The Public Nuisance Podcast

The Public Nuisance Podcast #048 The Unholylands with Ciaran McCourt

• Sean McComb • Season 1 • Episode 48

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Welcome to a new episode of The Public Nuisance Podcast with me, Sean McComb.


This week we welcome actor, Ciaran McCourt to the podcast.


We cover five hours’ sleep before a premiere, turning fear into fuel, DMs that lead to starring roles, Belfast student chaos, Unholylands behind-the-scenes, acting craft without the fluff, Stephen Graham as the GOAT, fight postponements, empty arenas, banana-skin wins, Belfast’s creative surge, and much more.



New episodes every Tuesday.


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SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to this episode of the Publicers Podcast brought to you from Cannes Studios, right here where you can get all your content on from photo shoots, videos, podcast studios, you name it, we've got it. What was the day? How's the hair, first of all, Karen? All good, mate. King McCourt, by the way. Top actor, top actor coming out of Belfast.

SPEAKER_02:

Thanks for having me, Peter Sean.

SPEAKER_01:

Um how's the hair?

SPEAKER_02:

All good, mate. I am actually uh just made lack of sleep, to be honest. The last three nights, like averaging about five hours a night. It was you know the mixture of just like I think leading up to the premiere and the cinema release and all, it was it was uh probably not a a bit of like nervous energy and a bit of adrenaline excitement, that sort of thing, you know. So you probably know it'll take more than me, you know, leading up the effect. Like, I don't know how you boys sleep.

SPEAKER_01:

I sleep well on the way up to the side. I I sleep very well. I I I think it helps me get to sleep because I always go for tactics in my head. Serious, alright?

SPEAKER_02:

I always wonder how like the n especially the night before. See even the whole I would probably that's why I couldn't be a boxer. Like I I would probably not sleep for ten weeks, you know, thinking and then you're thinking about getting knocked out, what could happen. No, I know that's you know lack of preparation.

SPEAKER_01:

You have to you have to think you all in like I think if you think of all that like the the the what ifs, like what if this happens or what if that happens, that keeps you like like it keeps you sharp, keeps you like you like fuck that can happen like it's that customado thing about nerves, you know, it can either burn the house down or it can fuel you like because you've done a body, you've boxed right, like man, we've got to be a little bit more than a lot of your dad being a boxing coach, yeah, yeah. You know, like most people like the amount of time your dad spent on coaching like other fetters, top fetters, people almost go like but like it would be like inevitable for you to go and join a box club and train with your dad.

SPEAKER_02:

Mate, I never had the uh it was it was a dedication for me. Like I like most people on Battle Classics started drinking at about 13 and just I was it was just a mixture of that. Like love being out with my mates. I'd go down like I couldn't I just couldn't stick at it long enough to even get remotely fit. You know what I mean? I'd go down, I'd be watching you boys training on holy train day, and it was just like geez, these boys a lot like different level, and then sure like the sacrifice you're making, you know. Yeah, like acting is it's different types of sacrifice, you know, it's a lot of uh slow period, like but you know, you could be unemployed for a few months, blah blah blah. But like you boys, you know, you're probably missing holidays, family events, loads of stuff, like not being able to get it.

SPEAKER_01:

We actually had to cancel our holiday. We had a holiday book for the 15th of September, my fate was announced. No way two weeks later, so we had to put it back to October, so we'll go on Monday, so I look forward to, but it's like it's not a big time, it won't be as busy and all, maybe. I don't know, but um these are sacrifices, but it's just it's a short career boxing, isn't it? So you have to take it to them, and then obviously like acting like is that is that just something you've always wanted to do from a young age, or did it just come upon you like it was um probably I was about fifteen.

SPEAKER_02:

So I when I was growing up, I always loved movies and stuff, but I was about 15, 16 when I started taking it serious, and I didn't know how to get into it, I didn't know anyone that was doing it. The only person I actually knew was I told Anthousy or the eggs was talking to him, was Ant O'Poyle. And he at this point hadn't broke through. Like he he was only two years older than me, so he was maybe say I was sixteen, he was eighteen, and he had done one short film which I'd seen, which was it went into Belfast Film Festival or something, and I mailed him and I was like, mate, how do you get in the acting? You're the only person I know, dude. And he fair play it was really helpful. He emailed me back and he was like, join the rainbow factory, it's in town and over blah. So I went and I joined that, then started taking it more serious, and then yeah, it was just an arch on effect, mate. It was just went over to Manchester to drama school, and then just I went to Dublin for screen acting school and just yeah, because people look a lot of people feel like you can just act.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, aye, aye, aye. Carl McGregor was like, What's he doing? He couldn't act and agent. He's not even acting, he's just being himself up.

SPEAKER_02:

It's a weird thing. Probably the only two things, jobs that I can think of anyway, that people look at is comedy and acting, where they go, Well, they're they're just walking and talking. Yeah, I can I do that, I do that every day. I make people, you know, I make people laugh, or I get in an argument, so I could do an argument scene or whatever. Yeah. And it's like you put a camera in someone's face, it's just that's game water. They just melt. Do you know what I mean? You can see some of the most, you've probably seen you know, some of the most confident people, maybe even yourself when you were, I don't know, when you started doing interviews for the first time, you're very confident. I've seen you and you know, telling stories.

SPEAKER_01:

Someone puts a camera in your face and you're like there's people I've got on here who like they're they're confident in speaking, like, say, for example, even like my mate Marty, you'll be on the gym, he speaks every day on camera, like talking like about the gym stuff and about coaching and all this kind of and he's very confident speaking to an audience that way. But you put him in, he won't do his podcast. Oh, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Like people people just freeze up. And then you add on to that, um you know, you've say five scenes to learn for the day, and you've three pages in each scene, and maybe you you have to hit certain points throughout the scene, maybe you might end up, you know, um having to cry in the scene, you might end up having to get really angry, funny, whatever it is.

SPEAKER_01:

So smaller because I see some kids and I'm like, How does he remember all that? No, like some kids like say like a five-roll and they say, I ain't gonna go, how do they get that five rule to do that? No, like I I I'm an actor and I even think that I go how did that five-roll like how uh what's he doing in the house, mate? Five rolls nuts, maybe that's boy, he's fucking running around like a lunatic. Like, but if I like I go, how do they do that? Like, and there's kids like young, as young a wee lad who was in that Stephen Graham show.

SPEAKER_02:

That's right, adolescents.

SPEAKER_01:

I was like, what are they doing? He was unbelievable.

SPEAKER_02:

Like you do get some people, like even Macaulay Colton was very young when he got young, you know.

SPEAKER_01:

No, how do they like that's a perfect example?

SPEAKER_02:

I honestly mate, I have no idea. Like, I I think about that as well all the time when I see young people in because I like remembering I like I've worked before with you know, you might have a baby in the scene, yeah. So the baby just has to sit there, and sometimes it can be a nightmare because if it starts crying, it starts crying, there's nothing you can do, you know. Yeah, usually you'll have the sorry, you'll have the the mum on set and she'll come over and the cradle baby calm it calm her down or whatever. But uh when you yeah, when you're seeing then five, six, seven year olds and they're being given scripts and they're killing it, you're like, how are you doing this?

