Edinburgh Fringe: Liam Farrelly on 10 things that changed his life

1. My first time at St Mirren

THIS would have been at the club’s old ground, Love Street. St Mirren continue to have a painful impact on my life. I started going when I was about seven or eight.

That was when they were still in the old stadium. It was old-school. It had a lot of character.

READ MORE: 10 things that changed my life with comedian Rosie Jones

I started going with my dad and that started my whole St Mirren-supporting life. There’s been a lot of ups and downs, relegation and losing but a couple of wins along the way as well.

2. English class with Mrs Doyle

I THINK I would have been about 15 or 16 and I think it was when I started realising I could write to be funny. She was a really good teacher.

I would write funny essays about football and she always encouraged me. I had teachers in the past who were very much, "stick to the script with your essay".

But she was the opposite because I enjoyed writing like that and it helped kickstart me into comedy.

I was never particularly good in school or did particularly well. I had failed my National 5 English in fourth year so I had to re-sit in fifth year.

The class that was put together was people who had already failed, so we didn’t have much hope but she had a great teacher and we all got through because she was so encouraging.

3. My first time doing stand-up

THIS was at Red Raw at The Stand in Glasgow. I was 17 when I was started which was mad. I needed older people with me because I wasn’t legally old enough to be in the venue.

I had two of my sister’s pals come down and they watched.

I was on second with a five-minute spot but it went well and they asked me back. It’s been a consistent venue and it’s probably my favourite one as well.

4. Hampden Park

THIS is where I saw St Mirren win the only national trophy I’ve seen them pick up which was the League Cup against Hearts. Big Esmaël Gonçalves scored for us.

I went with my grandad and dad but I remember the semi-final really well because that was against Celtic. We had signed Esmaël Gonçalves that week.

(Image: NQ)

He was this mad Portuguese striker and I hadn’t seen anyone like him playing for St Mirren. He was really good on the ball, really skilful, he would just run through defences but his first game was against Celtic and nobody knew who he was.

He’d been here three days but started against Celtic and I remember thinking we had a chance because of him.

5. Hammersmith Apollo

I’D done Live At The Apollo there. It’s a really good venue and a massive room but it doesn’t feel that big on stage. Everything is quite close to you and intimate.

It’s a bit like the King’s (Glasgow) where it feels like people can still see you. Some bigger theatres the people up the back are in the same room but almost not part of it and there’s a disconnect.

There’s something about older theatres that is set up so well though and you all feel so close together. That gig went very well for me, every joke landed how I wanted it to, it was a good room, a good venue and a good night.

6. First solo show at The Stand

I DID about an hour by myself. When you start stand-up, you get about five minutes and when you’ve proven you can do that, you go to 10 minutes and that jump feels massive.

READ MORE: Comedian Marjolein Robertson on the 10 things that changed her life

But then you go from 10 to 15 to 20 and again that feels like a big leap. But luckily this went well and it was also the night I met my now-fiancée.

She was at that gig because she was a mate of one of the bar staff who I was pals with and we just got talking after that and started going out. A lot of things happened for us there.

7. Asking Tyler to marry me

SO basically, I'd done this in the house we live in now and I wrote a note. I was worried about rejection there so I thought if it’s a no, I thought at least it’s not to my face.

But she said yes so there was nothing to worry about. Everyone else I’ve had to tell has asked me why I was writing a note.

Look, it made sense in my head at the time and it all worked out fine in the end.

8. My friend Kieran

WE'VE been mates all through school. When I started going to industry parties and stuff like that, it’s all posh people and producers. I’d always invite him and we’d have a right laugh.

You’re meant to go and network but I’m terrible at that. I don’t enjoy the whole process so I’d bring my mate and it’s always a free bar.

We’d go along and have a great night so I’d say those moments have had an impact. I don’t remember the point of most of them but I do remember having a good time.

9. St Mirren winning the Championship

ST Mirren had moved to a new stadium and where Love Street had so much character, this just felt like a football manager default stadium.

There wasn’t much to it. There had been some good moments but not a lot of them and we had been relegated to the Championship. For a minute it looked like we might get to League One but then Jack Ross came in and we did a bit of a great escape.

At one point we were like 15 points adrift but he came in and signed a whole new team and managed to escape by a point on the last day and the following year, we won the Championship and it was one of my favourite teams.

It had Lewis Morgan in it, and he was always the St Mirren player I thought would play for Scotland. Him and Kenny McLean but now it’s John McGinn (above) who’s done that as well.

10. The first time I held my daughter

OBVIOUSLY it’s a massive moment for anybody, the first time you hold your child. My main memory of it though is that she immediately took a shit on me. I mean straight away.

I thought alright, and it changed the vibe. I didn’t know what to say, you don’t want to embarrass her because she’s had an accident.

I was holding her, it was soaking through to my T-shirt. Someone tried telling me it was sweat but something else was going on there.

That’s a defining memory there.