Jarlath Regan (born 1980) is a
London-based Irish comedian and
podcaster.
A former
graphic design consultant,
he began his stand-up comedy career in 2003 and by the end of 2004 was a finalist for three major UK comedy newcomer awards:
So You Think You're Funny
So You Think You're Funny? (SYTYF) is an annual stand-up comedy competition for new acts. The competition began in 1988 in the United Kingdom.
The finals are held every August at The Gilded Balloon during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Past wi ...
,
BBC New Comedy Awards and the
Chortle Student Comedian of the Year. While attending
University College Dublin, he was auditor of the
Literary and Historical Society.
Shortly after this he began writing sketches, and material for other comedians and TV shows and established himself as a regular face on the Irish stand-up comedy circuit.
Regan has produced five one man shows for the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
, publishing 2 illustrated books, appearing as a regular contributor on radio and television while also performing at comedy festivals worldwide, he is recognised as the leader of a new generation of talented comics emerging from Ireland.
Stand-up shows
Regan began stand-up in the early 2000s.
In 2006, he performed as part of the first ever Irish gala at
Montreal Just for Laughs.
Regan's shows have included 2007's
Edinburgh Fringe show "Nobody Knows... Jarlath Regan", 2018/19's "Organ Freeman", which chronicled his experience as a
live-organ donor, and 2019/2020's "Notion's Eleven" which has been recorded in
Vicar Street, for DVD release in late 2020.
Television work
Regan wrote and performed sketches on Scope (2007), an Irish science television programme for teenagers and was a regular panellist during the 2008–2009 season of ''
The Panel''.
In 2010, Regan co-presented ''
The Rumour Room'', a teen entertainment series part of
TRTÉ on
RTÉ Two television. Some highlights from the series included his interview with
Chris Rock
Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker. Known for his work in comic film, television and stage, he has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards for best come ...
and
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of wh ...
, a series of comedy sketches in which Regan beat toddlers at physical tests of strength and an in-studio game called "The €21 Challenge" in which Regan forced a child to gamble their pocket money in an unusual game of blackjack.
''An Irishman Abroad''
In 2013, Regan began ''An Irishman Abroad'', a series of weekly
podcasts interviewing Irish people and people of Irish descent about their lives and gaining insights into the experiences of Irish people abroad, both successes and failures.
It won the
iTunes Store's award for "Best New Audio Podcast" for 2013.
Most of the guests of the more than 350 episodes have been celebrities from the worlds of comedy (
Dara Ó Briain,
Jason Byrne,
Graham Linehan), sport (
Sonia O'Sullivan,
Richard Hughes), as well as film and television (
Jack Reynor,
Aidan Gillen,
Paul Mescal).
Some of the guests are successful but not particularly famous, but have a story to tell. In 2014, ''
The Daily Telegraph'' included the podcast among the "best comedy podcasts", and Niall Byrne of the ''
Irish Independent
The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis.
The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines.
Traditionally a broadsheet new ...
'' included it in a list of "world's greatest podcasts".
In 2017,
Diaspora
A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...
website ''IrishCentral.com'' described the podcast as "some of the best conversations with Irish people you'll ever hear". Pat Carty of
Hot Press attributes this success to the non-reliance on a "parade of famous faces".
In 2020, Stevie Gallacher of
The Sunday Post
''The Sunday Post'' is a weekly newspaper published in Dundee, Scotland, by DC Thomson, and characterised by a mix of news, human interest stories and short features. The paper was founded in 1914 and has a wide circulation across Scotland, N ...
described the podcast as proof that the Irish have the "
gift of the gab
The Blarney Stone ( ga, Cloch na Blarnan) is a block of Carboniferous limestone built into the battlements of Blarney Castle, Blarney, about from Cork, Ireland. According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with ''the gift of the g ...
".
In 2014, Paul Campbell of ''
The Guardian''
's "Talking Sport" blog wrote of the
Jerry Flannery edition that "every single young person reading this should go download this podcast and listen to it every week for the rest of time".
A justice-themed spin-off series ''Irishman:Behind Bars'' was launched in 2019,
while a basketball-themed spin-off series, ''Inside Basketball'' and
US politics-themed series, ''Irishman In America'',
were launched in 2020. ''Irishman Running Abroad'' also launched in 2020.
Irishman Running Abroad With Sonia O’Sullivan: The Challenge & Explanation For Our New Series
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The podcast moved to Patreon in August 2020.
See also
* Auditors of the Literary and Historical Society (University College Dublin)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Regan, Jarlath
1980 births
Living people
Auditors of the Literary and Historical Society (University College Dublin)
Irish male comedians
Irish stand-up comedians
Irish expatriates in the United Kingdom
People from County Kildare
RTÉ television presenters
Irish podcasters
Date of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)