SPEAKER_01:

Like I don't know. It's mad, but like you were saying like Aunt O boy, like the effie like now the the the acting scene in Belfast is just taking it like it's just evolving massively in the last few years. Like if you look at it, like they're actually like starting to do series and all here now, which like more so I think back in the day it was probably only pulling moves. Oh, right now like like back in the day it was like pulling moves and you were going an actor, like imagine going, who's an actor from Belfast? Like 15 years ago you wouldn't have known that.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, 100%. Like it's been it's uh yeah, you look at I mean I think there was something happened about 10 10-15 years ago. There'd obviously been ones before there have been your like Liam Neesons and Jimmy Gaskits and all who but they were quite out on their own, and then about 10 years ago, 12 years ago, maybe you had like the fall, and you got was a big turn on point. Game of Thrones came over to fill them here, a lot of investment got put in, so then the arts just you know, a lot of people I think were getting more into it. Like now, as you say, you like blue lights and all just went up after you know what I mean? It's unbelievable. So, like there's so much better.

SPEAKER_01:

Even kneecap, just uh like they're not even actors, and I know I went to Premier Frat as well, and they were working actually for very good acting. Unbelievable. My wife like the Rainbow Factory when she was a kid. Oh, really? So she's in the all, so she wants to get carburetor into like acting as well. She wants to like go to drama school, all this kind of so she l she met a lot of friends to drama school. She went there for like her whole life, and and actually we were at one of our friends' waddings from drama school in Mar Bay, and it was just like all these amazing like singers from like London, and they're all acting that no like theatre, they do theatre. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And they're just like the whole entertainment was just all them and singing throughout the day and I guess it's unbelievable. Not like the waddens you're used to. Exactly. Yeah, like all the lunatics you there, you get some characters in our lands, but their one is more like professional characters. Uh it was unbelievable, but like it just seems that like like back in the day it was like from like from where we come from, we had to fuck with drama school. I'm like, go and get my real hand out the fucking. Yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_02:

There's good uh I think as well, it's it's it's so funny. I've thought about this a lot. Um so like even when I went to school and all it was only in my year for the Dead A Level drama, it was uh it was only three fellas, like me and my two mates or whatever did it. And uh a lot of people like you know, with fellas, like it was funny because I was like at the time when I was growing up, but it was 15, 16, 17, that you know, you're like out of the weekend, you're lighting pins on fire and drinking, and then you're gonna Monday and rehearsing for a play and all you feel like you're leaving a double life to clean or something. And uh you don't know with a real mate. I don't know the exactly, and I was like, but it's funny because people have association with with drama and all like ah blah blah blah. But actors everyone think is cool, you know. So it's like they're all their favourite celebrities is like Danzo Waxing and probably or Leonardo Cabo. But you you're like, but you have to do you have to go like do drama at school, you know. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01:

But then if I did from all turner knows, exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_02:

I think maybe it's just the name drama people think like I don't know what, but but I think maybe yeah, if you called it acting or whatever, people because when people, you know, say yeah, you tell people you're an actor, or whatever they are usually quite interested in. It's one of them jobs you'd be like, oh no, eh, like what have you done or blah blah blah.

SPEAKER_01:

But yeah, you I I seen that the wall then we were saying like going to St. Louise's. Uh yeah. It was like probably one of the only like it was a couple of files at that stage, I think like we told and all that at that stage. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember it was the first time St. Louise were having files, and I was like, What the fuck are they doing on the St. Louise? But I was like, but then now people go at that time people were going probably going, Fuck C what's he doing on the girl school? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But they didn't know his ambition was to become an actor. Who's laughing now? Exactly. I was like, you're going, fuck me. Like if if someone was to do to do that, like you would go, crack on this girl school, but not knowing like the full big shirt to that prize guy. My sponsor. Helping hundreds of people daily. When big praises, charity work, you name it, they're doing it. Bang bang every chip.

SPEAKER_02:

I mean, you need I you need I think now I like this generation coming through will have people to look up to like like um I think like the like Savantho, you know, who's young kids can look up to and be like, I I want to be the next Anto Ball, you know, like he's obviously absolutely killing it around the world. So people I think people need that inspiration a bit like boxing, you know, people had like your generation, yourself and Mick and all the rest, and now they can look up and go, well it's achievable. Yeah, it's achievable.

SPEAKER_01:

It's achievable, it's like fuck my age, like I see him every day, you know, like I'm not gonna have to do that. Yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_02:

Seeing that goal, I always kind of call it the golden air, like it was with all you lot, and it was like unbelievable, but amateur boxing was so good back then. I absolutely loved it.

SPEAKER_01:

I was arguably better than like I we thought about this rightly, and I say like it was so hard to win an RC League title back in the day like it was so fucking hard. Like, see, it was harder to win an ICLE title than it was to win like a major European medal or something because I mean a hundred percent. Like, even at my weight, like yeah, you'd Eric Donovan, Davey Joe Joyce, you'd or David Albert Joyce, you'd all these like senior champions that were like who were like world level. So just to fight three or four names in a row that just won an Irish title, and then to get out of your country was easy and you had Navinol, didn't you? Yeah, it was just like and at Prime's onto Navin as well. Like I'm getting all the way. It was uh it was definitely like I remember like when I was getting into the seniors, I was like, I'm fucking never gonna beat these fellas because they're like full-time athletes, you know what I mean? And then McGee was like, right, we're gonna train full-time like we're gonna train in the morning since seven before school, I was like seventeenth. And then when I thought John was 18, and I mean I I ran I ran him close. I remember it was like a point, he beat me by a point, and I was like, fuck me, like I can win these. Like that was like the point where I'm at like I can win these.

SPEAKER_02:

Wasn't that uh was that like just after the Olympics too?

SPEAKER_01:

When he won't be like gold or he won a bronze at the World Championships, the Cuban beat him and then he fought me like three months later in the Irish seniors and uh so it was in January and he was going to London, he already qualified for London. Um because I remember him saying like after a fair I wasn't gonna go to work, like I I I didn't know how good you were. Yeah. I just thought I was gonna go on and blast you out. It wasn't like but then I wasn't giving you praise for like how good you were at that time because you were like you weren't really on the scene when they were it's not until now where I go I was beating myself up when I'm not good enough to go to the Olympics. Like how show McComan almost beat me. I know yeah yeah yeah. But he didn't realize but then now I go like I'll I'll give him a credit, like you're you were good, you were class. Oh I mean, unbelievable. For me, I was like, I can fucking win these. Was he doing the Mullengar shuffle any? He did at the end that he wasn't doing it during the fight. He done at the very end when the decision was called because it was so close and he was like he didn't like know if he won or not, and it was like and it was like tense, and then when it won, he was like, and then he done the re shuffle and I was like oh mate.

SPEAKER_02:

I I I love that area so much. Like I remember we're going to watch the Ulster Seniors and stuff, Ulster Senior Finals, and he's been Azure Champion and all packed out, mate. You would uh it was just it felt like a pro yeah, like the atmosphere in there and you had great scraps in the card, like you the rook and mech fighting and all loads of like loads of wee, like you'd mean Randallemberg fighting.

SPEAKER_01:

That's right, I think there was like so much we like revelists, you know, like D Wild's fighting Emmanuel Keane. Ah, yeah, I think Randall beat everybody he beat everybody, but he was Navin. Aye aye, he beat Tom McCock, he beat everybody, he was so awkward, he was so small, but he was like just so awkward. But he was a good class fight.

SPEAKER_02:

There was I round that time, even like D and Conrad Cummings and all had a few good scraps and all. I it was uh then when Tommy was at 81 kilo, like he was unbelievable. And there was always a gooey, like but I think around that time, although the amateur scene was booming, you didn't have like pros, but like you know, obviously there was John Doddy, there was Paul McCluskey and McGee and we had Bram McGee. Bram McGee, Eminem McGee, and Martin Rogan, maybe but like, yeah, yeah, but it was few and far between, and there was a few years even between between them, like yeah, and so there wasn't that much to look up to, and then obviously Frantom was a big turning point, wasn't he? Yeah, and when you lot that generation turned over pro and then the big knights started coming to Belfast, kids now I can look up and be like, oh, it's definitely achievable.

