What makes something funny? Is it obscurity, uniqueness or being off the wall? For Irish comedic tastes, it seems to be the simple beauty of relatability – and this has proven to be true time and time again by the popularity of Rory’s Stories sketches.

The man himself, Rory O’Connor, creates skits that show everyday things we are all familiar with: getting exam results, going to a GAA match, ordering a takeaway, fighting with your significant other.

“I pride myself on relatable comedy, stuff that people can look at and say: ‘That’s me’ or ‘That’s John’ or ‘That’s Mary,’” explains Rory. “I look at the film The Snapper, which is probably the funniest Irish film ever made, but why’s that? It’s because people can relate to the gags in it. Everyone knows that household that’s just upside down – but that’s real life.

“That would be my vision of comedy and that’s what I’m trying to bring to the table: portraying Irish people.

I’m not a joke teller, I don’t tell jokes, I don’t know any jokes, but I like telling stories, stories that have happened to you and me, that you won’t talk about, but that I will.

In pursuit of comedy and acting, Rory started Rory’s Stories originally as a blog four years ago. From this humble beginning, the concept has grown massively, with over 400,000 likes on Facebook, landing a spot on Republic of Telly and taking literary form in Rory’s Stories Guide to the GAA.

Two years ago, the Meath man took a leap of faith and left his job as a credit controller at CPL, which paid the bills but was not something he was particularly interested in.

He decided to focus on Rory’s Stories full-time, something he has not regretted for a second.

Class clown

From a young age Rory was able to make people laugh. In school he was always the class clown and not particularly interested in the academic side of things.

Rory has proven that academia is only one marker of success, and his achievements are such that he was asked back to Ashbourne Community School as a motivational speaker.

“The fact that I was there – considering I nearly got kicked out of school on numerous occasions – and that I was back as someone to look up to, was a bit surreal,” he says earnestly.

“I’m not saying the Leaving Cert is bad, but I’m passionate about telling people not to get caught up if you don’t understand things.

I sat in a classroom my whole life not understanding what was going on. I always looked at myself as stupid, and if anyone called me stupid I would get angry. Everyone is gifted in unique ways and it is just a matter of finding that gift, working on it and believing in it.

Witty, astute and clever, his first book Rory’s Stories Guide to the GAA was a huge hit and he is already in the process of writing his second book.

Stand-up

Along with the books, sketches and all the rest, Rory also does stand-up comedy shows, particularly for GAA clubs, personalising the performance for each occasion.

“Say if I’m portraying the ‘Dirty Corner Back’, I would bring up the local lad and rip the piss out of him. It’s just pure madness, like.”

Last week he travelled to London to do a show there – and of course his trusty friend, Cecil, who stars in many of the sketches, was with him.

Rory and Paddy Murphy, who plays Cecil, conjured up the character in one of their many fits of messing.

“We were thinking about how we could do a Cavan character, and Paddy said, ‘why don’t I just get a T-shirt and write ‘Up Cavan’ on it?’ because he’d be too tight to buy the jersey.

"We were walking out into the back garden, and I just happened to have glasses and a swimming hat on the mantelpiece. He put them on and it was just perfect.”

In this era we live in, you don’t need to look too far afield to find something that will bring you down and Rory’s Stories, with Cecil and all the other madcaps, is an uplifting antidote: a dose of laughter.

Rory’s skill is in making us see the humour in our everyday actions – and what can you laugh at, if you can’t laugh at yourself?

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