David ODoherty: Irish comedian on Australias gay marriage stance
DAVID O’Doherty can’t quite get his head around the fact that Ireland has legalised gay marriage and Australia hasn’t.
“Ireland in the past was a much more conservative country than Australia,” the Irish comedian said to news.com.au. “Divorce only came into Ireland in 1996 for goodness sake.”
The popular performer, who is back in the country touring his new show Danger Is Everywhere (armed with his trusty casio keyboard), touches on the not-so-dangerous but rather topical issue of gay marriage in his routine.
“I was involved in the YES campaign in Ireland,” O’Doherty told news.com.au (same-sex marriage was legalised in Ireland in November last year).
“You’d say to the really no no no type of person, ‘What is the worst thing that will happen to your life if this goes through?’ And the worst possible thing that can happen to their life is nothing. No change.”
When 62.07 per cent of Ireland voted in favour of gay marriage in a referendum, the comedian was ecstatic.
“It was actually the first time I think I’ve ever felt genuinely proud to be from Ireland,” O’Doherty said.
“The YES campaign was so simple. We basically got gay and lesbian people to call around to houses and they would just say, ‘Hi, I’d like to get married one day. Would that be OK?’ And that just appeals to the innate goodness in people.
“When confronted with it, loads of people who had never really thought about it said, ‘Obviously, yeah no problem.’
“Our history has been a litany of awful mistakes that the Government has done but this wasn’t a political thing, it was the people. We just sort of seized the initiative. And holy sh*t, it was the greatest party I’ve ever been to.”
With a plebiscite on the issue of gay marriage in Australia looming in the future, O’Doherty has a message for those who aren’t quite sure.
“The worst thing that could happen if it got in, this is to any no people who might be reading this, is nothing. No difference whatsoever. For goodness sake, let them bloody get married.”
David O’Doherty is performing his new show Danger Is Everywhere around Australia:
Melbourne International Comedy Festival: 24 March — 16 April
Sydney Comedy Festival: 17 April
Perth Comedy Festival: 19 April
You can check out his show details here.
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