Jake O’Kane (born 12 March 1961) is a

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

-based

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehear ...

, and a resident compère of the

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

comedy club, "The Empire Laughs Back" at The Empire Music Hall in Belfast. O'Kane has toured on the comedy circuit, and has also appeared at clubs including

The Stand ''The Stand'' is an epic post-apocalyptic dark fantasy novel written by American author Stephen King and first published in 1978 by Doubleday. The plot centers on a deadly pandemic of weaponized influenza and its aftermath, in which some of ...

, Jongleurs and

The Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy ...

. He hosted and performed on the

BBC Northern Ireland BBC Northern Ireland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. BBC Northern Ireland is one of the four BB ...

stand up television show ''One Night Stand'', and was a resident panellist on the show '' The Blame Game'' on both TV and radio from 2005 to 2021. In addition to his comedy, O'Kane also runs an off licence shop in North Belfast.

Personal life

O'Kane lives in North Belfast with his wife and 2 children. He was a champion power-lifter in his youth. O'Kane suffers from

coeliac disease Coeliac disease (British English) or celiac disease (American English) is a long-term autoimmune disorder, primarily affecting the small intestine. Patients develop intolerance to gluten, which is present in foods such as wheat, rye, spelt ...

, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) which he was recently diagnosed with. He is

teetotal Teetotalism is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or said to be ...

. His father, Jim O'Kane, was a Republican Labour councillor on

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council () is the Local government in Northern Ireland, local authority with responsibility for part of Belfast, the largest city of Northern Ireland. The council serves an estimated population of (), the largest of any district c ...

and was interned in 1971 as part of

Operation Demetrius Operation Demetrius was a British Army operation in Northern Ireland on 9–10 August 1971, during the Troubles. It involved the mass arrest and internment (imprisonment without trial) of people suspected of being involved with the Provisiona ...

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Okane, Jake Living people Male comedians from Northern Ireland Stand-up comedians from Northern Ireland Satirists from Northern Ireland Comedians from Belfast 1961 births Male actors from Belfast 20th-century male actors from Northern Ireland 21st-century male actors from Northern Ireland People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder