My dad has always been a big role model. I've a nine-year-old daughter called Amber, and I always say that if I can be half the father to her as he was to me, my older sister Trasa and my younger brother Ciaran, we'll be alright.

Conal Gallen reveals that his most successful song, Horse It Into Ya Cynthia, which tells the tale of a young Irish man's love for a country girl, was born when he overheard a conversation between Louis Walsh's sisters, Sarah and Evelyn. He certainly did panic, though, when I went with him to a gig as a child and the technician pulled out. He feared he'd have to cancel, but then I stepped in and helped out. At one point, he told my mother: "We'll do it with Rory this time, and get a new sound man for the next gig." We're still waiting for the new man to come! I was born on Derry's Northland Road, and my in-laws still live in the city. Having spent what must have been a year of my theatrical life in the Millennium Forum - I've done the first five pantos there, in addition to all my stand-up work - I like to think my taste in comedy rubs off well on the city's people. They've a terrific sense of humour, like my son Rory. There were issues about which lines to leave in, where the most laughs would come from, and how a scene would progress and so on, but Rory and I never seriously argued about it. Conal Gallen: In today's world so-called comedians have omitted the word funny". Irish News. 11 March 2020 . Retrieved 25 September 2020.

She was aware I earned money playing music and so told me I could continue signing on and risk being investigated or else sign off." Then along came A Bit On The Side. I'd never written a play before, and I don't think that it would have been a lot of fun to write it on my own, so I'm very glad Rory was involved. It was a hilarious process with lots of loud laughs along the way. We are currently writing a new play for this autumn," says 64-year-old widower, who has a particular fondness for the character of Bridie Murphy.

After I left school, I went straight into the entertainment business. That's not to say that I didn't think about going to university. I did apply for computer courses, but my dad could tell that my heart wasn't in it. So he said: "I'll take you on full-time." It all happened from there. We're not your typical father and son; we're probably a lot closer than most. While my friends at secondary school were out socialising, I worked with my dad every week, and he has become one of my best friends. Since its first performance in 2013, A Bit On The Side, has been an instant hit with audiences and critics alike, selling out venues across Ireland. Gallen credits his career choice to a social-welfare officer, with a helping hand from Leitrim singer Charlie McGettigan and inspiration from Dublin comedian and singer Brendan Grace. YER the onions in me burger, yer the sugar in me tea, so horse it into ya Cynthia fer yer the girl fer me.'I love Bridie. She is abrasive and funny. She's class, because she has no class," says Gallen, who admits to having a room full of Hawaiian shirts and dresses in his home – much to the embarrassment of his grandchildren. After gigging in bars across the country, Gallen took a decision at the start of the 90s to "upgrade" himself, and book events in four theatres. He admits he then "took cold feet", before teaming up with old friend Charlie McGettigan to make them joint gigs. I was doing a show down in Castlebar and I met some friends before the show," the Donegal singer and comedian recalls. "As I was leaving to head off to the dressing room Sarah said to Evelyn, ''Horse it into ya, Cynthia", meaning 'finish your drink'. Gallen, who has just returned from leading a group of Irish fans on a tour to Tennessee, admits "I still surprises myself". "This Joker stand-up tour we are doing at the minute is the most successful tour I've ever done." After leaving school, Gallen attended agricultural college, where he jokes he learnt the valuable lesson "not to become a farmer". He then had a number of jobs, including working in a London pub and as a market researcher before opening his own record and video rental store in Donegal.