Eleanor Tiernan (born 1976) is an Irish stand-up comedian, writer, and actress.

Background

Tiernan is from the

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

side of

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ir ...

. She studied engineering in

University College Galway The University of Galway () is a public university, public research university located in the city of Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Ga ...

. She moved to London in 2015.

Career

Tiernan came to attention as a stand-up in the UK and Ireland. , she has performed at the

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

9 times. She was a panellist on '' The Panel''. She performed on

Stewart Lee Stewart Graham Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English comedian. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, and deadpan delivery. Lee began his career in 1989 and formed the comedy duo Lee and Herring with Richard ...

's '' Alternative Comedy Experience''. She wrote and performed sketches for three seasons of '' Irish Pictorial Weekly''. Her 2007 show was called "Help". Her 2014 show was called "Help The Frigid". Her 2015 stand-up tour was entitled "National Therapy Project". In 2022 she starred in ITV / Virgin Media Ireland's '' Holding''. As a writer, she has written for the Irish edition of the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', and been a regular columnist in ''

The Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country ...

'' she has contributed to '' Buffering''. She has also written for ITV2’s comedy game show CelebAbility hosted by fellow comedian, and popular voice of Love Island, Iain Stirling and co-wrote an episode of Buffering for ITV2. She has written and performed on the critically acclaimed political satire show Irish Pictorial Weekly (RTÉ) for multiple series and frequently writes opinion pieces for the Irish Times, and has written for The i. In 2020, Tiernan released a stand-up special ''Success Without a Sex Tape'' for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

, based on her 2018 Edinburgh show. Tiernan took part in Radio 4's ''

The News Quiz ''The News Quiz'' is a British topical panel game broadcast on BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in 1977. The show, created by John Lloyd from an idea by Nicholas Parsons, has seen several hosts, including Barry Norman, Barry Took, Simon Hogg ...

'' in April 2022. She performs her standup supporting Lucy Beaumont on tour.

Personal life

Inspired in part by

Phillip Schofield Phillip Bryan Schofield ( ; born 1 April 1962) is an English television presenter. He began his career as a Children's BBC continuity announcer from 1985 to 1987, and went on to present a wide range of high-profile programmes for the BBC and ...

, Tiernan

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

publicly as gay in her 40's. She is a cousin of another Irish stand-up

Tommy Tiernan Tommy Tiernan (; born 16 June 1969) is an Irish comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for his stand-up career, hosting '' The Tommy Tiernan Show'' (2017–present) and playing Gerry in the sitcom '' Derry Girls'' (2018–2022). Early l ...

. She has undergone

cognitive behavioral therapy Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that aims to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression, PTSD, and anxiety disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on challenging and chang ...

Television Credits

* ''Liffey Laughs'' (RTÉ) * ''The Panel'' (RTÉ) * ''Irish Pictorial Weekly'' (RTÉ) * ''Headwreckers'' (Channel 4) * ''Holding'' (ITV/Virgin Media Ireland)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiernan, Eleanor Irish television actresses Irish lesbian writers Irish lesbian actresses Irish women comedians Living people 1976 births Lesbian comedians Lesbian screenwriters 21st-century Irish screenwriters Irish women screenwriters Alumni of the University of Galway Actors from County Roscommon People from Athlone Irish LGBTQ comedians Irish LGBTQ screenwriters