Meet the Limerick teacher whose witty TikTok sketches captivate millions worldwide
Originally from Cappagh, his formative years were inspired by his late brother, who brought out his comedic side from a young age. 'I was just trying to be like him, really,' Séamus shares with the Irish Independent.
Growing up, quintessentially Irish shows like Father Ted, Gift Grub and Après Match, shaped his blossoming sense of humour.
'I probably got into it just doing impressions, around home and then in secondary school. I'd do impressions of the teachers that continued into college and I started making videos of different characters.'
At first, those videos never saw the light of day beyond a few trusted friends. Worried about offending people, he kept his comedy behind closed doors, but that all changed when lockdown hit.
The turning point for the West Limerick man came with his first video. '[It] was an impression of Simon Harris and it got like 700,000 views,' he says. From that point on, 'the cat was out of the bag'.
Suddenly, the rural teacher was a viral name, but despite his success, he remains a one-man band. 'Everything I do is on my own,' he admits. 'I write everything, I record everything, I edit everything, I post everything, it can be quite lonely.'
To counter this, he enjoys keeping a routine as best he can. From teaching to farming and filming in spare time, he notes, 'all it takes is one video to change the trajectory.'
One such video arrived in the least glamorous setting imaginable.
'When I posted my first Irish language video I did not expect it to do well,' he laughs, recalling: 'I was on the farm covering a pit of silage with my dad and my phone was exploding, everybody loved the video, it was completely unexpected.'
Known for an accent that's become part of his online persona, he shares that it began almost as a disguise. 'I was quite conscious about my own voice, I ended up putting on a thick Limerick city accent, which was probably inspired by the Rubberbandits. We used to love their prank calls years ago.'
He thought this was why his audience enjoyed his work. 'A month later, the penny dropped, it was because of the content,' he smiles.
For all the highs, there can be quiet disappointments. 'If a video doesn't do well, it probably affects me more than if a video does well, but nobody else really cares that much,' he reflects, adding: 'The world of social media is very fickle so once I post a video I never actually watch it again.'
These days, Séamus is stepping into stand-up, a hustle that brings all the same risks as uploading a video, only without the added safety of the delete button: 'I'm just trying to build up confidence and build up experience.
'At the moment, I'm figuring out that comedy is very unpredictable, but that's just the nature of it and it's good to challenge yourself.'
The nerves before his first big support slot in Limerick city for comedian Michael Fry nearly rattled him, but once the Dolans crowd laughed, he knew he'd crossed a line he couldn't uncross.
Now, between gigs in Tralee and Cork, trips to the Edinburgh Fringe, and the odd post while piking silage, he's learning to find balance between the public stage and a fiercely private life.
While his videos may reach millions, at the end of the day, Séamus still prefers to put his phone down and quietly retreat to his home in Cappagh – shop or no shop.
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