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LIKE EVERY HOUSE in Ireland in the 90’s, there were at least a couple of VHS recordings of D’Unbelievables lurking around in old cabinets, ready to be ‘thrown on for a few minutes’ any time there was deemed to be ‘nothing on the telly’.
The intention would be to sit down, watch a sketch or two and then carry on with whatever needed doing around the place, while the comforting soundscape continued in the background.
Kenny playing 'Mother Bridie', one of four family characters he played in the new Pat the Baker TV commercials, 2005. Rolling News
Rolling News
But of course, that never happened. One by one, family members were lured in, maybe by shouts of ‘I won’t says I, I’m fine’ or ‘D’at’s right’, until eventually, everyone was gathered on the sofa, watching the madness on display in its entirety until the end.
That was the beauty of the D’Unbelievables. That ability to draw you in. To make you laugh from that place in your belly that you sometimes forget is there. From the simplest of set ups; a child buying sweets, a hurling coach giving a pep talk, coughing and conversation at the back of the church; the precision of the characterisations and the celebration of rural culture that appealed to young and old, was something we had never seen before.
One of Jon's characters, Mr. TULL McADOO In the Constituency of Tourmadeedy with his wife Betty (Mary McEvoy). Rolling News
Rolling News
In our house we had grown up on a diet of Dick Emery, Mr Bean, Fawlty Towers and now here were two of our own. The power of it cannot be underestimated. Jon Kenny and Pat Shortt found new ways for us to laugh at ourselves. The way they broke the fourth wall and transformed audience members into fully fledged characters integral to the sketch, felt revolutionary, like an act of rebellion. They may not have been the first ones to ever do it, but they were the first ones like us to do it.
A huge loss, too young
Jon Kenny was laid to rest this week in his beloved Limerick. He leaves behind a grieving family, friends and colleagues who clearly adored him and a trail of characters and catchphrases that cement his status as a legitimate Irish comedy icon.
It’s always tricky to pinpoint where something creative begins, who influences who and how the next generation of comics are conceived, but there’s surely a line that can be drawn from D’Unbelievables to Tommy Tiernan, The Two Johnnies, and beyond, with plenty of offshoots in between. When D’unbelievables stopped touring in 2000, Jon went on to further great work throughout his career, often coinciding with challenging health issues which he faced with his trademark courage, humour and grace.
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Jon Kenny played a Eurovision host in Father Ted. Hat Trick Productions
Hat Trick Productions
A Father Ted appearance as a bumbling Eurovision host who can turn on the charm for the cameras will surely go down as some of his finest work, as well as long-running tours of The Matchmaker co-starring Mary McAvoy and in more recent years Norma Sheahan, and most recently his unforgettable role in The Banshees of Inisherin which saw him reunited with his D’Unbelievables co-star once again.
“Jon had no time for notions”, Norma Sheahan told me by phone this week. She worked with him on several tours of The Matchmaker by John B. Keane, a role which expertly showcased his devilment and wit and for which he was rightly beloved.
“He would put his car keys in his pocket at the interval and get straight on the road after the curtain call. It didn’t matter where we were or how long it would take him, he wanted to get home and have a glass of wine or a cup of tea with his beloved wife Margy”.
It’s a theme that runs through the anecdotes of anyone who ever worked with him. A love of family and a no-nonsense approach to getting the job done. “Oh yeah, he wasn’t much into rehearsing, laughs Sheahan, “he preferred to keep it loose and get on with it”.
High energy acts
Kevin Gildea, himself a stalwart of early 90’s comedy in Ireland, remembers gigging with Jon in Limerick many moons ago. “He was with Pat, but I don’t know if they were officially the D’unbelievables at this point”. Kevin was performing with the sketch group Mr Trellis, alongside Ardal O’Hanlon and Barry Murphy. “It was a late gig for the students’ union I think, basically a really rowdy crowd who didn’t pay attention to us at all”.
With the gig rumbling on and the crowd getting more and more rambunctious, it was then the turn of Jon and Pat. “Pat played a lot of saxophone in those days and the gig was out of control at this point”, continues Gildea, “But then I remember he started playing this beautiful version of Summertime and Jon started miming all these summery things, swimming, going to the beach and so on, it was hilarious”.
