Keego: Pro Wrestling, Comedy During Covid & The Tayto Debate?

From Professional Wrestling to Acting to Kickboxing to Standup Comedy; Keego has shown himself to be quite the performer in his past lives but it's comedy that has given him the new lease of life. One he is excelling in already in such a small amount of time.

Having gigged all across Ireland & across the pond in the UK in big clubs such as: The Glee Club, The Frog & Bucket & Hot Water on multiple occasions; the Irishman has packed in a lot of experience in only a couple of years & claims his age plays a factor in that.

"I was an old man when I started, I kind of knew who I was. I was bald, with a mortgage, with a wife & kids & a tattoo & debt before I even started; I wasn't trying to discover anything about myself, this is me take it or leave it. I think there's a little bit of security starting out as an old man."

If we take it back to Keego's first love he started getting into wrestling at the age of four after catching a glimpse of Hulk Hogan & Ted DiBiase on the screen for the first time.

"My da was giving out to me & the 'Million Dollar Man' looked really like my old man, I was hooked straight away.

It was then when he turned 17 he made the step to travel over to Kent for a weekend bootcamp to see was it really for him or just a pipe dream as a kid. It was NWA Hammerlock in which he attended, ran by former wrestler turned promoter, Andre 'Sledgehammer' Baker. Baker has trained many talents including WWE superstars such as: Wade Barrett, Domino, Katrina Leigh & Scott Parker to name a few.

"Finn Bálor & Paul Tracey had been there 2-3 weeks before me. I did my first weekend camp, got about 48 concussions in 2 days & again I was hooked.

So I started saving up to take the big trip out to the Hart brothers & then Paul & Fergal (Finn Bálor) opened up the school in Bray so I started there, trained there for a few years & worked all over Ireland. I met a lot of cool people & was on the same circuit as Sheamus, Drew McIntyre was over & the same class as me had Jordan Devlin & Becky Lynch who were brilliant from day one.

We then moved to Birmingham & worked over there then I've worked in America, Australia, Japan & all around Europe."

Keego or as known by his ring names: 'The Irish Viking' or 'Jerry Carcass' eventually got to the stage where he he felt he was "the oldest man in the club" & called it quits.

The Wicklow native has claimed he's been "trying almost anything not to get a real job". His mother was also very into the arts. music & theatre so he continues to dabble in the arts shall we say as he's lent his ear to acting too.

"It's great fun, it's another avenue to meet people & a string to add to the bow. If you go up North it's another audience; my da is from up there so there's some things he's brought down & kicked into me if the word is right.

I'm actually quite shy but with the acting & the wrestling & all the nonsense comes out of me & I can kind of put a shield up in-front of this balled head of mine."

Keego started out in comedy just before the Covid pandemic began so relatively new to the scene he's made waves & a big noise since joining the circuits. It's not fame or anything he's looking from it but to help give back to others through his standup.

"After gigs when we all talk to each other we all say 'this is actually mad isn't it? We wouldn't have met if we didn't want to make people laugh.'

The reason I do it is I remember my parents watching Billy Connolly on The Late Late Show back 100 years ago & they'd forget about their mortgage, their stupid balled son; all these things & just watch the tele & laugh for a few minutes. Everyone's got bills, mortgages, annoying bosses & it's a matter of taking them away from that was quickly as you can.

It's a weird thing for everyone to sit backstage in a green room, whether its ten people, hundred people, five hundred people & go yeah the good comedians aren't doing it for any sort of reward, they're doing it to transmit positivity & the reward comes eventually. It's a bit like wrestling or anything; it's the messaging that makes people forget about what they're going through. There's plenty of time for tough lives but for 40 minutes it's my job to make you forget about it."

Keego has spoken of his fondness for the scene up in the North & it's togetherness/camaraderie within the scene itself; something that almost sets the comedy scene here apart from most across the world.

"It's the great thing of the gigs I've done up North, everybody's there, whether they've done the SSE or just starting out. Playing the Pav or No Joke, they're just amazing because everyone is there & there's no ego which is a big difference between the North & South. There's no outward ego I guess. Everyone seems to get on & help each other which is great.

It keeps you sharp because there might be someone coming up, I might be nipping at someones heels soon. We're going to compete for laughs here & then we're going to have a pint afterwards, it's a nice piece of competition."

It was only 72 hours before the country shut down due to Covid back in 2020 when Keego did his first gig in The Abbey Tavern, Dublin.

"It was kind of the last time the world was out & the world shut down so I ended up doing a 'world tour' from my house using my laptop & kept things moving. Then when we were back out into the wild it was a free for all. 

