Born in 1971 in Dundrum, N. Ireland, Patrick Kielty began as a stand up whilst studying psychology at Queen's University Belfast and he quickly made a name for himself as the host of Northern Ireland’s first comedy club “The Empire Laughs Back”.

His fearless satirical routines, in which he regularly attacked both Republican and Loyalist paramilitaries drew praise from both critics and those on the streets of pre ceasefire Belfast, not least because he himself had lost his father to UFF gunmen in 1988 aged 16.

The BBC were quick to pick up on his ability to both provoke and charm in equal measure and his big break came in 1995 with Comic Relief’s St Patrick’s Day Stand Up Special along side established stars such as Ben Elton and Jo Brand .

His first 2 stand up titles went triple platinum and his RTS award winning series “PK Tonight” for BBC Belfast quickly followed.

The Channel 4 show “Last Chance Lottery”, saw Kielty make the move to network television and he was soon a UK household name with shows such as "Stupid Punts" and “Fame Academy”.

His chat show “Patrick Kielty Almost Live” hit the screens in 2002 and ran for 6 seasons on BBC1 to much critical acclaim.

In 2006 he returned to his first love of stand up after a 5 year hiatus. A sell out UK tour and a best selling DVD “Patrick Kielty Live” confirmed his position as one of Ireland’s most successful comedy exports. His return to the top of the stand up tree was completed in 2007 headlining “Live at The Apollo” with Joan Rivers for BBC1.

A straight acting debut playing Kenneth McCallister in “A Night in November” at Belfast’s Opera House saw things come full circle for the 36 year old – back on the stage of the theatre which launched his Comic Relief stand up debut, a dozen years earlier.

It was a role that charmed both critics and audiences and a transfer to London’s West end quickly followed.

Treading the boards of the Trafalgar Theatre was his second Whitehall engagement of 2008, the first being his interview of both the British and Irish Prime Ministers at 10 Downing Street where he raised eyebrows when comparing the success of the Irish peace process with the failures in the Middle East – “Surely Iraq is just IRA with a Q on the end?”

In July, Kielty brings his satirical charm to Montreal’s “Just For Laughs” Festival for the first time.

QUOTES

‘Genius’ - The Sun
‘Ripped the place apart’ - The Guardian  
‘Kielty is Fabulous’ - The Times
‘Funny and Inspiring’ – Daily Express
‘Kielty is a Revelation’ Evening Standard