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.

Simon Delaney first came to my attention on the RTE television series Batchelor's Walk as one of three bachelors living together in a flat on the quays in Dublin, which ran from 2001 until 2003. Since then he has been working non stop on TV and film both here and abroad. In October 2011, Simon played an Anglo-Hiberno Lawyer in CBS's The Good Wife. In September 2012, he appeared in the series Moone Boy on Sky One and in 2013 he appeared in the Alan Partridge film Alpha Papa. I have bumped into him here and there over the years and he is always a gent. Perhaps because he started off on the amateur circuit or perhaps because he is just inherently a decent bloke he has never come across as hoity toity ( is that an expression?) and willy nilly, never been up to any hanky panky or kowtowed to the chichi types, but prefers to mix it with the hoi poloi. Okay I am being hoity toity now.

She is one third of the Nualas and three thirds of herself – Anne Gildea. I first got to know her as Kevin's sister (as in Kevin Gildea). I was in London with the double act The Quacksquad performing as part of the Sense Of Ireland Festival. A load of comedians were in the hotel bar having a late drink and Anne and two other girls sang a song in three part harmony. I was very impressed; far too impressed to say hello anyway. I have bumped into her here and there over the years but I never really got to know her. Having recently read her book "I've got Cancer What's Your Excuse?" I realised we had a similar background in that we grew up on farms, had a grumpy father and have an understanding of the varied personalities of cows. She is an actress, singer, stand up comedian and author. Most of all Anne Gildea is always three thirds Anne Gildea.

I met Rachel Arieff in Barcelona when I was performing there earlier this month. Rachel initially started off as a stand up comedian working with the likes of Marc Maron, Sarah Silverman, Maria Bamford and Louis CK. She moved to Barcelona in 2003 for what she calls "deep psychological reasons". Once there she began to host a show in Barcelona called "Anti Karaoke" which caught on like wildfire. In its nearly 10 years of existence, Anti-Karaoke has become a staple of Barcelona nightlife, the go-to event for anyone in the know. It’s a cult favourite amongst musicians, actors, filmmakers and other artistic types, both famous and workaday. But no matter how long it exists, no matter who participates, the A.K. never loses its underground, punk-rock essence. It takes place in Barcelona every Thursday from 10 pm to 1 am at Sidecar Factory Club, the legendary rock club conveniently located in the city center in the Plaça Reial, right off the Ramblas.

Dah Jevu are a rap duo Bobby Basil and Tafari Pesto. I saw them perform at the Bare In The Woods festival in Portarlington last summer and they blew me away. They performed with a band that played a kind of psychedelic electro ambient backing while the two guys prowled the tiny stage like a couple of claustrophobic meerkats. Within no time a substantial audience had gathered and they had us in the palm of their hand as we shouted along with the last repeated line, "put the carcass in the carpet!"; actually some of the group I was with shouted "put the pilot in the cockpit" and one girl thought it was " spit the basil in the asspit" but what ever it was it felt like we were at a happening. Since then I have been recommending them to anyone within hearing distance and decided it was time to get them in for a chat. Hope you enjoy it.

I first became aware of Jape when I heard the song Floating. I downloaded it on e-music and a couple of different re-mixes. Of course everyone knows about how Brendan Benson of the Raconteurs heard the song in Whelans and how the Raconteurs covered it live right? Well he did and they did. Richie Egan, the man behind Jape was initially the bass player with Redneck Manifesto. Jape was a side project that has become a lot more. My favourite songs of theirs are Phil Lynott and Scorpio and myself and my 14 year old daughter totally loved their recent gig at The Electric Picnic. You could say we bonded over Jape. So, thanks Jape for a wonderful personal memory. After a recent interview with Thomas Walsh he gave me the low-down on an ongoing feud between Pugwash and Jape so there was another reason to speak to Richie, not that I needed one. He finishes the podcast with a haunting version of the song 'So Weird'.

I first saw Jack Lukeman back in the late nineties in a place called the Da Club in Dublin. For a brief period it was a comedy club every Saturday from ten 'til twelve and then as the revellers from all the surrounding pubs came in for a late drink Jack would take to the stage with his band The Black Hearts performing a set of mostly Jacque Brel songs sometimes joined by the beautifully sultry Camille O' Sullivan. It was cabaret at it's best. Jack took to the stage like a matador able to control even the most feral of audiences. Always dressed to the nines he gave a tour de force performance full of drama and passion and always a little tongue in cheek. His talent and ability to perform have not waned over the years and he has gained a gaggle (they are not geese but I like the alliteration) of loyal fans worldwide since those early days. Ooops, did I mention the voice? Oh just listen!

Bernard O'Shea is a stand up comedian, actor, writer and radio presenter of tremendous talent. He wears an outrageously fulsome beard and can play traditional music both of which facts are surely somehow not unconnected. He called in to the studio to chat to me about his varied career in the entertainment industry and underwater archaeology. Bernard has co-written and co-stars in an upcoming RTE sitcom based on the Republic Of Telly characters Bridget and Eamonn. He also gave some sound advice on how to win an Oscar. I'm not joking, it is actually good advice.

Michael Redmond is best known for playing Father Stone in Father Ted. He is also an accomplished stand up comedian and hosts a weekly show in The Stand Comedy Club in Glasgow where he now lives. Michael began his career as a writer for Irish radio and television, before moving to London and launching a successful stand-up career in 1987. His live show Eamon, Older Brother of Jesus was adapted for a BBC Radio 4series, but scrapped on the decision of the station's new Scottish Catholic controller. After his work on Father Ted, he continued to appear in projects as diverse as Brass Eye and Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle. He came up to my hotel room on a wet Friday afternoon in Edinburgh for a chat.

Niall Breslin, better know as Bressie is popularly known as one of the judges/coaches on The Voice of Ireland. He came to fame as the front man and chief song writer in The Blizzards and after the band broke up released two albums as a solo artist. Before all this happened he became a professional rugby player with Leinster U21s. Of late Bressie has opened up about his struggles with extreme anxiety, panic attacks and depression. In his book Me and My Mate Jeffrey he gives an account of how he intentionally broke his own arm in a vain effort to get help for his mental health issues. He currently features in a documentary on RTE called Iron Mind with four others who use are dealing with mental health issues by using physical exercise to deal with these issues. I met Niall a few times through the Cronin brothers from Mullingar and we gigged together recently at The Electric Picnic.