The beauty of it right now is there's so many new nights, similarly to what there is up North now. So many new nights popping up & there's room for everybody & everybody is selling a different type of sauce." 

Unlike up here in the North where more & more comedians are getting their chance on tv & selling out arena's etc the Southern scene is almost just that couple stages behind at the moment. Almost just growing out of its infancy as it continues to grow with the ever growing demand from the public & the help of word of mouth.

More & more are looking forward to a more relaxed/stressfree night out without the sometimes expected aggression that comes with closing times of nightclubs in the Capital.

"There's a massive group who started around Covid who don't have that exposure so it's word of mouth & cheeky marketing that we're using which is really helping & healthy. 

There are gigs from the North of Dublin to the South of Wicklow where I am, all the time & it's all really really good stuff."

Keego took a different way into the comedy scene too unlike most as he started by taking a comedy course before doing any gigs which he claims has both its positives & negatives.

"I did an 8 week course here in Dublin & it finished just before Covid. I've got seven notebooks & I have 73 minutes out of now seven notebooks so you quickly realise it's throwing what against the wall & seeing what sticks. 

It taught me a few methods on how to get in through the door then it was the matter of going & searching for gigs, making reels etc the things that annoys people on Instagram." 

The standup comic is currently helping to run a few nights at the minute including the new comedy nights at Rascals Brewing Co. in Dublin which looks a great setup & gig.

"If you can't find a stage you make your own so there's clubs in Dublin, I'm doing the Mermaid Theatre in Bray on a quarterly we had our first one there last week then Dún Laoghaire as well. Just trying to minimise the organisation side of things whilst maximising the stage time.

Like everywhere the list to get in is so long & there's favours owed etc so instead of sitting at home getting annoyed I've made my own stage. Sometimes it draws sometimes it doesn't but you just keep going & word of mouth will always spread.

Keego also has his new special 'I Confuse Easy' which he is touring this summer. He's performing in both Doyle's Corner in June & in The Mill Theatre in August, so if you are planning or even weren't planning to be down in Dublin this summer the dates are below make sure you check this man's show out you will not be disappointed!

What was the most unique or best experience of a country you went to in your Pro Wrestling Career?

"Japan is insane because there was nothing in English & there's no way in speaking to them aside from manoeuvring while you're in front of people. Long term it wasn't a lifestyle for me but it was the most interesting place because everything you see in a book it is exactly like that, it was insane.

Going from wrestling in Japan to a comedy gig where people may or may not get your jokes is all the same, it's all just transmitting a message."

How/Why did you get into Kickboxing?

"I've been doing it maybe 10 years now. I've had a few fights but I'm not a fighter guy but for me in some weird kink I have getting kicked in the face calms me down. I train out with Paddy Holohan, former UFC Fighter, out of his gym, help the guys/girls train for their fights. I'd get in if I can find someone old enough who would fight me.

I know you guys are doing the boxing up North which is great, if I can find someone old enough to fight me I might do that."

How did you get your Ring Names in Pro Wrestling?

"Jerry Carcass/The Irish Viking came from insomnia. I couldn't sleep & I was watching too many scary movies & there was a computer game with a picture of a viking guy with a red stripe down the side of his face (Kratos from God of War) he had the same look as me so I thought I'd just mess with it one night at 4am when I couldn't sleep. I sent it off to the promoter Joe Cabray & said 'what do you reckon?'.

A few of us got together with this sort of psycho-circus almost stable & we ran with it. It's like comedy because it's so absurd.

I was talking to a comedian the other day trying to figure out why we do what we do & it's like the wrestling. If someone is walking down Grafton Street & all their clothes fall off they're going to run to Stephen's Green as fast as possible covering themselves up. Whereas a comedian, wrestler or comedic actor is going to walk slowly up Grafton Street, looking in windows with their arses out, that's what he do. So it was from one absurd to the other.

Where was your first gig here in NI?

"Luke McGibbon took my up North virginity at the Pav on the Monday maybe last February? That was a great way to start because he's great, a great host & put together a great bill, met some great people on that show. Then the next night I was at The Empire Laughs which was a different show entirely.

My old man went there when he was in college & the Empire crowd were so up for it, same as the Pav as well. It's the same as our local club here in Bray; they see everybody so sometimes they can sit there with their arms folded going 'impress me a little bit strange bald man'. It was great, made loads of friends & have been back since.

They were my first but I've done the Deer's Head & the mythical Sunflower so it's been great. I need to get up there more often, I have family up there so I'm available."

What's your favourite gig to play down South?

