Laughs).

“I go to churches an awful lot and sit there and listen to rosaries and stuff like that.

“I would not be somebody who would ever tell anybody else how to live or anything like that; it’s hard enough being me and being alive. Everybody needs space and what you do with that space is up to you.

“This road of, for the moment now, of Catholicism… I wouldn’t define it as working, it’s soulful, it’s good.”

You can watch the Late Late Show in full on the RTÉ Player here.

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