Colin Mochrie spent seven years as a regular on Whose Line Is It Anyway? and remained a cast member until the show's end in 1998. After the British version of the show ended its run, Mochrie joined the American version of Whose Line hosted by Drew Carey on ABC. Mochrie appeared on every episode from its debut in August 1998 to its finale in 2006. Since 2002, Mochrie and Brad Sherwood have intermittently toured North America as a two-man stage show called "An Evening with Colin and Brad," playing primarily in small theatre venues. A DVD of their performances, "Colin & Brad: Two Man Group" was released on March 8, 2011. I met up with Colin at the Galway Vodafone Comedy Carnival just after his show with The Steve Frost Improv Allstars and before his show with Brad Sherwood. Singer, songwriter, activist, artist—Music as a means of healing is an idea that permeates and informs most of Emily Cavanagh’s life. A working musician in New York City, Cavanagh has recorded three records to date and played with some of the city’s finest musicians. Cavanagh, a graduate of New York University, has spent nearly ten years combining two passions-music and service, traveling and playing music, while helping underserved and homeless young adults find their voice through the arts. I saw her perform in Whelan's and met up for a chat with her in The Central Hotel in Dublin where we were almost removed for being a fire hazard mid chat.

Barry Glendenning is a sports journalist who holds the position of deputy sports editor on the guardian.co.uk website run by the UK newspaper The Guardian He is perhaps best known for his work on the Guardian's football podcast Football Weekly hosted by James Richardson. He also regularly contributes to the site's satirical daily email service, The Fiver. He is often found at the helm of the Guardian Unlimited "minute by minute reports", which feature live text coverage of Premier League and Champions League games and internationals and he co-hosts with Max Rushden on Talksport Radio. Back in the day he wrote for Hot Press in Dublin covering the burgeoning alternative comedy scene and spent a while as a stand up comedian himself, moving to London to further his career but eventually opting to ditch stand up comedy to remain as a full time journalist. I met up with him on a chilly Sunday morning near Waterloo Bridge just after he had come of air with Talksport Radio.

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience with Karl Spain and Kevin McGahern and the proceeds from it went to the My Lovely Horse Rescue charity. Karl Spain was born in Limerick. He has appeared on RTE in the reality show Karl Spain Wants A Woman on which he met his now long term girlfriend Rachel O'Keefe. He recently appeared on Operation Transformation on which he parted with two stone and currently writes and performs on Republic Of Telly. He also writes stand up material for Al Porter. He is constantly gigging both in Ireland and abroad from places like Dubai to somewhere else exotic beginning with D. Kevin McGahern is the presenter on Republic of Telly and Kevin McGahern's America. He appeared in Hardy Bucks as Sim Card and was the man behind the YouTube spoof documentary sensation "the who man slipped on the ice" even getting a favourable mention from Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker. He has put Gowna in Cavan on the map (not literally, that was probably done by a cartographer) and was subject of the headline in the Longford Leader, " Gowna comic lands top RTE comedy job"

Ralph Rolle is the drummer with Nile Rodger's Chic. I met him in the Central Hotel in Dublin for a chat last September when he was over to perform and do a cooking demonstration at the Electric Picnic music festival because not only is Ralph a drummer, he is also a cook. He is a cooker of cookies to be precise; Soul Cookies to be even more precise. Ralph has drummed with Prince, Al Green, Chaka Khan, Sting and Lady Gaga to name but a few but he still takes time out to teach and give advice to young up and coming musicians. I saw him do a drum clinic at BIMM last week and he gave some sound advice about how to make it in this business called "Show". I took a lot from listening to and hanging out with this wonderful warm hearted man. Thank you to Anne McCoy for putting us in touch. Check out Ralph at www.ralphrolle.com

Dublin born Gerard Walsh has directed one of the most exciting independent Irish films coming out this year with his second feature second feature South. South tells the story of a young man, named Tom, who is struggling with his father’s recent passing. After finding a photograph of his estranged mother, he decides to seek out the only family he has left. This is his second feature after "A Day Like Today" and many shorts including "Is This It?". He isn't one to sit around waiting for funding if he has an idea. He just goes out and shoots it. His advice to young film makers, "Don’t wait around for money, build an idea that you can produce with the means that are available to you. If your uncle owns an ice cream van, make a film about an ice cream man. That being said, if he owns an ice cream van then your actors and crew would be sorted for a bit of food, that’s two problems solved in one go" .