"There's magic in different rooms in Dublin. There's a pub opposite Whelan's & it's a little room upstairs & you could have Deirdre O'Kane on one night, David O'Doherty the other night but it's a small box room that looks like your Nana's living room & they set up a stage in the corner. You will never have a bad night in there, there's real magic & history in that room; it's impossible to have a bad gig in that room.

I love the Mermaid Theatre just cause I've been going there a hundred years, the Lighthouse in Dún Laoghaire is also great & there's a great club in a basement called Hysteria Comedy that's just over the river so when you're over there's stuff everywhere. There's obviously the International which is great even thought it's a weird black box like the Blair Witch Project but there can be magic in there too."

What would your dream venue be to play?

"I walked into the main room in the Comedy Store, I was doing a gig in Flappers in Burbank so I walked into the Comedy store for a pint. I walked into that main room that you see in all the documentaries that weird red lighting & you walk in & go 'this would be nice'. It's not massive but you could feel the history coming up through your feet.

My actual dream venue is actually The Empire up North, it's an absolutely magical spot. Everyone is in such good form, the audience is on top of you & there's great craic out of that crowd & all Northern crowds."

Who is your favourite/best Comedian?

"There's a lot of comedians down here who are brilliant there's: Sinéad Walsh, Ben Verth from Scotland who's here because of a Dublin woman he's brilliant, Sean Begley he's doing a tour he's a Bray guy, lives around the corn er he's brilliant. There are so many people I am in awe of.

When I went up North, the last time I was doing the Pav, Ruairi Woods was there & it was the first time seeing him. I was just sitting there like this is different level stuff. Ian Thompson was up there as well, so there's a lot of great stuff everywhere. Take the ego out of it and sit back & go there's a load amount of brilliant comedians; then you can go home & go 'ah feck sake I should've thought of that joke but do that at home."

Who would you say is the most underrated Comedian?

"I think people are sleeping on and old bald fella from Bray but aside from him I think there's a lot of comedians who are just this far away from popping, whether they get it here, up north, UK or US wherever; there's so many that are close but I don't know if there are underrated.

There's very few times you go into a gig & you're surprised by anyone you know because you know they work so hard they never let you down.

I had never seen Ruairi Woods before and I was like this is insane, so I stole a lock of his hair to clone him & steal his jokes but no I don't think there's anyone who's underrated. If you see their face on a poster & it's not an open mic night where people are trying stuff that's a different thing then you won't be let down."

What's your worst ever gig?

"There was one, I was doing a tour of New York during halloween last year & I did a gig in St Marks Comedy Club. For a group of people who all speak the same language there was a massive language barrier. I wasn't talking about what the rest of the acts were talking about so it took maybe 12 minutes of 20 to get them onside. The 12 minutes of that was tough, I have no hair left to pull out but Jesus there was a lot more hair running away from my face. There were no crickets in there thankfully but even though we were in New York I swear I saw a tumbleweed go across the room. It kept me awake for a couple of days but we've exercised the demons since then."

What was your worst ever Pro Wrestling gig?

"Aside from all the injuries whenever anyone sees the gap when you're punching someone in the face & someone sees through the work/magic then they're gone for the rest of the match & there's no way back. Not like a boxing match or comedy it just deflates everything & even effects the match after you. It's like seeing a magician's magic trick it's ruined all the magic for you. Certainly at the beginning of wrestling when you're learning your craft that would happen quite often because you're still learning the mechanics & timings.

If you flick it on tonight & see a gap you'll go 'ah I knew it' but when you see something good like a chop or a really well worked punch you'll go 'oh he actually hit that guy, he really did hit him'. As you get older you learn how to do what you can do & not do what you can't do.

Alex J. Byrne is Ireland's comedy magician, you can see him sweat a little bit as he's doing his tricks because if the trick at the beginning doesn't work, they always work he's brilliant, but if it didn't work the rest of the show is ruined because they'll be thinking about that trick at the start & wrestlings the same. So is comedy if they see the punchline coming you're in trouble."

Southern Tayto or Northern Tayto?

"I didn't know I was going to be causing problems again answering this one. It depends because I've been up North & if we work off the two pint rule, two pints of Guinness. Maybe it was because I was in a hotel room by myself but I did enjoy those two packs of Tayto but I was in a serious state of undress so maybe that helps. 

I'm going to stick to my own part of the world because I think just due to the sheer amount of Tayto I've had I think I'm 83% Tayto now so we could even call it a thrilling 3-3 draw."

Must say a great thanks to Keego for the great chat & his time. What a character & crazy life up until now, can't wait to go see him live myself. Great guy, great laughs & I'm sure his standup will be even better. If you want to check him out his links are below & his special 'I confuse Easy' will be this summer if you want to check it out the dates are above.