Tommy Tiernan

Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling, October 18; Dundee Rep, October 20

Having recently entered his 50s, Tommy Tiernan is in reflective mood about stand-up. His career has been swathed in plaudits and prizes (he won the prestigious newbie award So You Think You’re Funny in 1996 before scooping the biggest comedy gong of them all, the Perrier, two years later), but even the best can suffer self-doubt.

“I know when I arrive at moments of despair thinking, ‘what else can I do?’ they’re always followed by a knowledge that this is the right thing to be doing because I keep returning to stand-up to see what’s possible,” he says.

The Irish comic’s inspiration often comes from immersing himself in other sources, whether it’s listening to a 1950s recording of Allen Ginsberg reading from Howl in a San Francisco cafe or closely watching non-mainstream comics such as Dylan Moran, Maria Bamford or Doug Stanhope.

“I went to see Neil Young recently and I found that very inspiring in terms of what I thought he was trying to do,” he says.

“He had this native American wooden statue on the stage while playing these long, heavy, industrial guitar riffs. It seems that he’s saying ‘I’m white and north American but I can use that to access some of the energy and soul of the land’.

“Although in terms of appearance, he’s the opposite of what a native American might be, the attitude is the same. I loved that and wondered whether that could have a relevance in stand-up.”

Ever the innovative comedian, Tommy has never been one for searching out the easy route.

A few years ago, he performed a run of shows that were 100% improvised, disciplining himself not to fall back on prepared material, but just to wait for the muse to strike.

Sometimes he had to wait longer than was comfortable for himself and the crowd. He also has a TV chat show back home in which neither he nor the audience are aware of the guests’ identity until they walked out.

In the last couple of years, he’s made his face more widely known by playing Da Gerry in Channel 4’s hugely successful Derry Girls.

And now he’s on tour with Paddy Crazy Horse, a typically robust show from this preacher-like stand-up which reflects on modern society and culture but with not a cliché in sight.

“The great thing about stand-up is that there is an expected level, you can’t just walk on and be self-indulgent; the great necessity in stand-up is that the audience has to be laughing,” he says.

“But if you can’t be funny, at least be compelling.”

Luckily for us, Tommy Tiernan happens to be both.

Tommy Tiernan is on his way to Stirling and Dundee.