Deirdre O'Kane Quotes

I spent seven years in clubs in England, Australia, etc. Not all comedians cross over to sell out in a theatre.

Most people haven't seen my dramatic work, but I did 10 years of theater before I ever became a comic. I'm just better known for comedy.

I am pretty much as you see me. I don't have deep, dark depths and go home in despair.

You wouldn't expect a cattle dealer to sit down at a grand piano and play it beautifully. That's my father.

The notion that patience is a virtue is something you don't fully appreciate until you're a parent. You need endless patience with little ones.

Acting is very much an all-or-nothing job.

I knew I couldn't do what Eddie Izzard does, so I just tried to write some stories that were based, or partly based, on my own experiences.

I'm a shopper but not a big money/label-y shopper. It makes me a nervous wreck.

I get a good colour in summer but go really pale in winter, and it genuinely doesn't suit me, as people ask me if I'm ill. As well as making me look a bit better, I often have to be tanned in the middle of winter to do a show or programme, so I've road-tested every fake tan on the market.

It wasn't that I left acting; it's just that I put it aside while I set about becoming a comic.

I would have benefited a lot from proper training. I could have done with a strong wake-up call about getting jobs.

I have never, ever slept through my child crying unless I have had a sleeping tablet; and I only take a sleeping tablet when I know Steve, my husband, is on duty. We take turns: he does one night, I do the next.

I love motherhood. I certainly wasn't aware of any mothering instincts until I had babies. I wasn't a person who desperately wanted to have kids, but you don't get it until you do it, and, suddenly, this nurturing instinct exists.

I'm doing my best to be mindful about how I'm living: to be kind and patient, and not to impose a bad mood on somebody else. Being mindful is as good a way to be spiritual as anything else.

I was 25 before I joined the world, in my opinion. I was a very late developer, and everything came late.

I can make my living out of Ireland, but the reason I came to London was that I felt I'd gone as far as I could go in Ireland.

There's a lot I've missed about living in Ireland. You miss family, particularly when you've got kids.

Waiting to be hired, as an actor, especially, is soul-destroying ... There is always something you can do ... Create something, a play reading ... Anything. But don't rely on other people to come to you. Put yourself out there.

I think boarding school does give you an independence.

When I came on the scene, there was The Nualas, who were doing character comedy, but there weren't any other women doing stand-up because Michelle Read had gone more into theatre.

I was never very good at being an unemployed actor. I always thought that I should have been doing something pro-active. I was never good at doing juvenile leads. I suppose it's because I have this big sarcastic head on me.

I could probably die happy with a cheeseboard and a glass of French red wine - that's my idea of a perfect dinner.

Yes ... I miss that everyone in Ireland tries to knock some humour out of every situation. I don't think I appreciated that. It's unique to Ireland.