Deirdre O'Kane Quotations

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.

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.

Ultimately, I just decided stand-up comedy is a huge commitment, and if you want to be the best, you have to give it one hundred per cent.

Work hard, play hard, dream big, love loads, laugh as much as you can, and give back.

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.

Many's the audition I waltzed into unprepared and wondered why I didn't get it. I learned the hard way.

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

I'm a great lighter and lover of candles, particularly fragranced ones, as I'm kind of addicted to scent.

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 can't function if I don't have tea. I don't know whether it's psychological or a real necessity, but I just need it.

Growing up, I was your classic Catholic Irish kid. I went to mass every Sunday. Then in secondary school I went to boarding school, and there was mass seven days a week before breakfast - it may have put me off!

I admire Pat Shortt as a businessman. Such acumen is unusual for an entertainer. He did all his own deals. I learnt a lot from Pat when I was on the road with him for a year.

I think boarding school does give you an independence.

My salary swings an unbelievable amount. When I had Holly, I took seven months off, so my salary was very low. It fluctuates wildly. No one pays you for the period you spend writing. I am certainly not rich.

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.

When you're independent and not attached to a major media organisation, they just look at you as if to say, 'Who are you again?'

With a new baby, you have a bad day now and again because you're particularly tired, but most of the time, you're fine. You spend a lot of your time trying to figure out how you can get more sleep, but really, you're better off just giving up and admitting that you're not going to, so forget about it.

Filling a theatre like the Olympia or Vicar Street on your own name is a very rewarding moment.

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

One day I got an invite to help the Christina Noble Foundation, and by this stage, I'd already been talking about her for 10 years. I said 'yes' right away, and that was the first time I met her.

Yves Saint Laurent will never go out of business so long as I'm buying mountains of Touche Eclat.

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

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

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

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.

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

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 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 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 knew I wanted to be an actress from the age of 13.

I kind of flew into a panic that somebody would have already owned the rights, because Christina Noble's life is such a good story. It took us two full years to get Christina to agree and sign the rights.

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

I love peppermint tea, as it's much nicer than taking anything chemical for settling your stomach.

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.

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

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

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.

I don't particularly want to work with my husband all the time, as in the living and the working thing.

I don't like doing things by halves, and I realised you can't do stand-up comedy part-time.

You worry about whether you are match-fit, coming back to the stand-up stage.