The late Jon Kenny with his D'Unbelievables co-star Pat Shortt at a Late Late Show tribute to Gay Byrne.
It wasn’t long before the crowd took notice. “This rowdy bunch of chaotic students were completely transfixed. There was complete silence as the whole crowd paid attention. It was one of the funniest and most beautiful things I’ve ever seen”, finishes Gildea.
It conjures up a spark of creative madness that never seemed to leave Jon. At comedy clubs and venues throughout the country this week, standing ovations and applause were freely given in honour of a man who lit up Irish stages and screens for over two decades.
On announcing his passing, his family said: “Jon grabbed life and shook it as hard as he could, getting every ounce of fun, madness, and love from it”. There are comics up and down the country who he has directly inspired to do the same.
Ar dheis De go raibh a anam.
Sharon Mannion is the resident host of The Comedy Cellar, Ireland’s longest running comedy club, Wednesday 8 pm at the International on Wicklow St in Dublin. Her solo show ‘Sharondipity’ continues its nationwide run in early 2025. SharonMannionComedy.com, Insta: @sharonmannioncomedy.
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@Raymond Dennehy: came straight to the comments for this. Like is there literally no one else who could join in debates so they could see what they’re missing out on. And knky have 2 parties is wild.
@Raymond Dennehy: I’m American and I agree 100% with this. I thought they were both terrible choices then and even worse now. I know how I’m voting in November but there are so many better candidates on both sides.
@Ray Dunne: Sounds like an English football Commentary getting the excuses ready before the match. Do ye think that ye might riot in the Donbas this time instead of D.C. All of Russia will flee to Siberia.
@Derek O Gorman:I live in NY. Originally from Ireland. I used to think that way too.. Until 2020, I realized he was right the whole time. It was then I woke up.
@Dave Harris: no, no. Lets be clear, this is not about ‘policy’ OR political difference, it’s soley about Trumps ego and how entertaining he can be on a stage, there is much more in common here with a sporting occasions or reality TV than say ‘trying to make society better’ or some such rubbi$h
@Colm O’ Shea:
That’s true,and it’s a sad reflection of America and it’s broken electoral system that these two are the choices,but nevertheless Biden is clearly a wreck, way past his sell by date,at least Trump can string a coherent sentence together without the aid of a teleprompter!
@Jonn: trump appears to have severe mental health issues. His fondling and assaults on women, fraud. The list goes on. Oh and I forgot to mention a wannabe dictator
@johnabc:
Maybe try listening to Biden,on one of his increasingly rare public outings..he makes Trump sound like Martin Luther King at the top of his game!
@brian madden:
I’d have thought the term ‘dictator’ would apply more to the politician weaponising a hugely corrupt legal system, using dubious lawfare to hobble your opponent and keep them tied up in court rather than out campaigning? When are we going to see Biden in court for his families corrupt and very lucrative Ukrainian shenanigans?
@Mary.E.:
No, Mary,you just missed it,maybe if you widen your news sources beyond RTE,BBC and CNN you might have more luck.You could start by looking into how Hunter Biden,a man whose main area of expertise is hoovering exotic powders up his nose came to be a director of Burisma,a Ukrainian gas exploration company?
Joe Biden is the President,not his son and has not been involved.
Trump has given millions upon millions of dollars to all of his family for jobs that dont exist.
His son in law colluded with Putin.
They are all as bad as the old man.
@Jonn: Do you think God will forgive Trump for all the Commandments he has broken and will Joe pardon him in 2025. Closer to home, maybe SF should stop calling themselves Republicans.
@Jonn: I’d say. Trump is hoovering a lot more up his big Trumpet Hunter is not running for president so what does that matter. You don’t think Trumps oinky kids are angels do you.
@Mr G Pickett: the point that Trump never went into war was not because he’s some great lover of peace. It was just a case of timing.