SPEAKER_01:

You work cars, you know. Because you never we never went we we you may have went, I think I went to King's Hall, maybe to King's Hall, it was like a big just anti-warehouse season, and it was like what was this class, but it wasn't like yeah, it wasn't regular enough to be like that'll happen.

SPEAKER_02:

I went to the King's Hall when Fury got dropped. Oh that's right.

SPEAKER_01:

I was like that was early in his career, I was there.

SPEAKER_02:

I think D because D was being stabbed night, George Healy.

SPEAKER_01:

George Healy was at that, yeah. That was a good night. Oh, it was a good night. Better still, that night, Mayweather fought Victor Ortiz as well. Ah, that's right. Remember the dirty shooters I went home because I remember going home and going to bed and then waking back up to watch that. I was screwed. I was like, fuck my own. They were they were class, they were classic.

SPEAKER_02:

They were the only big shows coming, so I know. I think like um sorry, I know I got a bit off point. I always end up talking about boxing with it. But uh like when you have heroes to look up to, you know, people now don't need to look the whole way back to like Liam Neeson, yeah. Because that almost Liam Neeson's like Hollywood, isn't he?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that's it.

SPEAKER_02:

So like it's almost unbelievable you can't imagine. Yeah. Whereas people look at the likes of like you know, blue lights are looking on the boys, look at all these people, and they're like, I can do that. Sure, he lived down the street the road from me. And I see him uh in the PD or I see him in town drinking.

SPEAKER_01:

He still does, he's still out at Christmas time and stuff. Are you going to PD or are you going to like local bars? 100%. I feel like Belfast is very good at that. Like even Frampton and all, like Frampton's a superstar, but he still just goes on with daily life. He doesn't like he doesn't take himself away. Like I feel like Belfast is very small anyway, but I mean people still just go about their daily business, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I think you need to make yourself um accessible to like Ricky, like you know, Ricky Hutton, obviously. Um like he he just put himself out there so he was always around people. So then because I I went to I lived in Manchester three years, I would have seen Ricky out, like you know, and the same in you know, bars, nightclubs, whatever, and he was just so I used to be like, This is a guy I grew up at three in the morning. What's my earliest memories of boxing with then I would see him, I was even there the night. I don't know if you were there, but um in the Davennies you probably heard about it where you got up and did karaoke.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh that's right.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I walked in, I didn't know, I didn't know he was there. Sort of while we were out in the smoking area, and I I I walked in and I could hear I could hear karaoke going on, but because they had live a band on, right? Yeah, so I was like, fuck it, because obviously karaoke is very different to like bands. I was like, who is that? Who have they hired for to pick their off? I mean, and I I ran I walked around, it was Ricky Hatton and Oasis, and I was like, I ran out of mates. I went lads, I don't even have time to explain, just follow me. You just won't believe me, I mean you won't believe me anyway, and we ran in there. He was I had it, I put up a Snapchat and all the Ricky had it a dead but I think like making yourself you put yourself out there, like like the reason you know, like say Frampton in I would say in the north would be just as famous and well known as Roy McElroy, yeah. But Rory couldn't walk down the street in Belfast because like he is ne well it's not I'm not saying he's never here, but like he wouldn't be out and about, which is understandable, he's an absolute superstar. Whereas Frampton now, like everyone's seen him, everyone's got their photo with him, so they'll be good. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, the same, and they're like, oh well, how they're like, all right, Carl. You know, I used to when I lived in Wapping, actually, which is like a um place in East London, there would have been a few celebrities that lived there and stuff. I I wasn't living in a fancy place. I wasn't gonna be able to do it. I was like, That sounds like I'm describing myself as a celebrity. No, no, I was living in this wee terrible uh uh like flat thing. But anyway, like on down it was all these lovely apartments, and I would have seen like Graham Norton lifter. Alright, mate would have walked past him all the time. I was just not he wouldn't really get bothered, you know, because people would just like were they're used to seeing him, you know what I mean? So it was like a neighbour almost, you know, people obviously say hello or whatever. So the first time I seen him, I was like, what? And then by the third time you're walking past him, it's just like alright, you know what I mean? Yeah, like starstruck anyway. Simon, you need to make yourself exactly.

SPEAKER_01:

He does a lot of media, ringwalk media, um and he was doing like he was doing like a tour in LA or something, but he was going down Beverly Hills and there's he just took a video of like um Albertino just standing down with his headphones and then the guy who was doing the tour beat the arms like that, and he's like, he this is his walk routine every morning. That's my but it's just no one cares. Oh, he doesn't think that's his road he does he probably walks up and down every morning. Yeah. That's my routine. And he's gonna be a big earphones in and he walk he just waves and just standards on. I'm like, and your man ring rang walk with Jar Jonathan had on his phone and he put up around a story. I was like, mate, that's unbelievable.

SPEAKER_02:

That's unbelievable.

SPEAKER_01:

And then he explained the story to me. I was like, fuck, that's class.

SPEAKER_02:

You know he's got like a one-year-old kid up to you. That's that's mad. He's like 84 or something. What the fuck? So's the Nero as well.

SPEAKER_01:

Fucking young young bowls.

SPEAKER_02:

Fun fancy hat.

SPEAKER_01:

Hello, what the hell?

SPEAKER_02:

They'll be in their 90s. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01:

That's insane. I'm one year old when you're 84. What the fuck? Lowering the years back out. If you can explain like a character of like two top actors, like that's that that's them. Like they're just styling. No, like they're just they have it. And if you ever say someone like just a world guess, one actor in the world or two actors have a child under the age of three, who would it be? You would say then too. Yeah, you go like they are, they're legends again. Like, do you have like a do you do you ever have a favourite actor?

SPEAKER_02:

Like um yeah, I get asked this a lot. So when I was younger, um it was DiCaprio probably. I love De Niro as well. Um I love DiCaprio, I love Denzel. Everyone loves Denzel, don't they? But as I've got older, I actually prefer Ari Sprite's actors, and I prefer Ari Spriti's uh TV as well. It's more gritty, you know. So Stephen Graham, Steve Graham, he's been uh my goat the last five, six, seven years.

SPEAKER_01:

Don't doing something about the movies and acting at the shows, he's everywhere. He's just anyone if he's and do you know what? No so good about acting, like see if someone's in it, you watch it. Oh yeah. You don't even need the story of a certain actor's in something, you watch it, and he's one of them. We'll watch this.

SPEAKER_02:

I might mind me at Damo says to me, he laughs how much I and he's Stephen Graham, him coming out, I can't wait for it. He's like, You'd watch him just paint the fence out the back. I'm like, I would see. I can watch Stephen Graham do everything because it's so real, like it's so like it's hard to even explain. I I don't feel like I'm watching acting at all. And I think that's that's the best acting when you forget you're watching acting, you know, it's like so realistic, and you you feel whatever they're going through, whether it's anger, sadness, yeah, whatever. If they're even if they're pissing you off, they're doing the good job. Aye.

