Dublin-born comedian David Nihill turned a fear of public speaking into a career in comedy - and the catalyst was a tragic injury to a friend.
Having overcome his fear, he has gone on to become the biggest-selling Irish comedian in America and told The Late Late Show host Patrick Kielty his extraordinary story.
"We'd a friend who suffered a spinal cord injury - and the insurance industry in America isn’t the best," he recalled. "They didn’t even give him a wheelchair when he came out after suffering the injury.
"So we were doing a fundraiser and he said, You host it. I’d like you to host it. I said I do not do public speaking. He said, you’re always speaking We can’t get you to shut up.
"Nd I said, no honestly. I’ve a crippling fear. And he’s like, I’m in a wheelchair, you dildo. And I was like, sorry. Not the best choice of vocabulary.
"So I better get over this fear. At least try."
Now a big hit in the USA, David was described by Patrick Kielty as someone who has "become the biggest Irish comedy act across the pond".
As David told Patrick: "The catalyst was that fundraiser. It became an on-going event that we've been doing for the last 12 years, raising money for people with spinal cord injuries."
David described his move into comedy as "potentially the worst plan I ever had," adding: "I said, 'I’m a comedian’ and they don’t believe you because everyone in Ireland is funny.
"It was around those times when you could kind of buy followers on the internet. I didn’t want to tell any Irish people I was doing it. So I bought a bunch of followers. I was suspiciously popular in Pakistan for a while.
"I didn’t want to go by my name because the family would be like: ‘What is he doing in America?’ So I called myself Irish Dave, which I thought was a bit sad. They’ll never believe this.
"It’s not like you could be American Frank touring Ireland. You’d be like, ‘Oh I can’t wait to see American Frank again’. They didn’t ask any questions at all . . . It just got out of control.
"And before you knew it, you’re on The Late Late Show, which is not to comfortable at all."
Patrick then noted "That’s the difference between Irish confidence and American confidence" and David agreed.
"American confidence is like, ‘We’re the World Super Bowl champions - and we don’t even play that sport. How do you just declare yourselves the best?
"I suppose, if you had a terrible idea in America, they’d support you. With anything. You’re like, ‘I’m going to quit my job and sell inflatable penguins on the internet’ and they’re like, ‘I’d love to see that journey for you.’
"You just need an Irish person to around you to say: ‘Listen. Just cop on. Get those penguins down off the internet. You’re brining shame to the family.’"
David also told Patrick that he initially moved to the USA in 2004 to work for Enterprise Ireland. He even ended up being involved in then President Mary McAleese’s trade mission.
Asked how that went, he said: "Badly. They put me in charge of the VIP list. So, who was important to them and who was important to me was very different.
"So I invited my uncle and my girlfriend’s mother."
He also noted that his mother Marie - who was in the audience with David’s dad Pat - was an illegal in the USA and found herself nursing Donald Trump’s mother.
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