​By John Harrington

In the space of just three years, Rory O’Connor has established himself as one of Ireland’s most successful comedians.

He’s the man behind ‘Rory’s Stories’, the hugely popular sketches on social media that have made him a Facebook sensation with over a quarter of a million followers.

His parodies skewer recognisable GAA ‘characters’ such as the dirty corner-back, the cocky corner-forward, the biased umpire, and the Junior ‘B’ full-forward, among many others.

A former Meath minor and U-21 footballer himself, O’Connor admits he became the GAA’s most famous satirist by accident.

“To be honest, I never really started off with a mind to doing GAA sketches," O'Connor told GAA.ie. "I wanted to get into acting and comedy and it's obviously hard to break into that because there are so many acts out there.

“I just made one GAA video when I asked lads to sit down and pretend we were in a county final and it was half-time. A friend came down with a camera and I just went off the cuff rambling with the standard stuff that goes in, and that kind of went viral enough.

“Then I just realised that no-one has ever done GAA sketches and I just used the GAA and Facebook as a platform to get my name out there. As time goes in the next few months I want to expand into overall comedy, but the GAA is such a huge market.

“Pat Shortt and Dermot Morgan, God rest him, touched on it, but no-one went in to the roots of the GAA. The timing of it was just lucky. Just because social media now is so powerful.

“10 or 15 years ago if someone had the ideas I had, which I'm sure they did, they didn't have the platform I have which is social media. I had an idea it would go well, but maybe not this well.”

O’Connor is more than just a funny-man. He’s also using the public-profile his success as a comedian has given him to tackle serious issues.

A Facebook video he made about the importance of speaking up if you’re suffering from depression went viral, and led to him becoming an ambassador for Cycle against Suicide.

And on Saturday he and Cavan footballer Alan O’Mara will host a round-table discussion at the #GAAyouth Forum in Croke Park titled ‘Getting the Right Balance’.

“I suppose when you're younger if someone comes into your school that you possibly know, you tend to listen a bit more,” says O’Connor.

“That's just the way it is. When I go into a school or speak to a group of youngsters there's lads there who'd know you from 'Rory's Stories' or know you as a messer or a character.

“So it's good to let them know that you have a serious side as well, and I try to use whatever influence I have that way as well.”

O’Connor will be able to relate to the 110 16 to 21 year-old GAA players he’ll be speaking to because he previously experienced first-hand the issues they now deal with.

When he was a talented underage footballer, he admits he failed himself to get the right balance between sport and every other aspect of his life.

“When I was only 16 myself I was on county minor panels," says O'Connor. "Our club was intermediate at the time and I was playing U-16, minor, intermediate, football and hurling. So I know exactly how hard it can be to balance all of that.

“I was nearly injured more times than I was playing because when you're that age you love the game so much it's hard to turn down anyone.

“So if an intermediate, junior, or senior manager rings you when you're playing underage and asks you to come up and play with the first team, you're not going to turn it down and say you have a sore hamstring, you're just going to go and do it.

“The importance of balance and not overloading yourself like that is something that myself and Alan (O’Mara) will be trying to get across in our talk.

“You need to look after your body because you end up missing out on bigger games over the years just because you're not willing to say no to any manager that gives you a call.”

O’Connor also hopes to be able to relate to those young players in the room who are struggling to combine sport with their education, or who are just struggling with formal education full-stop.

He was never the academic sort himself, but believes his own success as a comedian proves that everyone has a unique gift of their own that can be unlocked.

“I did the LCA in school, which is the Leaving Cert Applied, it's not even the proper Leaving Cert,” says O’Connor.

“I don't want to go around preaching to everyone, 'ah the Leaving Cert is s**t, look at me, I'm working for myself and doing well'.

“What I'd like to get across is that, of course, there are very educated and smart people in school who want to be accountants, doctors, and solicitors. But there are others who, like me, when I was in school, don't have an idea what's going on or what they want to do.

“My character and personality made people think I knew what was going on, and it made people laugh and that, but deep down I hadn't a clue.

“I was never book-smart in school at all. But people think because they're not intelligent in school means that they're going to have to stick with a normal, standard, nine-to-five job, that has you struggling through life. But it's not the case and that's what I want to try to deliver to them.

“I'm not saying the Leaving Cert is over-rated, or anything. It suits lots of people, but there are others who are very intelligent but their confidence is shot to the ground because they've done a poor Leaving Cert or are just not suited to it.

“I always ask, 'what is a genius?' Is a genius the person who gets 600 points but hasn't got the personality to deliver in a job? Or is a genius someone who might be poor in school but then uses their own initiative to achieve when they leave school.

“Everyone is different and I'm convinced everyone has their own unique talent, it's just a matter of finding it, and backing yourself to go for it. That's what I'll be trying to get across.”

O’Connor is certainly making the most of his gift now. He’s been a full-time comedian for the past year, and has travelled to Boston, Australia, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai to entertain ex-pats who themselves remain closely tied to the GAA despite being so far from home.

Success has meant a hectic schedule occasionally, and O’Connor, who is still a senior panellist with the Donaghmore-Ashbourne team that contests this weekend’s Meath senior football final, admits he himself can sometimes struggle to get the balance right.

“Yeah, I suppose it's hard to get the balance right. It is tough. Philly McMahon would be a good friend of mine, I'd chat to him a lot, and he'd be the same.

“From his perspective he has football, his business, and his family, and sometimes the one thing that should be shining is your family, and that's the one you'd give least time to because you're so engrossed and dedicated to driving the two other things.

“That's probably the hardest thing, knowing from my perspective when to put the phone down and to spend some time with my little four-year-old daughter. Forget about the e-mails and making videos. That's obviously the balance that you need.

“I think it is a hard thing to find, but you just have to do your best. I don't think you'll ever nail it.”

What he hopes to get across to everyone in attendance at the #GAAyouth Forum in Croke Park tomorrow is that you shouldn’t expect to nail it every day.

And when you’re feeling down because you’re not hitting every target you want in life or you just aren’t feeling yourself, the best remedy is to simply admit it and talk to someone about it.

“That's what I spoke about with Cycle Against Suicide,” says O’Connor. “There was young lads there and they could have been the top footballers and hurlers in the school and maybe all the women fancied them, but they're probably suffering inside.

“All I said was, 'lads, you're not windy, soft, or a coward if you put your hand up and say you want help or to talk to someone. You're actually a bigger man, believe it or not.'

“When I was 18 in school I was the ‘big man’, the captain of the school team, and everyone thought, 'Rory's bullet-proof'. But I had my own feelings and I spoke to closest people to me about them. I think that's the only way to come to terms with it.

“Because if you bottle it up, the harder it becomes. Alan (O'Mara) is one of the first sportspeople who ever stood up and spoke in that way. His book is fantastic and I'm sure he'll talk about that on Saturday.

“But if people do have depression, you have to live with it and treat it more as a friend than an enemy.

“Just be ready for it when it comes, and talking is key. It will take a while before the stigma is fully lifted, but we have turned a corner, hopefully.”

Saturday’s discussion is about getting the balance right, so with O’Connor steering things you can be sure there will be plenty of moments of levity as well as serious topics covered.

One of his most famous GAA characters, Eugene the cantankerous 'auld lad' who complains about everything, is sure to make an appearance at some stage.

“Yeah, I'll have my Eugene hat and glasses with me,” admits O'Connor. “Once the hat and glasses are on, you’d better look out in the first-row or second-row.

“Eugene's a man that takes no prisoners, put it that way!”

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