SPEAKER_01:

They never see like when a character like you go, fuck I hate that character, and everybody's actually doing what he's meant to do in his class, because that that show, the one in Liverpool about the all the drugs, the city is ours. The city's ours is the wee like the guy Jamie. Oh yeah. Obviously, doing what he's meant to do. He's like, Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

And um, it's it's no, you're doing it. I I I'm doing a show in Dublin at the minute, which is uh on TV down there, and I like my characters are real prick, and it like everyone hates him like I made the abuse I get like online, it's mad. See, and when I'm out when I'm out and about in Dublin or whatever, everyone's lovely, you know. You get people come up and you know, just say hello or whatever, and everyone's lovely, but online they're like, get that Northern bastard back to Belfast, get him on a one-way ticket back to Belfast and all that. Like, geez, lads, don't be able to do it. It's not the real mate. Exactly. I'm like, it's only but then you know, I have to remind myself if if they're feeling that way towards me, I'm doing something right, you know. Because you're down with the could you rather that than them not feel anything towards you? It's better whether it's hatred or anger or whatever, it's like, you know what, fair enough.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I get the reaction of some sort of thing. Oh, 100%. What about see at like that movie on Holy Lands? Obviously, we went to the premiere last night for it was classified. I really enjoyed it, um, and thanks for having me down. But here uh what what did that come about? Did Patty just like approach me to just do this together? What way did that come about?

SPEAKER_02:

So three three and a half years ago I got a a DM from Patty on on social media, and he had basically seen a short film I'd done a few years before, and he he he really liked it, he followed me or whatever. And he was like, mate, uh this is random, but I'm writing a feature film at the minute, and there's a character I'm writing, and I'm kind of basing it around you. I would love you to play it. So I was like, What's it about? No. And he was like, right, I'll give you a ring. So we ended up on the phone for about two hours that night, and he talked me through it. He was like, It's this comedy about the Holy Lands, and as soon as he said that, I went, surely like I was like, There needs to be a film about the Holy Lands. How's no one thought of this before? It was like alarm bells, my head. I was like, you know, you're cracking a market here, especially like Derry Girls, which is happening.

SPEAKER_01:

When you think about it, like you see, when when you're a Senate and I, when you think about it, the amount of thousands of people coming at the university every year have experienced that every every year.

SPEAKER_02:

100% that's what it is. It's like you've either lived in the you're either going to live in the Holy Lands one day, maybe you're 15, 16, whatever, you've lived in the Holy Lands, or you live in the Holy Lands currently, or if you haven't any of them three, you've parted in the Holy Lands. Do you know what I mean? You've been there like so for better or worse, do you know what I mean? So we were like, there's definitely a market here, you know, and Dairy Girls at this point had you know just um came out and stuff, and everyone loved that humour, the you know, the humour of the North of Ireland and stuff, and we were like, This is perfect. So anyway, he started writing it. I was coming up with different ideas and stuff, um, and we were kind of pitching together, and then we shot it that summer, so 2022, three years ago. So it unbelievable the shoot, by the way. I mean, it was you know what I mean. You were you're playing a character who you know it's probably closest. I've played like bad guys before, I've played you know, all different things that are hopefully farm closest to you. Yeah, exactly. But this probably the closest uh I've ever played them myself because you're just playing a bit of a wing nut, you know what I mean? Who loves partying and drinking, and everyone's done that, you know what I mean? Um everyone's associated with just going out during that time in their life and just getting steaming and making bad choices, whatever. So yeah, I was like when we were shooting it, we had an absolute class crack like that you would have had, you know. Luckily we shattered over summer, so there wasn't too many students about there was uh you would have got some and come up and kind of you know, yeah we were just excited there was a film being made, but um the one of one of the days actually I haven't told this story before, but one of the one of the days we're filming, so Patty had scoped out a load of houses down there. He was like went to all these different views, he was like and he found this one house. He was like, This is the house for the movie, it's perfect, the size, the setting, everything. But the issue is all the other houses he had the option of he would just have free, basically, as in like no one gonna be living in it. This house, there was four of them, two of them had gone home, but two of them are staying up in Belfast. So he was like, lads, and they were like, Well, we need to live here. So we were like, Look, we're never really in the house, you know, blah blah blah. So luckily, so throughout the whole like five weeks we were filming, they were hardly ever there. One time we came down for filming, Sean, there was a full day of filming ahead, and mate, there was a mad party happening on the car. The floor was completely flooded, like there was big boom box and all. Is this we fell around? Shout out, right? Absolutely imagine, and he walked out and he just had a big massive boombox on. We were like, Oh, we're supposed to be filming here, like what are you doing? He was like, Oh, sorry, boys, fucked here. Like we were like, Oh no, well, can you get everyone out? And he's like, uh the truth, and he got he walked out of the gaff of them, and then we went in, and all the people behind the scenes they had to quickly like fix up the gaff. But that gaff was so bad that the first day we were shooting lad, I mean you what you like in this gaff, the they were real big party house, they were like the real life people in the in the you've seen the film, obviously. They were like the real real life people, and they would have an open door policy basically. I mean, I'd see videos of like big DJs, you know, from Thompson's arriving back there and doing after party, and there wouldn't it be like a boiler room set, there wasn't anywhere to move. And uh these boys were constantly having parties when we went down to film for the first day, and they were getting the house already, and they would bring down what happens is like like Darvin would know us and all, but like props and stuff you'd bring down, and you'd make the place look realistic, and uh they actually had to make it they had to pick up stuff, you know, because it looked unrealistic, they had domino boxes lying open, half-eaten Chinese and it was in the bedroom, no bed sheets on the thing, and it was like this place, lads. How are you living here?

SPEAKER_01:

Like saying, isn't it like fuck I've been there for you? I'm like myself, and I'm like I one of the main reasons I couldn't live like a student, like Marty and all was I went over to um Liverpool to Marty and all Floyd and Nick. Some of the boys like they live like one of the houses back here on Cali there for four and hour and it and I mean they had a party in St. Patty's Day when you're even over. Holy fuck, this place was terrice, the fridge was tippled upside down about that. I would say there was at least 40 items out of date. Just all the bottles, holy fuck, there was bottles smiced everywhere. You literally it would be easier to just put a letter to the smoke. No, no, no. Um Marty O'Hara actually spared me in the kitchen and I fucking like I was glasses in my arm, fucking you lost my arm. No way. I got home like I had a fucking big massive douche my my arm, it's a big scotter and I was like, I never it's only we small scotter and I don't know. I fucking went down to like Mao first training capsule. Wouldn't stop bleeding, so I just wrapped it in like bandits, but it was deep, very deep. Oh I was down sparring meo and my arm was aching, and then I went in and seen a physio and she was like, That's not that's infected, you need to get the hospital. So she sent me home for me, I had to fly home from Mao, went into the hospital. My arm was a w swole up from here, my wrist the whole way up to here, and they were like, You need to stay in here and go on a trip. I was like, That's that my hair's gonna be an antibiotic. It's like no this travels round and I closer to your heart, we'll need you amputate your arm. Oh, I was like, Fuck off, I'm a boxer, I need to keep it. I'm a boxer. And then did you still have your job? And then they were like, Yeah, okay. What happened then? I was explaining what happened like three weeks ago. She was like, Three weeks, you haven't got this into you. Obviously, too late to stitch. So they just um give me a strong, strong antibiotic, and then uh I wouldn't stay in the hospital and says if this travels any further around your arm, you need to get in here, eh? So lucky enough, so uh me from the Holy Lands to fucking the mirror and but the house was absolutely like see when I went in, Marty was gonna do a lecture. So he left me, Rolly's randomers, and he's like, they're alright. I went in, lad, there's this fella, big crowd, big shirt of the crowd as well from Terry. He's he's the maddest person I've ever met. I walked in, lad, and he's wearing a paralyzed Monday L football boots, screamed about the floor. The house was dead this stage, he was just racking up running about the wooden floor, scratching everywhere. I was like, I was stone cold super this just arrived in Liverpool. I was like, What's going on? What's happening, boys? There's only four of them sitting there. And then he went so I went and got a couple of bike busters to join him, had a few drinks. See, by the time Marty got back from his lecture, the house was packed to the rafters, at least a hundred people in it. And then like you say, you could not swing a fucking rat, you couldn't swing a rat in this place. And it was like I was absolutely stamina. He was like, Lad, I've left you for two hours. What have you done?

