Graham Norton says Irish people are funnier than Brits

Simon Kelly

You can claim our stars, but you can’t claim our sense of humour.

There’s no doubting that there is something unique and special about the Irish sense of humour – something that distinguishes our wee country from anywhere else in the world, and Graham Norton definitely agrees.

The Irish comedian and talk show host, who has lived overseas for half his life, says Irish people are “probably funnier than your average person in the UK.”

Norton, who hosts the upcoming Prime Video series Last One Laughing Ireland, has made the definitive claim in a recent interview, and who are we to argue?

Graham Norton says Irish people are funnier than Brits

Speaking to the Irish Independent, the 60-year-old reckons that the Irish version of Last One Laughing, an international game show consisting of 10 comedians trying to get each other to laugh, is one of the funniest versions he’s seen.

That could be, in his opinion, down to our love of storytelling.

“Irish people love telling stories and we love hearing them,” Norton said.

“In the UK, if someone’s going to tell a story, it has to have someone you know in it, or a celebrity.

“In Ireland, we’ll happily listen to a story — as long as it’s good — about people we’ve never met.”

“Also, I think your regular day-to-day Irish person — someone who isn’t a working comedian — is probably funnier than your average person in the UK.”

15+ Irish comedians all telling jokes – but nobody is allowed laugh or smile! What could go wrong? ??❌

LOL: Last One Laughing Ireland, launches Friday 19th January on Prime Video – @PrimeVideoUK #LOLIR pic.twitter.com/pKbTkkfMnz

— JOE.ie (@JOEdotie) January 13, 2024

LOL: Last One Laughing, which involves big names in Irish comedy including Amy Huberman, Jason Byrne and Aisling Bea, doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to appealing to a global audience, according to the Cork man.

“I love how Irish it is,” he said. “You kind of think, ‘Oh, it’s Amazon. They’ll have an eye on the international market — they’re spending all this money. But, actually, they let us make such an Irish show.

“All the cameos are deep-dive Irish that only an Irish audience could get. There’s a nod, in the little bits of voiceover that I’ve done, to try to explain some of it. ”

Last One Laughing: Ireland arrives on Prime Video on Friday, January 19.

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