Lilt of Irish laughter but definitely no leprechauns

By Mike Houlahan

There's no excuse not to see Jimeoin during the International Laugh Festival in Auckland. If you don't make it to his stand-up show at the end of the month, his first feature film, The Craic, will be on at the cinema.

The Craic draws heavily upon the Irish/Australian comic's own experiences of settling in a new land - including an appearance on the television dating show The Perfect Match soon after making landfall.

"I went on Perfect Match. I lived in a flat with illegal immigrants, and I personally shared the sentiment of falling in love with a country I didn't want to leave," Jimeoin (pronounced Jim Owen) says.

"I came close to being deported or not being able to get a visa to stay on. I was going to go to New Zealand for six months and sneak back into the country and get lost."

Fortunately, he was able to stay, and has used the time since to build up a career as one of Australia's most successful stand-up comedians, on stage and screen. He spends most of the year touring, including spells in Europe, England, Scotland - he has won a critic's award at Edinburgh during festival time - the United States and back home in Ireland.

From humble beginnings beguiling small club crowds with his Northern Irish brogue, Jimeoin has developed into a comedian whose material reaches far beyond national differences.

"I don't do any real topical stuff. It's more kind of nonsensy," he says. "I don't like to mention countries at all. Only when I'm doing a show like that one and stand up and say 'Hi, I'm Australian' [in an Irish accent thick enough to pave a road]. "That gets a laugh.

"I don't mention it. I don't get into flag waving, Everyone comes from where they come from. I don't want to talk about little leprechauns for ever. Some people, mainly Americans, seem to think Ireland's some sort of theme park and we're there for their entertainment. It's a country where people live their lives."

It's also a deeply troubled place - the other image of Ireland the world sees. Jimeoin returned to the land of his birth for his feature-film debut because he wanted to tell a story which steered well clear of both images.

The Craic - good times - tries to live up to its name. Its unlikely heroes Fergus and Wesley are "two ordinary lads trying to have a good time," their creator says. True, they have an unpleasant selection of thugs trying to wreck their fun, but they still have a good time regardless, Jimeoin says.

"It's about travelling with people. There's no romance in the story between boys and girls. The romance is between the two boys - not that it's a gay film.

There's another side to it too, of falling in love with a country.

"To be honest to meself, from a very young age I wanted to be an actor. I always wanted to give it a go. I wrote it, I was the inspiration behind it, I was the driving force behind it. As far as getting the money together to make the film and getting people together to make the film, it was still my effort." - NZPA

* Jimeoin will be on stage at the Town Hall on Friday, April 30. The Craic screens at the St James on May 2.