SPEAKER_02:

I was like, You just had to get on a lot of it's like it was mad even you look back and you think about anything, so like you couldn't think of anything worse than being in that type of so even see now when you're in you know you go to like a club or something and it's just you can't move in there and you're like, oh, this is the worst. But like in the M student parties, it's like you have a low ceiling type thing, or some of the what parties I would have gone to in Manchester, mate, were desperate, like it was proper, like they would have like basement parties over there quite a lot. Yeah, whatever way some of the layouts were in uh Fallowfield, it's just like a student area. Some some of the gaffs had like basements and the roof, I mean it was like just door above your head, you know, it's just sweaty, it's just disgusting. You're like, get me out of here, like like you know, even then, you were thinking that yeah, you probably weren't like that's a lie. You're absolutely loving it, but thinking back, you're like, Oh, it's brutal. Like, but like even my gaff I lived in, like my mile hates if she's watching, but like it was stinking, mate. It was only thing I was ever worried about. I am terrified of mice and rats. Terrified and see and cats. Oh, you can't say cats, I don't like cats either. See cats the way they move and all you trust them, aye slow and then the way they're back, eye something about them. You're afraid they're just gonna scrubby or something. But like mice and rats are just terrify me, mate. Like, I I think it's because my ma was really afraid of them growing up. Yeah, so like even in my masses a photo of a mouse or a rat, and I think it's just screams, get that away, mate, Karen, get that away of me. So I think it was instilled in me when I was younger, and uh I always was afraid of that, and luckily we never had them in my third year house, but made like we would have had black bin bags, and we for whatever reason we lived above this bakery and we didn't have bins. I don't know why. Like the bakery took all the bins with me, so we would just let we would have had the water into the little and you know, basically leave them all there. But you're not gonna be doing that like every two days, are you? So it'd be six black bin bags built up lad and the flies and all would be in all. And I'm like, oh my god. My man went over and visited all my sisters at uni multiple times and never visited me in society. So love is I love you every bit as much as the same Karen, but like I know I it would ruin my day. Like if I walked in there, do you know what I mean? It would uh genuinely upset me the state the state of the place.

SPEAKER_01:

I was like, Oh, it's for the best, you don't like that's that's like I said, I was one of the main reasons I just couldn't live like a student. See, like Marty was fucking like scraping by times. I was like, I can't I couldn't live like that. I just could not live like that.

SPEAKER_02:

You're you're you're dependent as well on you know, especially when when you move away, like it's you're made so skin like like skin like you wouldn't believe loans and fuck a lot of your skin. Oh I mean 100% because see when you're see when you're 19, 20, 21, see getting say three and a half grand into your account, that's like being a millionaire in it, you know what I mean. You're like, I'm rich, but you know, that has to last you three or four months. Yeah, so like and you're like go out and you go mad in the first week and you go out and get new clothes and all. I was always jealous of my mates, see back in Belfast.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

So they were getting their loan, but they're maybe living with their man, you know, so they keep it all. Oh, it was all theirs, and I was like, that's lethal. Mine was going out the door and rent straight away, and then I had to kind of ration the the rest of it.

SPEAKER_01:

100% I was just like, oh fuck, see, I could never get that.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh I mean it's character like it's character building in a way, because it it taught you to like I think a lot of people think when they move away, look, everyone's different. Some people uh you know, might get you know, might be able to get more like more help, or they might have had savings built up before they went, or they might get a job, but you need a lot of people. I didn't. I actually did. I got a job in Old Trafford for a while. Um it was a nightmare, like it was I mean first shift I got put on it was uh do you know do you ever I'm sure you use sports city, you know, you like you go to a football game and at half time you go out to the where all the you get the beers knocked. And there's like a thing called a Hawking system where like so you're either behind the till serving like the hot dogs and all right, or you're standing on your own with a load of beers. Oh yeah, like a tray, almost like a yeah, lad, for first first shift I got put on a road traffic, it was a derby, it was United City, and they were like you're doing the Hawking system, and I was like, Oh, what's that? And uh they were like you're just standing there selling beers and you don't have a cash till. So we're gonna give you a float with money. Yeah when people are coming up and ban beers with cash, you give them out the chains. So I said, uh right, right. My I my my quick mavs isn't great either, right? So I'm like, right. Um so before the match was alright, and then uh well it still wasn't alright, it was getting tough and sweating a bit and all lads. See half time, swear to god, like all these fans, hundreds like poured out and they seen me standing already looking a bit confused, and then neighbour swore me. It was like, all right, mate, fuck, you know, I give you two brown. And I started, I was like, lads, chill out. No, but wait, wait, here uh how much was that change? How much did you give me? Or you know what I mean? See by the way. I'll be fucking I ordered before when hear me fucking United brings in fucking hundreds of millions a year. I was like, this is too stressful for me to pick I quit I got pretty big on that. I was like, and the annoying thing about working there was you want to make a much money, lad. You were you know, I think I was getting like four, I was getting about 45 quid a ship. And then we were gonna get pence after. You were you were breaking? No, you were even that you could spend 60 quid after you paid 45 quid and that because you had such a stressful shift, you were always gonna go for pence. And it was like so many of the oh, the other I that was the other thing that was annoying. So when you're in that wee bit, so we'd say you're behind a telebot to have all the screens up so you can watch the match. Yeah, but you don't realise is live TV is actually about five seconds behind, so yeah, it's not automatic, you know. So I'd be watching Rooney run up the pitch and passing the team or a whatever, and then I'd hear all the cheering, or I'd hear, you know, I'd be like, yeah, so it goes by now, or you'd hear, oh and like I know he's about to miss it.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it's just friends have been watching the thing.

SPEAKER_02:

You can't even and you can't even go out and like like you always wanted, you know. I don't think they really like you kind of going out in your uniform and standing there and watching. So it was it wasn't good, like you know, you think it's gonna be class working there, and you're like nah, the reality's different.

SPEAKER_01:

Like so it's like people say don't like don't be riddles, that's almost like you're going to be able to do it. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, because it would have been a dream of mine growing up. And then you get there and you're 40 fellows shouting for it.

SPEAKER_01:

Like I thought it was gonna be chillin', but really here, like exactly it's fuck that. Oh, fuck and bring it. But so like what's what's the ambitions now? And what like what honestly we'll go we'll go back to the acting thing, like because we'll we were saying like like I just feel like Belfast is booming now with the acting, and there's so much opportunities I feel now. Like we were just talking yesterday about like um all the like the the comedians getting on blue lights, like yeah, yeah. Things on it, uh don't that really got a part, but the only person didn't get a part of Shane Tori really wants to be able to do that. Oh really? But like the all the opportunities are like they're made they're aye, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Like, yeah, blue lights is uh absolutely class and it's uh it's doing massive things, you know. So like there I know there's a another series to that, the shoot of Commission One More series four. So fingers crossed, I'll be uh I'll get him that I'll be uh tasting them for that. I don't know when they're shooting, I think it's next year. But I've a few things lined up of uh of a show coming out BBC, it's kind of like saying much about it. It should be being announced soon. But uh it's very different though on Holy Lands. I'm playing a Scouser on it. So it's it's it's very different. My character is you'll see when it's announced, but like it couldn't be any more different.

SPEAKER_01:

See, um the so like the the Scouser, you do you have to go and do like lessons on like immediate yourself?

