Satire accepted except when it’s too Mcsavage
IRELAND has a strong tradition of satire that dates back to its master, the great Jonathan Swift.
Swift said satire is the glass where beholders discover everybody’s face but their own – which is why so very few are offended by it.
The satirist who may be an exception to that rule is David Mcsavage, whose Spitting Image type caricatures and bumbling political characters ruffled the feathers of establishment figures.
No one wanted to be the grotesque subject of his ridicule – and as such, the comedian was censored and silenced well before cancelling was “a thing”.
So politicians beware Mcsavage is back.
The stand-up who satirises Irish politics like no other – because, as part of an Irish political dynasty, he understands it like no other – is back on Irish screens for a new show.
He previously brought us creations like the anti-pc barman Mick “the Bull” Daly, and the sado-masochistic radio call-in
talk show presenter “John” Duffy in his 2010s show The Savage Eye. Joe Duffy – who it was based on – wasn’t impressed. He called it “tasteless” at the time for allegedly making him out to be a “sexual pervert”. Broadcaster Joe also said: “The fact it’s actually produced by RTE and put out by RTE annoys me even more.”
A sketch on “wild nuns” – a parody of the Diet Coke ad – was the end of The Eye
on RTE. TV bosses deemed it so offensive it was “unbroadcastable” while Mcsavage said it was “dictatorial censorship”.
So praise be to Amazon Prime for bringing Mcsavage back to a primetime audience once more.
The comedian returns in a new standup show hosted by Graham Norton called Last One Laughing (LOL) Ireland, a comedy joke-off also featuring Jason Byrne and Aisling Bea.
Mcsavage – real name David Andrews – has the pedigree for satire. The son of Fianna Fail royalty, his father is David Andrews – a retired Fianna Fail TD and minister – while Mcsavage’s uncle is Niall Andrews, another Fianna Fail bigwig.
His cousin Chris Andrews is now a Sinn Fein TD. And he shares grandfather Todd Andrews with RTE’S biggest star, Ryan Tubridy.
As previously mentioned, Mcsavage follows in an impressive line of Irish political comedy.
When he arrived as a buccaneer on the comedy scene, he was a natural heir to Dermot Morgan and Scrap Saturday.
Morgan himself followed on from Hall’s Pictorial Weekly, in which Frank Hall sent up the pomposity of Ireland in the late 1970s.
Continuing the proud tradition today is the talented Mario Rosenstock and Oliver Callan.
But Mcsavage is the one that really seems to get under the skin of those in the corridors of power.
So his comeback should be interesting.
Mcsavage
– seems to get under the skin of those in power