Patrick Kielty thought he was being summoned to his headteacher’s office for a telling off when he was told his father had been murdered in the Troubles.Patrick recalls in a new BBC documentary series, Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland: “I remember going to school and like lots of other kids who were 16, putting up your posters for Comic Relief.“And being called to the headmaster’s office and thinking ‘I didn’t ask permission to put these posters up, here we go’.
Patrick, 52, and his family only found out later why Jack, a prominent Catholic and chair of the Gaelic football club, had been targeted. Patrick and his older brother John, who was 18, were pallbearers at the funeral. Now married to fellow TV star Cat Deeley, Patrick says he wanted to become a successful comedian to make his late father proud.His early material was often about the Troubles, and he wore a balaclava on stage. As he forged his career, he performed for both Catholic and Protestant audiences.
Patrick, who was last week confirmed as new host of the Ireland’s iconic Late Late Show, wept when he heard that the Good Friday Agreement had been signed in 1998.