SPEAKER_02:

Like I would say like it depends on the accent. Like some some sometimes you will hire a vocal coach or or uh an accent coach or whatever, but some accents come to me quite uh naturally. Liverpool is one of them, you know. Like like American, I can slip into easy as well. Um a lot of English accents I can do easy.

SPEAKER_01:

Liverpool, I think, because the Irish accent I can do uh like I I wouldn't say I can do a Scottish accent, but it would come to me a lot more naturally. But the one accent I cannot do for like for like is that I don't understand how I just can't understand how they can talk about this stuff. Sometimes it's um people say to me like you're good at like you're good at like accents, you're good at accents, and I go, fuck it. See that I can't do it. I don't want to I just don't know. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

So sometimes so some accents you'll it's weird. Like I could do maybe some like random, like a New York accent, right? I've only I've only been to New York once in my life 11 years ago. But like I can't really do uh a Manchester accent and I lived there for three years, you know what I mean? But yet I can do Liverpool accent and never lived there. It's like weird, like sometimes you'll use little um like little phrases to get you Indian accent. So sometimes that's all you're eating. If you're doing Dublin, I'll be like, uh relax now. Oh yeah, talk about Belly Moon or something, yeah. Oh don't really fuck about that. It's all it's that kind of thing, and then you slip in as North Dublin, or you know, like you'll you'll always have little things where like you can that that'll get you into the the accent, and then you're you're back into it. Some people uh actors uh a lot do it differently, a lot kind of stay in in the the accent. Yeah, I've tried that before. I uh I I remember have I flying over to London for an audition once. It was for I was only 20, 21 at the time, and uh it was for this big American film that was happening, it was one of my first big auditions or whatever, and I was like, fuck, I'm really gonna go method for this, you know, method act when I flew over to London now, and I woke up that day and I kind of said to myself the night before, when I wake up tomorrow, um I'm gonna just stick in this accent the whole day. But I walked into a cafe now, I was like, hey, can I get Americano? Like, you know, talking like this, and uh get on the bus and all like hey you can have a ticket into London place and and then I get into the the casting room and uh the the woman goes to me, Oh Kieran, and she was like, Um, oh Karen, how are you? You uh I flew over from Ireland today, didn't you? And I straight away melted because I was like, She knows now I'm Harry, so it's gonna look ridiculous. And I was like, Oh right. And straight away I was out of it. I'd be like, I was doing that American accent all day. So you do you feel like a dick, like you're like me.

SPEAKER_01:

That's where I feel like I would book all like a lot of percent with the cameras being on water, but it wouldn't face me, but I feel like going on there like audience in front of someone and having the like like someone basically saying tell you yes or no, like not yes or no, their name, but I mean they're probably like there was a like when you when I done my driving test, obviously you you don't drive, do you? I do, but I just don't have a car in the eye. So I was like there see when I was doing my first driving test, I remember like I never fucked it. I was like, what am I here for? It's like I don't think I've been paying an attention. I'd be like the annotation, like the first like the first one I would say in a different accent, I'd be like, why the fuck am I there? I would just go fucking with the motherfucker.

SPEAKER_02:

I luckily I not robin it in, I passed mine first time, like, but I'm a shed driver, like, so I don't know how I but uh I was like really worried about uh before like basically when I did it I waited way too long. Uh I put you know, you pull out a butcher, I don't know what you did yours, but house of sport, you know, right? Yeah that I must have waited there. What felt like about 10 minutes, it was probably only about 15 seconds, but the driving instructor actually had to tell me to go. Yeah. So I was like waiting for like there to be completely clear, of course. Yeah, no cars. And I was like, um I was like, oh no, this is this is a nightmare. And uh and he went, Do you want to go there? And I was like, you know, the red it was five minutes in, and I was like, I've rooted this out. Somehow I ended up passing. Maybe it wasn't a bigger thing than I thought. My mate told me a story the other day, but where he uh he he about five minutes into his, like I can't remember what he'd done. I think he hit a curb or something, one one that was like a straight up red flag nature, and he just hit the brakes and went, Well mate, that's ad fucked then. Like he said to the guy, do you mind if we just swap seats here and you drive back to the centre? The guy went, he went, for us to do that, we'd need your driving instructor to drive down here because it's his car, whatever, and drive back. So he had to like he said he drove all the way back to the centre. He says it was the best he'd ever drove because he'd have to be a big fashion. He had his hand out the window, he's happening to hang drive him on the hand.

SPEAKER_01:

My cousin, my cousin was doing like dream lessons years ago. He doesn't drive like he probably was doing those dream lessons, and his story's a fucking brother. It was like his neighbours were standing at the uh part of a wet rock waiting on a black taxi and he flew from his dream and stuff like if everything's driving story. No, you don't even throw his last last time last. He's like an overday left over there. He was like, Go before left. He was like, I left the leaves. Do you know what emergency stuff as he's done? He doesn't fucking have a bottle dad's not trained, but your mom is going to go and do it next to everybody's tapped and emergency happens.

SPEAKER_02:

I'd fucking hurt it. I know some people who have failed ours about eight times, and I'm like, at what point do you just keep it should you not be allowed that you want to? I was always mad, worried about like you know, obviously the roads here are bad, like specifically. I I and I don't want to have DOE ads, so I was always extra worried that it would be some sort of weird. My mum was one of them, it was uh I taxed them while driving, I killed two brothers in it, you know what I mean? I cried and uh and then I was always worried like fuck, I don't know what's in the back of my head, like because I've done a DOE ad. And I but I haven't actually drove that much. I got my I got my licence and then I I moved straight to Manchester. Yeah. So I mean I've probably drove like in the ten years since I passed, lad, about accommodation is five, six weeks. Seriously.

SPEAKER_01:

So I wouldn't even be out now.

SPEAKER_02:

I wouldn't be out confident driving because I think you need to be doing it. Yeah, a lot.

SPEAKER_01:

No, why? I daddy's not all like you don't actually learn a road until you start driving yourself.

SPEAKER_02:

Well I used I I I used to I got very confident at one point in the lessons a bit like what the story I was telling about my mate, you know, driving one hand, and I used to think I would impress my instructor. So I'd be I would start doing you know, because they're all like 10 to 2, 10 to 2, you know what I mean. And I I would have been like, because I, you know, you watch your dad driving, and any good driver, it's like they've one hand on him and the reversing of just pure. So I was trying to impress him, being like, Look, mate, I'm fucking I'm used to it. And I'm the man. And he's like, What are you doing?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, just put your hands on the fucking hands or do you want to pass your test or not?

SPEAKER_02:

I was like, Oh, sorry about that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, 100% is fucking, but I couldn't like there's people I know who don't drive, like Troy McCannough, for example, has never drove. He's no one based never drive. And I mean, how do you see your life? Like it's just like once you have it, I feel like you could never go with it.

SPEAKER_02:

Like, yeah, yeah. I will I if I lived in Belfast, like I live in London, obviously, so you don't need the in fact it would be a nightmare to drive in London, no one drives, or exactly that's fucking happy. Maybe like people with families or taxis and stuff, obviously, but anyone who's moved over London, the tube system's that good, yeah, it's a good thing. And the traffic is mental, like it can take you. We got this how big London is, right? We were at Rome the other week and we got back into Stansted late and we got a taxi from Stansted to our Gaff, just another part of London. We were in it for an hour and 40 minutes in the taxi. I was like, we got I could I was thinking Belfast, you can near got to Tony Golf and we passed Eric, yeah. And we were only getting the one, and that isn't even by no means the furthest place in London to the service. I was just like here to a certain place.