I heard Grammy nominated guitarist Jimmy Smyth was playing up in JJ Smyth’s the venue on Aungier St and popped up to see him. I didn’t realise he was playing with the legend Mary Coughlan and his opening act was Karrie. Jimmy dropped me her CD and I listened to it in the car on the way home. I had never heard of Karrie but was immediately mesmerised by her voice and the quality of the songs. I met her for a chat and a couple of songs out in Jimmy’s gaff. Karrie is a farmer and horse breaker. She is a reluctant performer but an inspired song writer and singer. With songs of the quality of Burt Bacharach and a voice reminiscent of Karen Carpenter you find yourself thinking you’re listening some lost classic. Her album Perpetual Motion is out now. I’ve already passed my copy onto someone else so I should probably buy a few more. On the podcast she plays an acoustic version of ‘This Time’ the first single which has been playlisted on RTE and BBC NI.

I met Maureen Langan at The Best of Irish show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She was performing a piece from her show Daughter of a Garbage Man. Maureen grew up with an Irish immigrant mother, garbage man father, and five siblings in Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey, where there is no lake. She has performed as a stand-up all over the US, Canada, and the UK. Maureen was a finalist in the San Francisco Comedy Competition, the first woman since Ellen DeGeneres to place in the top three. She is an award-winning broadcast journalist who has hosted her own national TV and radio shows. Darren Walsh came to see my Edinburgh show and said he liked it which I found hard to believe until he told me his father was from Mayo and his mother was from Crumlin. I went to see his show S'pun the following night and loved it. As the title suggests Darren is committed to punning although he also uses props and animation. Having worked as an illustrator, animator and short-film maker, life-long Monty Python nerd and official giant, Darren Walsh decided to try his hand at Stand-up in 2010, using props and strange sound effects he’d made in his bedroom. Singing in an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice and playing on a miniature keyboard (or Arnieoke), he would fill the gaps in between songs with a 1-liner here and there. This opened the floodgates and 6 years on Darren has written 3192 more.

B. Dolan is an American rapper, spoken word artist, activist, screenwriter and composer based in Providence, Rhode Island. His latest album is Kill The Wolf. His other albums are The Failure, Fallen House, Sunken City and the live album We Show Up. His three mix-tapes are House Of Bees Vol 1,2 and 3. I discovered him and his music through the Scroobius Pip podcast Distraction Pieces. When I was performing at the Edinburgh Fringe I realised B was performing a spoken word show with fellow Rhode Island rapper Sage Francis who is also the man behind Strange Famous Records. Their show was so good I went twice the second time bringing my two kids. Paul Currie is a Belfast comedian with a very physical and visual style. I first saw him at the Forbidden Fruit festival in Dublin and have been a fan ever since. I saw him this year at Glastonbury on an outdoor stage and like B Dolan I went to see him twice at the Edinburgh Fringe bringing my kids the second time. He really is a highly original genius of a comedian who is carving out a career that is off the beaten path. I love this man.

