Dara Ó Briain

Dara Ó Briain: Comedy Legend, Presenter, Author and TV Host

Dara Ó Briain is an Irish comedian and one of the most prolific touring comedians in the UK. He is often playing in excess of 75 completely sold out dates at a time in theatres all over the UK and Ireland. He also holds the record for the most live shows over 12 months in the famous Vicar Street theatre in Dublin. In 2021 he was booked for eight nights solid.

NEWS: Mock The Week is back in 2026 on  TLC and Dara is back in the hot seat.

On the telly, Dara’s stewardship of BBC2’s Mock The Week brought it to record viewing features, so far with twenty one series (245 episodes). He has a number of DVD’s,  ‘Live at the Theatre Royal’, ‘Talks Funny’, ‘This is the Show’, ‘Craic Dealer.  It was then left till 2015 when he released ‘Crowd Tickler‘.   There are also a number of books released on his passion for Science and Astronomy.

Dara is now considered one of the top UK comedy hosts for award ceremonies. One of his regular events is the BAFTA Games Awards.

What the critics said about Dara Ó Briain :

“A reminder of just how royally an audience can be treated and how uplifting stand-up can be. The Big bald Irishman takes nothing for granted, expending more physical energy than seems possible in stoking laughter levels to their molten maximum. Go marvel.”
Dominic Cavendish – The Daily Telegraph

“I likened Ó Briain to an intellectual Peter Kay. This time round he may have even moved up a gear to classic-era Billy Connolly, effortlessly riffing at the drop of a hat and constantly displaying a lightning fast wit. He simply does what he does brilliantly, spinning seamless scripted material and audience banter together to produce pure comic gold”
Bruce Dessau – The Evening Standard

Other notable television work for BBC:

Dara did two early documentaries re-creating the legendary British comedy novel ‘Three Men in a Boat‘. This is where he rowed down the Thames with Griff Rhys Jones and Rory McGrath. Then came the interview programme ‘Turn Back Time‘ in which he quizzed a number of comedy legends including Vic Reeves, Barry Humphries and Terry Jones.  He hosted Robot Wars and travelled all over in Dara and Ed’s Great Big Adventure. Also, with his passion for science he gave us the TV shows, Stargazing Live and Dara Ó Briain’s Science Club.  And of course, not to mention his BBC documentary, Dara Ó Briain Meets Stephen Hawking.  Dara hosted Blockbusters the legendary hit gameshow.

Dara has his own YouTube Channel here: Dara on YouTube This is where he has almost 70 videos available to watch. Together they have had Millions of views, with this one alone having been watched over 1.7 million times and it only went live in 2024: YouTube.com/Advertising To Men VS Women

Dara started his career in television as a children’s presenter on RT whilst performing his first stand-up gigs on the Irish comedy circuit, after studying at University College, Dublin, where he did a degree in Mathematical Physics. He spent three years as a presenter on the bilingual (Irish and English) children’s programme Echo Island but came to prominence as a team captain on the topical panel show Don’t Feed The Gondolas. He left the show midway through its fifth season in order to perform at the Adelaide and Melbourne comedy festivals.

Dara’s Production Company:

Later Dara Ó Briain co-founded the television production company Happy Endings Productions, whose most famous show in Ireland was The Panel (2003-2011). The show became one of the most talked about shows in Ireland. It was twice nominated for the Best Entertainment show IFTA (Irish Film and Television Award). His big break in UK television came in 2003 when he became host of BBC2’s Live Floor Show. This was led to an appearance as guest and, ultimately, four appearances as guest host of the popular news quiz, Have I Got News For You.

By this time he was based in the UK full-time and gigging there constantly. This paid off when he sold out the entire run in Edinburgh in 2002, a feat he was to repeat for the next three years. By 2005 Dara Ó Briain was the biggest selling solo stand-up comedy show on the Edinburgh Fringe, and was rewarded when the show was recorded for inclusion in the BBC1 series Jack Dee Live at the Apollo.

Dara has also been a regular on television’s top stand-up showcases and has made regular appearances on, among others, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Parkinson and QI. When not touring, Dara can be found fronting prominent awards ceremonies and corporate events, or devising more telly projects. Happy endings Dara Ó Briain.

To book Dara Ó Briain to host your Awards or book him to perform Comedy Cabaret, call SpeakOut on: 020 8914 8966.  Also, click on the Enquire Now button below. Just fill in a few details and we’ll get back with details on how to book Dara for your event.

TESTIMONIALS

‘An excellent show, drenched in truth and intelligence, by a comedian at the top of his game, 5 stars’
Metro

‘Genuinely imaginative and ridiculously funny’
The Independent

‘One of the biggest and best comics in the country Real class.’
Irish Times

‘This is 100 per cent, grade A, pure uncut stand-up – and it’s simply brilliant. Ó Briain’s simply an astonishingly funny comic, hitting scorching form. 5 stars’
www.chortle.co.uk

‘Dara Ó Briain is phenomenal’
The Stage

‘Ó Briain’s solo shows just get better and better’
The Observer

• Comedians