US television host Conan O'Brien discussed his Irish heritage in a recent appearance on the popular Irish podcast "Second Captains".
Conan O'Brien, who was born to a Catholic Irish-American family in Massachusetts, told hosts Ciarán Murphy and Eoin McDevitt that there were two traits that made him Irish - the fact that he frequently apologizes for everything and that he must refuse any offer two or three times before accepting.
"Let's say my heart has failed and it's not beating, and someone says 'I have defibrillating paddles, I can restart your heart.' I would say 'no, no, I'm good'. Third time, I would probably say I need the defibrillators," O'Brien told the podcast.
O'Brien discussed his upbringing in Brookline, near Boston, stating that he had a "very Catholic" childhood.
He said his childhood consisted of "lots of church, lots of religious instruction, lots of guilt, and lots of repression", adding that "sex was never discussed".
"Both of my parents are very Irish Catholic. My mother's side came from the Cork area. My father's family came from Dungarvan. They came to central Massachusetts to take up farming. Irish married Irish.
"I was the first one to deviate. I love to say that I got jungle fever and married a woman who is Irish but also has some Welsh and Scottish. I'm the one who went crazy and dabbled in the dark arts."
Listen to the full interview here:
O'Brien also discussed a DNA test he took a number of years ago, which confirmed that he was "100% Irish".
"I had a genetic test a couple of years ago and the doctor called me and said 'this is quite unusual, you are 100% Irish'. This is after (his family) being in the United States since 1870.
"I asked the doctor what does that mean and he said 'it means you're inbred, you idiot. You're an Irish hillbilly'. I'm as Irish as you can be not having lived in Ireland."
O'Brien turned his attention to Irish sports during the 53-minute podcast and offered advice to Mayo GAA fans who have been waiting for an All-Ireland title since 1951.
The US talk show host reference the Boston Red Sox's infamous dry spell, which saw them go an agonizing 86 years without a World Series win between 1918 and 2004.
O'Brien said Boston fans were "crushed" when the Red Sox failed to win the World Series back-to-back in 2005 and said winning Sam Maguire once will not be enough for Mayo fans.
"To the people of Mayo, there's no such thing that you can tell yourself - 'Oh, just let us have it once and we'll never complain again.
"That's a lie! They'll be tearing their hair out if they don't win it two years in a row, it's the nature of these things."
Click here to listen to the full interview.
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