PROFILE
Pat Shortt started in comedy when he left Art College. With Jon Kenny he created ‘D’Unbelievables’, Ireland’s most popular comedy duo. Together they performed their unique brand of comedy in theatres all over Ireland, Great Britain and The United States as well as various countries across Europe. They produced four critically acclaimed and sell-out shows as well as writing and producing chart-topping videos.
As a solo artist Pat’s first show was a sell-out. Called simply Pat Shortt Live it played more than 250 dates around Ireland. It began at the Cats Laughs Festival in Kilkenny, where it sold out before the festival even opened, the first act ever to achieve this landmark. The undoubted hit of the Festival, Pat’s work was hailed as “comic genius” by the Irish Times. His second show You Won’t Get Away With That Here has achieved equal success.
An actor of note, Pat has appeared with Druid Theatre Company in their production of Martin McDonagh’s The Lonesome West, as well as in many recent movies including Angela Mooney Dies Again (with Mia Farrow), This Is My Father (with Brendan Gleeson, Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rae and James Caan) The Closer It Gets (with Ian Harte, Niamh Cusack and Sean McGinley), and in Man About Dog written by Belfast-born Pearse Eliot.
Most recently Pat played the role of Wheeler McCoy in the movie Strength & Honour as well as the lead role of “Josie” in a movie called Garage. Garage is the second feature from director Lenny Abrahamson and writer Mark O’Halloran. It picked up the CICAE Art and Essai Cinema Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Garage screened as part of the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar at the prestigious French festival.
An accomplished musician Pat has recorded with many bands and toured extensively in the US with the brass section of The Saw Doctors. In 2006, he scored the big hit in Ireland with the song "The Jumbo Breakfast Roll" under the guise of Showband singer Dixie Walsh. The song was a NUMBER ONE hit in Ireland for six weeks with sales going 4 times platinum. He followed up this success with “Where Did My Money Go”, again performed by alter-ego Dixie Walsh; released in time for Christmas 2008, it was Shortt’s tongue-in-cheek tribute to the global credit crunch.
Television credits include the character Tom in Father Ted, (Channel 4) and Bobby in The Fitz (BBC). Killinaskully is the hit series created by Pat for RTE television, which ran for five series, the last of which was screened on RTE during 2008. Mattie, the new detective pilot programme for RTE starring Pat, is currently in production.
