Derry Girls star one of Irish trio invited to audience with Pope

Tommy Tiernan is one of three Irish comedians invited as part of an audience of more than 100 with Pope Francis. 

The Derry Girls star is set to meet the Pope in the Vatican on June 15. 

Tiernan has for years included religion and God in his stage material, and the 54-year-old has been open in recent years about his faith. The Donegal-born comedian goes to mass regularly. 

Ardal O’Hanlon and Patrick Kielty will join Tiernan in Rome. 

O'Hanlon is known primarily for his starring role in the Irish sitcom about priests, Father Ted, playing the dim-witted character Fr. Dougal McGuire. 

But the Monaghan-born comic is nothing like this character. 

The 58-year-old is an intelligent and thoughtful individual, as witnessed in the documentary he recently fronted, ‘The Last Priests in Ireland’.

And Co. Down man Kielty has often dealt with an intersection of politics and religion in Northern Ireland. 

Kielty has called for the abolition of segregated schools in Northern Ireland to bring an end to tribalism and sectarianism, an important cause for him following the murder of his father Jack in 1988 by Loyalist paramilitaries.

The Irish trio will be joined by other comics from around the world, including the likes of Conan O’Brian, Chris Rock, Jimmy Fallon, and Stephen Colbert.

The audience with the Pope was jointly organised by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education and Dicastery for Communication, and more than 100 entertainers will gather on Friday at the Apostolic Palace at 8.30am.