Quotes

[usual sign-off line from his television shows] Goodnight, thank you, and may your God go with you.

[playing Richard III in one of his sketches] Lo, here I lend thee this sharp-pointed sword, Which if thou please to hide in this true breast And let the soul forth that adoreth thee, I lay it naked to the deadly stroke And humbly beg the death upon my knee. [She stabs him] You weren't supposed to do that!

[refusing to apologise for his occasional on-screen swearing] "I am Irish and we use swearing as stress marks."

[comment in one of his monologues which caused considerable protest, an apology by the BBC and questions to be asked in the House of Commons, because of its use of the F-word] "We spend our lives on the run. We get up by the clock, eat and sleep by the clock, go to work by the clock, get up again, go to work - and then we retire. And what do they give us? A fucking clock."

"People always ask what is the appeal of (traditional Irish folk ballad) Molly Malone? The sad tale of a working class Dublin girl who dies tragically young? Well it's surprisingly simple, it's the one song every Irish person can sing without getting into an argument with each other".