Pat O'Mahony has been a radio producer on RTE for the likes of Liveline, Mooney, Late Debate and The Ryan Tubridy Show and has produced 5 documentaries for the excellent RTE Documentary On One series including The Forgotten Visit about president Richard Nixon's visit to Ireland and A Silver Lining about emigration and The Stockholm Gaels a gaelic football club in.....well somewhere in Sweden. (They can both be found on the Documentary On One podcast.) He also co produced and hosted You Couldn't Make It Up a 10 part weekly radio comedy news panel show for Newstalk in 2014 for which I contributed as a panelist as well. He also directed his first TV documentary Sleep With Me for Channel 4. Many people will also remember him for his time co-presenting RTE's Head To Toe a weekly fashion show. Myself and Pat have a shared experience in that we were attacked and beaten up together one night as we walked home from town and it was a strange coincidence that when I chatted to Pat he was sporting a black eye from another unfortunate encounter in town

I became aware of Barry Crimmins from watching the documentary Call Me Lucky directed by Bobcat Goldthwaite on Netflix and his interview on Marc Maron's podcast. I was amazed that I got a chance to interview him for my podcast with the help my friend Bruce Egar in New York ahead of his shows here in the Sugar Club in Dublin and in Leicester Square, London. Crimmins' satirical writing and comedy routines have focused through the years on the need for political and social change. In the 1990s, in a more serious vein, he led a crusade against images of child abuse on the Internet, calling for police investigation of ISPs. Crimmins received the "Peace Leadership Award" from Boston Mobilization for Survival, and was honored by Community Works with the "Artist for Social Change Award" for his years of activism. On June 4, 2016, Barry Crimmins shot a special in Lawrence, Kansas for Louis C.K.'s Pig Newton Productions

I interviewed Jimmy Smyth in front of a live audience in Boyles Bar in Slane. I first saw Jimmy on television when I was a young fella growing up in Meath and he was playing and singing with the Bogey Boys. You could tell that he was more accomplished than the average punk musician of the time. I couldn't believe it when I found out he came from just down the road in Navan. That was very inspirational for me. Since then he has recorded and played with Roger Daltrey, Curtis Stigers, Chaka Khan, Lisa Stansfield, Van Morrison and Reba McEntire. Jimmy has been Musical Director for RTE TV shows, and regularly performs with the RTE Concert Orchestra, the RTESO, The Ulster Orchestra and many others. He’s still very much in demand for touring and recording, and when not on the road, can regularly be seen playing rock and roots or jazz rock with his fusion band, Spectrum.

Newcastle comedian Dave Johns is the lead actor in Ken Loach's latest film I, Daniel Blake which won the Palm D'Or at Cannes Film Festival this year. He has appeared on Never Mind The Buzzcocks, 8 out of 10 Cats and on Harry Hill as God. With Eoin O' Neill he adapted Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption for the stage for the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin. They also rewrote it for a smaller cast for a rerun at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I was cast in a role for that version of The Shawshank and during that run I shared a pokey little flat for a month with him and my two children and for a while Dave's daughter also. Needless to say we got to know each other quite well during that period. It wasn't all fun and games but I grew to really care for the man, still do and always will.

Alison Spittle was a contestant in one of those comedy talent contests I hosted that we all enter when we are starting out but bear no resemblance to what real life comedy performing is like. It was called The Toilet Duck Awards, a reference to Father Ted, and had comedians go head to head doing 3 minutes each; based on audience applause one of them went through to the next round. I can't remember who won and Alison was eliminated in the first round which goes to show how pointless these competitions are. Three minutes would never be enough for Alison as she paints a hilarious picture of the struggles of feeling like an outsider growing up in Mullingar. She has an ability to make you feel empathy and laugh at the same time. She is someone who has fallen in love with the art of performing stand up as opposed to those who see it as a stepping stone to some other career. She just has to open her mouth and the stories come thick and fast.

I first heard of Feather through a Nialler9 tweet. He tweeted a link to a song called "Pit" by Ben Bix and Feather and I completely loved it. I was really interested in interviewing her and coincidentally I bumped into her at the launch of the Electric Picnic and had one of those awkward moments where you go a bit over the top praising someone to their face and embarrassing them. I contacted her on Facebook but nothing happened. So then I heard the single "Like No Other" and decided to give it another go and luckily this time we sorted out a time and place for an interview (btw if you Google "Feather - single" you will end up looking at duvets). In the meantime I saw Feather perform at Africa Day in Phoenix Park. I was totally amazed and I'm sure you will be too once you listen to this podcast..

