With 183,161 Facebook likes and 15,078 Twitter followers, Meath man Rory O'Connor of Rory's Stories fame is carving a niche for himself as the funny man of gaelic games.

His humorous take on all things GAA has tickled the funny bones of grassroots members and supporters, at home and abroad, and his popularity has soared ever since he posted his first video online three years ago.

So where did the inspiration for Rory's Stories come from?

"I always wanted to get into acting and comedy and it's a hard market to break into so I started to write a blog called Rory's Stories, just telling funny stories about meself and past stuff that happened, throwing out the bit of humour.

"Then I did a few small videos and I made one video at the start of 2014. I just got a few Donaghmore lads in after training and got a friend down to record it. I just played a typical old school manager coming in and losing the head with the lads at half-time. I just called it 'The County Final Speech' and that went a bit viral on the internet.

"It was then I sat down and realised that no one has ever done GAA comedy really. Pat Shortt and the late Dermot Morgan touched on it but it was basically a market that I felt was wide open.

"From there, I went at it 100%, writing down ideas during the week - your dirty corner-back, your cocky corner-forward, the bad goalie, the auld lad on the sideline, the water boy, the physios. Everyone I could think of and, with the help of Paddy Murphy who has been with me from the start, I just started making videos every week and posting them online.

"The thing just exploded. There was a time last year when the videos were clocking up 1,000 likes a day. So I kind of knew I was on to a winner."

The next step was to bring Rory's Stories to a live stage...

"I started to do the live shows in GAA clubs last year. At the start there was no real script around them, I just said I'd go and have a bit of craic, take the p**s out of managers and goalkeepers!

"At the minute though it's a scripted show. So what I do is I go to each club and I do sketches of the local characters from the clubs. Each club I go to, it's personal because every club has these characters.

"The amazing thing I've learned from Rory's Stories over the last few years is that every club in Ireland has the exact same characters. Every where I go, I can nearly walk into a room and spot the corner-forward and corner-back just by what they are wearing, it's actually freaky!

"At the minute I'm doing it full-time. It's like everything else, you have to take a risk and, thankfully, it's gone well so far."

Wedding videos and surprise guest appearances are other strings that the former Royal County minor and U-21 footballer has added to his bow in recent times.

"The show I do is ideal for a wedding as well, the lull part of the wedding. Before the band comes on, I come in out of nowhere and, then again, I'd have info on the people at the wedding. It's ideal for GAA people who are getting married, for something different at their wedding. I've done a couple of weddings now and it's great craic.

"As regards, personal videos, not many people like having to do the best man speech so what I do there is I get the gang of lads to come, meet up and dress up. I play the lad who's getting married and say if he's missed a free in a big game or got sent off in a big game, I take the mickey out of him.

"It eases the pressure on the best man, he shows the video that we made during the speeches. I did one for Down star Conor Laverty's wedding and also for the wedding of Laois full-back Mark Timmons. Apparently, they both went down very well."

Has the success of Rory's Stories come as a surprise to the Donaghmore/Ashbourne clubman?

"I always had a good idea that it would go well but I didn't think it would touch as many people as it has. Like, I'm going to Boston next week and they have in the region of 400 tickets sold for that show. I'm going to Edinburgh on Paddy's Day to do another show.

"I've friends in New York, Canada and Australia who came home at Christmas and they'd be saying, 'Jaysus, it's amazing how many people it has reached over there'. I suppose, people who are away from home kind of crave that Irish humour, they can all relate to it and it reminds them of home.

"I obviously get a great buzz out of that as well, it's nice to know that you're reminding people abroad of the GAA and the kind of characters that are involved in the GAA.

"The thing about it with the GAA is that we're all characters, we're all sneery. Whatever it is, the GAA goes hand in hand with slagging. Everyone, of course, admires the commitment of the footballers and the hurlers, but I think people are also watching the games, waiting for something to happen that you can put a bit of spin on, a row or whatever.

"I know myself if I wasn't doing it, I'd enjoy seeing something different, even if they are only 30 seconds of video of lads acting the maggot, they are still relatable to whatever happened that day on the field. I'm looking forward to the season ahead."

As for his most popular characters?

"Without a shadow of a doubt, the Dublin Hill 16 bandwagon merchant that I do - Whacker Murphy, I've Whacker and I have Eugene.

"As I explain to people, Eugene is the auld lad leaning on the fence with the peak cap on him at every club game and every county game in the country. He hasn't a good word to say about the referee or about the up-and-coming minor. He's either too big and too slow or he's either too small and too weak. He's never any good like. He's a very popular character as well.

"Whacker is the essential bandwagon Dub who probably doesn't know that Dublin are after winning two out of two games in the league in the last couple of weeks but he'll be the first man up on Hill 16 on Leinster final day roaring, 'come on number six' or 'come on number 12'.

"I think the genuine Dublin fans love that. I was at the All-Ireland final, and there was plenty of lads shouting at me because they know that everyone on Hill 16 has, at one stage or another, stood either beside or behind a Whacker Murphy.

"He knows himself, he has a season ticket for Old Trafford but he's only in Croke Park for the six cans of Dutch Gold and the bit of singing."

Facebook: Rory's Stories
Twitter: @RorysStories
Email: [email protected]

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