If there was a war that would either stroke his vinal ego or financially enrich himself or family
Politics is so polarised by the media and the candidates themselves. Reasoning is the the other side is gone and now 1/3 of Americans agree that violence is a solution to getting your political gains . Washington DC is modelled on Rome . It looks like the fall of the republic
Americans spend less on food as a percentage of consumer purchases than anyone else on Earth; they pay less for petrol than everyone but Indonesians, Russians, Chinese and Saudis for their gigantic, fuel-guzzling vehicles; inflation in the US peaked at 9% in 2022, while inflation in the euro area peaked at 10.6%; and violent crime in the US plummeted in the first months of 2024 – although Trump’s 34 felony convictions have surely sent the crime rate of ex-presidents to all-time highs. But as most of us know, trying to change someone’s perception with facts is a relatively pointless endeavour. What’s more worth talking about is that so many of the far right’s supporters claim to be “patriots”, while in reality hating almost everything about what their countries really are.
@Jack Hayes:
Is this the ‘you’ve never had it so good’ argument? Have you been inhaling petrol fumes,Jack? Maybe you should check out some of the jaw dropping evidence of US inner cities looking like something out of a zombie apocalypse scenario, with dead eyed lost souls shuffling past boarded up shops and restaurants. The country that spends billions financing proxy wars and genocides around the world is becoming a decrepit 3rd world dump on its own streets!
@Jonn: Trump is not going to fix it with his looper policies on stopping income taxes and bringing in100% tariffs on imported goods. Trump is so hard of thinking he cannot understand that tariffs are paid by American consumers. He thinks the other countries exporting to America pay them
@Jack Hayes: maybe you should come to America and have a look for yourself..
I think it’s funny how people from other countries use the term far right when describing somewhat conservative people. Yet the far left extremists have been shoving pronouns and trans down your throat all over the EU.. And then you celebrate it.. Lol. But France, UK, Argentina, Canada and the US are all starting to wake up. Maybe it’s time for you too?
@Seamus Balfe: No-one is shoving anything down your conservative throat. You people just spread hate, bile, and lies constantly. You take offence to the existence of people different to you from your skin colour to sexuality or gender. Your politics has nothing to offer the world but hate and bigotry. Right wingers have to use hate to spread their vile message yet have zero proposals to the everyday issues affecting their countries. Its always blame the immigrants, or minorities, or them over there.
@John D Doe: that’s all he stands for. Belittling those he thinks are less worth than him .Trump just likes the sound of his own slur . He has no manners it’s all about him
These debates are absolute bolox. Republicans will say Trump won. Dems will say Biden won, and everyome will vote the same way they intended to beforehand. They achieve nothing.
Mullingar court today, yet another woman damaged physically by a “man”, yet another suspended sentence. The wigs are SO totally removed from normal, everyday life. On and on it goes. Sad. They haven’t learned anything from the adventures of that great theorist, odonnell of Limerick.
Both too old for the job. Maybe the US should adopt the Roman Catholic Churches way of doing things!!! You can’t be elected unless you are under 70 years of age. What both parties need is new blood, preferably under 50 years of age. They should also have to pass physical and mental health screening.
I understand that Americans want to see how both men are able to perform in a debate, but there isn’t going to be much real substance discussed. Would have been better just to let both candidates lay out their cases during their speeches at their party’s national conventions. Biden looks frailer each year. Trump is increasingly making obvious mistakes and has clearly physically aged in the last two years, while showed marked mental decline (pick a public appearance by him at random for proof of this).
It’s a rigged game. Your leaders are selected not elected. You are not free, you were never free and you will never be free.
The illusion of choice is a powerful one. Too many bad actors in play and not enough of the good guys.
It would make for great viewing if it degenerated into a wrestling match similar to the one between President Ronald Reagan and Konstantin Chernenko, then Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, in the 80s Frankie Goes To Hollywood video for “Two Tribes”…
Mute Mayo seem to be the football equivalent of Waterfo
Favourite Mayo seem to be the football equivalent of Waterfo
Report
Jun 27th 2024, 10:46 PM
What we know ahead of tonight’s debate is that neither of these guys be it due to age infirmity or just being a danger to society neither should have the chance to lead anything. Those days are long past them.
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