Gearoid Farrelly is a vastly experienced comedian on radio, TV and the live circuit so I was surprised to hear that he has only gone professional in the last year! He has garnered rave reviews from his solo Edinburgh show "Turbulence" and has toured with Sarah Millican and wait for it .....Joan Rivers! I started listening to his podcast Fascinated recently and particularly loved his chat with Mike Stock of pop writers/producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman. He popped into the studio one sunny afternoon to chat about growing up in Finglas (really Glasnevin) being obsessed with pop music and hanging out with Joan Rivers. Can we talk?

I first gigged with Neil Delamare in a little pub in the middle of nowhere up north. I remember it was a disaster of a gig and I felt embarrassed as he had been asking for a support slot for ages and eventually I relented and we drove for two and a half hours to be greeted with a bunch of disinterested yobbos. I also remember he was so into the business of comedy that he peppered me with questions all the way to and from the gig and was so professional that he had a prepared lunch including a banana with him. Within a year he was getting regular slots on The Panel and was becoming a household name and had probably moved from bananas to more exotic fruits like kiwis or satsumas. Needless to say he has gone on to bigger things and has hosted a bunch of TV shows such as The Republic of Telly, Neil Delamare's Just For Laughs, There's Something About Patrick and Eureka! At this stage he must have experimented with a pomegranate.

The third live Pod-a-Rooney was one to remember. Jason Byrne took time off his busy schedule to drop in to the Stag's Head and regale us with stories of his time working with PJ Gallagher in a sound and lighting hire company built over an ancient Viking well, dislocating his arm in Australia and robbing a box of Flakes in the Isle of Man when he was a child. Dean Gurrie played a couple of songs from his forthcoming album and the audience enjoyed the evening while sipping on complimentary Jack Cody's Hibernicus ales. What's not to like? Everybody, one, two, three....Hibernicus!

Ann Skelly is a young up and coming actress currently starring as a Rachel Reid in Red Rock the fifteen year old that has a relationship with a friend’s Dad. She is a 19 year old with a lot of opinions on the drawbacks of the educational system in Ireland and the benefits of home or self education. I loved chatting with her. She is spirited, witty, clever and well just a great person to have a chat with. She has an enthusiasm for the craft of acting that I’m sure will serve her well. She has also played a part in the RTE drama Rebellion and I hope we see her in lots more diverse roles in the future. She plays soccer too. In short, Ann Skelly is totes amaze balls.

Christiane O'Mahony is a harpist, comedienne, actor and playwright (why isn't "playwright" spelt "playwrite"?) She uses the harp as part of her stand up and is very funny with it. Y'know when someone brings a harp or indeed any instrument onstage at a comedy gig there are the begrudging purists who think, "stand-up is about one person onstage talking into a mic". Well that's a load of bollocks. If you're funny you're funny, and Christiane is funny with or without the harp. She is multi-talented and great craic to be around and is the only person I know of who's parents paid someone to try and talk her out of a life in show business. She is currently touring with her own play "Women of The Rising" so has taken a break from stand up but hopefully she will be back in the clubs soon. I really enjoyed talking to her and could have nattered away for another hour or two. I just realised we never mentioned Harpo Marx!

On Wednesday March 30th I recorded my second live podcast upstairs in the Stags Head and the bill was chock-a-block with talented artistes. First up was the band Cronin with a moving version of The Wedding Present song Octopussy. Cronin are an indie band from Leeds/Mullingar/Drumlish who have recorded with Shane MacGowan. Actress/comedian and star of RTE's Bridget and Eamonn, Sharon Mannion talked about Roscommon, learning to embrace being funny and trombones. Writer/comedian Paul Tylak talked about wanting to be lead singer in a band and our incredible first meeting involving water pistols. All three of us then improvised our take on a possible 2016 Rising. Cronin played their song In Loneliness Lives Love and David McSavage joined the band to improvise what sounded like an undiscovered Velvet Underground song about Solpadeine. We finished with a version of (A Message To You) Rudy. And that was our second live Pod-a-Rooney, tadaa!

