Conan O'Brien insults his Irish heritage, says TV critic

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KATE HICKEY,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

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Conan O'Brien's ratings have gone up by 50 percent.

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A prominent Irish commentator has strongly criticized Conan O' Brien for abusing his Irish roots on "60 Minutes."

John Doyle, from The Globe and Mail, believes O'Brien is running down the Irish by blaming all his problems on his Gaelic heritage.

Doyle was enraged when he watched Conan O’Brien’s whiney interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes.”

“On behalf of the people of Ireland, the Irish-born everywhere and descendants of Irish emigrants around the world, I hereby issue a plea: Conan O’Brien, shut up,” said Doyle.

O’Brien wore an Irish rugby jersey and referred to his Irish heritage four times within 20 minutes.

In the interview, which brought in 13.3 million viewers to CBS, Doyle classified O’Brien’s behavior as embarrassing and bitter. 

“He’s morphed into a stereotype that we, the Irish, don’t need," said Doyle.

Doyle commented that O’Brien is holding some sort of “an absurd grudge” against NBC and Jay Leno, even though he walked away from the negotiations with a cool $32 million in compensation.

This interview is O’Brien’s first since he left NBC. The network stipulated that he remain silent until May 1. 

By May 2, O’Brien was on “60 Minutes.”

“Mother o’ God, man, would you not allow a decent interval and hold onto some dignity?” said Doyle.

O’Brien continued by saying that his Irish-Catholic upbringing taught him “things happen for a reason.”

“It was just cringe-inducing the way O’Brien sought refuge in his Irish identity,” added Doyle.

Doyle went on to comment on what a blessed career O’Brien has had from starting as a writer for “The Simpsons” to being replacement host for David Letterman and then on to having his own Emmy-winning show.

He also commented on the fact that O’Brien could have stayed at NBC had he just agreed to moving “The Tonight Show” to 12.05.

“Conan O’Brien wasn’t fired. He was outmaneuvered and paid a lot of money to walk away and stay quiet for a few months,” he said.

He compared O’Brien to “the bitter Paddy wallowing in melancholy and grievance. The stage Irishman indulging in the myth of victimization.”

Doyle joked about O’Brien’s overwhelming self-pity saying, “NBC didn’t re-jig the late-night schedule with a note saying, “No Irish Need Apply.”

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