SPEAKER_01:

We done we were in London last my my wife, like her family all live in Southampton, but her dad and brother Jim had worked in London for years or like engineers, so they they know the way around. We were the uh we all went to the coplay concert like a couple weeks ago, and like they knew all the tube systems, so it was so handy to get us jumping out. They know exactly where they're going, so it's great. But the tubes were on strike on this. We had to get a taxi somewhere, and it was like it was once we got into the Uber, it was like taking us like we were looking to go to Oxford Street, but it was taking like an hour and twenty minutes because of traffic and the tubes were off, and I was like, fuck shake. We sat the traffic for like 40, we sat the car for 40 minutes and it was still like saying an hour, saying and I went fuck it. It was only like four four miles away. I was like, what's let's go and walk. We had all our bags now. We were going home at that time, we just got out and walked for like 20 minutes and we were.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh 100%. I I prefer walking places in general. Like obviously it's a lot harder when you're with your because even last night like I reminded me it was like you know, trying to get a taxi from the Premier, like SSC over the Revs, and it's like you know, it's not that far of a walk, it's maybe 10-15 minutes. So I was like, Mama walk, and then my girlfriend was like, she's weren't heats, you know what I mean? And it's like, oh, you forget that, you're like, right, well, I will get a taxi. But like in London, always better if you can use a tube. But I remember with see I remember that Coldplay concert with the tube strikes one the other week. It was a night where they actually postponed my mate, was supposed to be going to the post Malone concert in in uh London. They postponed that, so you were lucky it wasn't because a lot of them Coldplay even I think postponed.

SPEAKER_01:

So they were like, look, sorry, but luckily enough we had our flakes booked anyway for the Saturday. So we were meant to say our flight was meant to be or the the concert was due to be on the Sunday, but they just paid it back till the Saturday, which it does, because we flew on a Saturday morning anyway. Oh happy to it worked out well for us, like but I'm sure a lot of people were fucking stung like that.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh I mean yeah, once you once you book see like hotel prices and all that.

SPEAKER_01:

I don't know if you've ever had one fall through, but see if you've um people coming over to visitors, you know, you know, you're like fuck me, they're gonna be like it's under your control, but at the same time like fuck shake, they just pay for flights and fucking everything's been cancelled. So people always be on me, like, well the next fight, am I okay to put this? I'm like, just relax and wait. Yeah, yeah. Because you don't trust it. I don't trust like so much fights that fell through. I'm like, but you told us that's it.

SPEAKER_02:

Have you ever had one before?

SPEAKER_01:

Um just with cover. Just due to cover, I was in too bad. I was tired. I ended up by and once I got there like the day before the wedding, I was been in the red zone and just had to fly home and then it was put off again. I was meant to fight in wakefield and it was put off again, and then I I ended up fighting a boat and like three weeks later. Oh, because for boxing you're making weight, so you have to you have to maintain that weight for weeks. It was a fucking network.

SPEAKER_02:

Remember that run Kakati had where everything was fine. And that fell through.

SPEAKER_01:

Loads fell through for him, he actually even thought you see. Like people don't speak about that enough like like because like that's that's career ending for a lot of people like this. Oh, why like fuck this? This is putting my head away, I don't want to do this no more. Oh I mean, I mean you're not you're not getting paid, people forgetting that. Plus the pressure of like need like finance pressure, as well as like when am I going to fit again? And like it's like psychologically, it's just like I suppose as well.

SPEAKER_02:

See, if you've built yourself up and primed your body for say it's 30th of October, and then you're told all of a sudden it's 17th of April and you're like, I am but like I'm more or less burning out here like I prime myself, and now you're telling me I have to especially if it's like maybe if it's just like the week after, yeah. You know what I mean? Just keep taking over, but three weeks after, um five weeks after, and you're like, What do I do?

SPEAKER_01:

That's what it happened to me with Ask Gab and Gwen to be fair. Like I was like a four-month camp, and I was just like, Oh, I burned out and I was making light with for the first time. Oh wow, it was just like this is fucking real. Just bad pace with boxing for the first time ever in my life. I was just like, I don't want to box anymore, this is shit. And I just had a son and then who I very rarely spent any time with because it was like and then I opened a gym. Oh I was like, I just I could just go and like I just want to have a gym like boxing through balls. And then I remember going like I've already trained this far. The fight was put off three times and then advanced it happened, but I was like, I've already trained this much, may as well just fight. But it was nowhere near like rarity. Oh wow.

SPEAKER_02:

I think it I I don't think it helped you not having fans or no.

SPEAKER_01:

I know, I know, it's a big part of it. The atmosphere is a big part of boxing, I couldn't.

SPEAKER_02:

It's but you must you must look at I'm I'm sure you do at Kikachi and be like, that is such an inspirational like because you you working through a similar thing with the barbosia hanging after becoming that banana skin kind of person. Now you're starting to obviously be able to work your way back up, but Kikachi, like I remember thinking when I kept seeing them fall through. I was writing in going, lads, how the fuck's he keep doing this? I know I would get at what point do you walk away? Do you know what I mean? I go with this and luck's not my side here, yeah. And then all it takes is one day, like you know what I mean.

SPEAKER_01:

And it's good because like they they almost try to use Kikachi for Joe Cardinage, you know. Yeah, and then not realizing how good he was, and he went in and bites him up, and then they're like, whoa. And then they had to give him another fake contract, and then he fates Wines and he beats him up now as Lee Wood, and that's like fuck me.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. 100%. That's that's what he was definitely just.

SPEAKER_01:

Because it thought with James Tannison. Match him done with James Tannison. They bought him in to lose the Martin Ward. Yeah, battered Martin Ward. That's right. Okay, I'll give him another fight, try to use him again, he won again, and then he just kept winning until he fought Tab and Farmer for World Hill and he got stabbed. That's right. But I mean they were using him, yeah, yeah. And he kept winning, so it's like they were using you until they're not here. This kid's alright, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

And he's a good fan base, and it's and that's all you need is just that one fight, you know what I mean? That's all you need, but but like you were probably being used for Barbosa, let's be honest.

SPEAKER_01:

I was I was like 100%, but I fucked him up. I knew that they were trying to use me, but I I was like the how we got the fight. Oh yeah. My manager at the time, Leading, was just Massie, going, I've got this kid, he's he's ranked number six with WBO. But with him, they only gave me three weeks' notice. But I was he told me, like, I'm trying to get this fight and I get it. And they were like, like, let's do it. This is just like uh a ticking over fight. So they were taking me like fucking a tickover fight, but I knew in my head, I was like, You should be cutting reboot him. And I remember I was like five to one the boogies or six to one or something. And I said to a few of my mates, I was like, lads, I don't ask you never to back me, like, but back me, you'll never get me at six to one again, like they all lost money. Yeah, I know my mate actually had fucking Rang Garcia and me in a double. It was fifty-five to one and fucking Rang Garcia won like a pain.

SPEAKER_02:

Do you know what's so funny? If you were telling that story, I I watched the fight, obviously I know what happened. I was sitting going, fuck, I wish I had a back them. You know, I wish I had a put money on them, but I didn't put the pick out anyway. No.

SPEAKER_01:

So I remember like, fuck shake, I fucking I had I had that in a double at 200 quid on you and Rangarcia. And I was like, Fuck shake, can we have fucking feeling? I had it, yeah. I could be fucking I'd be a big fucking multi fucking. You're two grand now, I've about a million down and we fucking world title fights and but uh but I because were you ch chief me in support? No, I called me in event, I was in class, it was a paper free, big car, uh massive like, but I was like it was a good experience, but like I was like like make ticks and all sitting ring say people like would be like fuck we but I wasn't like I remember just gonna like he's concentrated watch me like and I just had a good attitude about it and I just the whole week I just knew you ain't gonna beat him, like and when I was standing beside him it was like torn over and it was like I ain't gonna beat him. Like I just I knew I have I'm gonna beat him. It was my and then obviously like all that stuff all the f it was it was a it was a big circus, like the whole fight week was just like draw man, it was funny because fucking random like being right.