One night upstairs in the International Bar Jason Byrne took to the stage and brought along a side kick or wing man. It was PJ Gallagher. He barely said a word and Jason started putting elastic bands on his head. I can't remember what reason he gave the audience for doing this or if he gave any reason at all but it was the funniest thing I'd ever seen live onstage. It wasn't making a point or being clever. It was just funny the way Harpo Marx or Tommy Cooper is funny. PJ just has natural funny bones. This was years before the invention of Naked Camera characters like Jake Stevens or The Dirty Auld Wan which catapulted PJ into the public consciousness. He always wanted to just do stupid stuff just for the hell of it even back when he worked in a sound and lighting warehouse with Jason Byrne. At a time when it seems like a lot of up and coming comedians have their future careers mapped out on an Excel spreadsheet for that alone he should be applauded.

I first came into contact with Paul Woodfull when he was ents officer in NCAD and I was in a band called Guernica. Well I suppose if you are in a band named after a Picasso painting then the chances are you'll get booked in the art college. I then saw him perform as lead singer of the U2 parody band The Joshua Trio. At a time when it felt like sacrilege to say a bad word about U2 in Ireland it was a breath of fresh air to see Paul's interpretation of Bono as some kind of messianic preacher. Arthur Mathews was drummer in The Trio and it was at these gigs that the character Father Ted was born. Paul, Arthur and Graham Linehan also performed some sketches in The Comedy Cellar. He has various performance alter-egos, including DJ Gary on RTE radio, cabaret singer Tony St James and republican balladeer Ding Dong Denny O’Reilly. He has written and performed on RTE's Stew, Val Falvey and Pictorial Weekly and has co-written the stage musical I-Keano. He also created and performed in the bands Abbaesque and The Glam Tarts. Myself and Paul have recently released the song The Craic We Had the Day We Died For Ireland.

I stayed with Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan in their flat in Kilburn just around the time when Father Ted was first being shot. Indeed I was at the recording of the episode with Gemma Craven in it "And God Created Women". So I suppose I was lucky to have met him before the explosion of Father Ted because otherwise I would have been too nervous to even say hello. Since meeting me and possibly because of that he has gone on to write on the Fast Show, Big Train and Brass Eye with Graham Linehan and without Graham he wrote on the second series of Big Train, the series Hippies and more recently Toast with Matt Berry. He also acted on Father Ted and I'm Alan Partridge and was part of the spoof U2 tribute band The Joshua Trio with Paul Woodfull. He worked again with Paul on the hit musical I Keano and has written the novel Well Remembered Days. He is a Drogheda United fan.

It's my first live PodaRooney! It was a cold dark winter evening all of three weeks ago in a cosy little room upstairs in The Stags Head that PodaRooney history was made. I was as sick as a dog from one of those inevitable flus that you have to get every Irish winter when your body relents to the constant drizzly dampness and says, "I'm fed up fighting. Go on, just do whatever you have to do and get it over with". I dragged myself from my sick bed and met up with Thomas Walsh (Duckworth Lewis Method, Pugwash) and actor John Connors (Love Hate, Cardboard Gangsters) to rip into a few local heroes and international icons in front of a small but appreciative audience. We also sang a couple of songs. A typical night out in a Dublin pub really.

As a comedian Joanne McNally is brand spanking new. Just out of the comedy womb she is already doing back flips never mind walking. Having taken over from Jennifer Maguire on Republic Of Telly she has been catapulted into the public eye. I was not aware of any of this when I met her first in The International Bar where she was compering for the first time ever. She did a great job as she has no fear of interacting with the audience. In fact it's her stock in trade. As it happens two weeks later I was sharing a bill with her as she made her Laughter Lounge debut. Again she took to it like a duck to water. Before embarking on her stand up career she worked in PR and toured the country with the show "Singlehood" and a show co-written and performed with PJ Gallagher "Separated At Birth" about both their experiences as adopted children. May she live long and prosper.