Funny routine on Irish names by Lee Mack

Comedian Lee Mack had his audience in stitches with an hilarious routine about the complexity of Irish names.

Mack is married to a woman of Irish heritage and his act was based on their discussions about the naming of their children.

He said that his wife wanted to choose a traditional Irish name but he was put off when he read through some of the best ones.

He explained the story on-stage with a rant about the difficulty of spelling and pronouncing traditional Irish names, and how it is an unnecessary complication for people from other countries.

His tone went from confused to downright angry as his tirade gathered pace, leaving his audience in hysterics.

Mack told a story about meeting an Irish woman named Siobhan, and attempting to spell her name with predictably poor results.

He angrily questioned the logic behind the spellings, and points out that some Irish names have more ‘syllables than letters’.

He even suggested that Irish names are chosen by ‘reaching into a bag of scrabble counters and throwing them on to the ground’.

The routine is absolutely brilliant and has now been uploaded onto YouTube for everyone to enjoy.

Many of the comments added are about the accuracy of Mack’s routine. People with traditional Irish names such as Éilís, Pádraig and Oisin all posted to say that they enjoyed the video.

Mack first rose to prominence in 1995 when he won the So You Think You’re Funny? Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. #

He has since become a regular performer on television in Ireland and the UK, most notably as ‘Lee’ in his sit-com Not Going Out and as a team captain on the BBC panel show Would I Lie To You?

Watch the hilarious routine below, but be warned it does contain some strong language.