SPEAKER_02:

I was the fight comp he was losing his manual.

SPEAKER_01:

That's what people were going like he's losing the plot here and he was fucking he was singing and all in the press conference, I was like, it's gonna nuts and I genuinely thought Dad and Henny was gonna beat him up and just completely fucking. Dave any tweet about you though because we I was about to fight Dad and Henny as well and in October. I match me messaged about me fighting him in October on the Peter Bee, of course, a lot of the very first one, the Peter B and Beaver in Saudi. And I was like, fucking right, let's do it. And then he didn't want it, he just says no, I'm not fighting and not fighting a car at all. And then they'll tweet me saying I'll promote you. And then he my my my promoter now was over in Vegas and he was like, Let's do something, Michael McComby. Done a video then saying let's do something, Sean McComb. He's like, let's do it, we'll come to American, we can do so we can share a card or something, we can you know like co-promote together. That'd be class, like it'd be a good experience to get together.

SPEAKER_02:

I mean here, try to try to keep on it. I couldn't believe when I seen that he when he tweeted all the week and it hopped up and I had to click on the city.

SPEAKER_01:

People were like, I my Twitter was good, I get noise and fucking notifications on Twitter. I was like, What's going on here? I just seen loads of people going clocking, like all the like the replies. I was like, What are they replying to? And then I clicked in and seen it, and then I was sh sh come up and I was like, fuck me. Oh he quoted my tweets and I'll promote it.

SPEAKER_02:

I was like, fuck that's what it's mad seeing, like see when you see a big names tweet, like I remember even seeing a uh tweet of uh Shakura Stevenson tweeting about Gary Culley. Yeah, it's all now that's mad, isn't it? You know what I mean? Like you know, messed up.

SPEAKER_01:

Like one MB tournaments in Russia, but I know you don't realise like but uh everyone knows everyone, like in boxing, like any decent name, you sort of have you have to know who they are. Like obviously we know who they are because of the profile they have, but surely they'd be looking around like and then when I think back, I I remember going, How does he even know who I am? But then I was on the same card as him.

SPEAKER_02:

So like were the Americans, but when you were coming up that uh that era we were talking about, because I always remember being the Cubans and the Russians, yeah. Were unbelievable. Like, obviously they always are getting hard out, but like were the American team as good back then, uh nah, they all turned pro young, you see.

SPEAKER_01:

They all like they all go pro. Billy Walsh obviously came in there and the whole system.

SPEAKER_02:

But they know who I seen Rory Dalton fight? Do you remember Roshi?

SPEAKER_01:

Ah, Roshi Warney destroyed, he destroyed Ray Villar like fucking because I remember Rory got that fight. But Rory I think there was a few of them for him, like um it was like a round robin tournament, I think, and uh but he like Roshi Warren was lethal. He was like he was the pinnacle of like boxing. Unbelievable one of world titles, like world amateur titles, isn't it? He was like probably the only American at that time doing anything like that in the amateurs. It was class, unbelievable.

SPEAKER_02:

I I can I'd still to this day like the best I'd ever watched in real life. Yeah. So I went down with my dad and Rory too, I think maybe D and Potty or whatever, but um I remember just watching him being like shh.

SPEAKER_01:

Nah, it's hand speed, and I was on.

SPEAKER_02:

So it was just like watching like I don't know, it was like you know, he had the low hands, he was just so slick, and I just wasn't used to seeing it. And I was like, this guy's so subtle. And Rory was so good. Rory was unbelievable.

SPEAKER_01:

Rory was unbelievable at that time, like at that stage is crazy, but everyone was afraid of Rory. Aye. And I was like, fuck me, I can't.

SPEAKER_02:

Rory to be fair as well, game as a badger, took that last minute. That bike came up and was like, Rosh E. Warren, he's like, fuck it, I know what I mean.

SPEAKER_01:

Fucking the Rick, they showed it to the Rick, and other end of the room. Oh man, I got him all.

SPEAKER_02:

Some of the stories I have are lad, like uh, you know, with my dad obviously, like coaching all of them, having DM40 and all like there was one of them uh they were setting up a ring down in St. John's and my dad was asking him to give him a hand, you know, setting up a ring and he goes, Start a ring, Frankie, fuck's sake, I can't even make toast believable too many things.

SPEAKER_01:

That's believable.

SPEAKER_02:

Fucking my dad told me another story that uh apparently they were chatting about someone or whatever, and my dad was like, Oh, yes, fell, he's stupid as fuck. Like and Rory went, Rory's only about 14 at the time, God love me. Went Frankie like would he be stupider than me? My dad went, never fucking say that about yourself. That's right, you're not fucking stupid, you know what I mean? You're a smart kid, not Barry fucking his smart dude, he has his head screwed on like Barry's fucking headscrew on, Rory's. I've got his head screwed on, Mr. Capone.

SPEAKER_01:

He's one of the most loved men of Belfast, hey he's he's one of them people that no one has anything bad to say about. He's just no mean everyone just has time for the route.

SPEAKER_02:

See even I see him like walking about town on, he's he's just a long coat on the cigar and he just doesn't give a he doesn't act if too.

SPEAKER_01:

I can only get him on the podcast, he's gonna be a little bit on it because he's something he says stories that man has like it's classic. I love it. He's a lads and obviously I spent a lot of time like like traveling Rory going to market box and all some of the stories we have are fucking class, but be better for coming from him, don't mean class.

SPEAKER_02:

He's one of them people like I actually c I actually think me and you might have been saying this last night about like you know, some people who are haters, but when you meet them, they're sound as fun as well. I have like mates who obviously I've always known Rory, but like they only know him as the Rook Dalton on Instagram, whoever you want, and then they meet him and he's like, All right, no, fucking very calm and just you know what I mean? Everyone's like these. I know you don't know.

SPEAKER_01:

It's not what he comes across as well. You take him back a wee bit. So what what's the crack with the movie? And what can people watch that? Is it gonna be is that gonna be like how long is that gonna be in cinemas?

SPEAKER_02:

That's just gonna be in cinemas now the next few weeks. It it it depends on all the different locations, but um it's gonna be out all over Ireland. It's Liverpool have actually just added an extra cinema, so it's in Brennan, the two Odeons in Liverpool. Um it's in Glasgow as well, and then yeah, up and down the country all over all over Ireland. Um so I I think people should go along and see it. It's good, you know.

SPEAKER_01:

On Holy Lands, get on the cinema match, and especially if you've been through the the you know, the the system of like becoming a student, and you know, uh you'll be related you can relate to it 100%. Like even though I was never a student, I've obviously been like we've just spoken about someone, some everyone has experienced some form of like 100% being in a student land.

SPEAKER_02:

It's relatable, there's relatable themes throughout. Like you know, it's about kind of you know, without sounding all actory, you know, about kind of find your identity and what you want to be, and you know, pressures and stuff. There's a there's something in it for everyone.

SPEAKER_01:

We really enjoyed it. But listen to this, we'll we'll we'll wrap it up here, and I just want to say thank you for coming on. I really appreciate it. Thanks for having me on and all the best in the acting future. Thank you. We'll see you in the blue lights season. Come on, is it season four? Come on, thank you.