Quotes from Aisling Bea

Up to the age of five, I wanted to be a builder. My neighbour, a builder called Paddy White, would come in for a cup of tea with my mother. I'd assemble all the pillows together at interesting angles, thinking he would spot my talent at a raw young age and take me on as an apprentice.

I like the more community element of comedy. And I hate people pitting other people against each other. Audiences are always judging you, but when you're being judged for a competition, it just takes away the joy of the job.

I love Alain de Botton and listen to his little 'School of Life' YouTube vids as I do the dishes.

For ethical fashion, I really like Reformation. It's so fashionable - no hemp trousers.

Some people get into comedy because they love comedy. Then there are people who have a message and have realised that if they can be funny, maybe people will listen to it. And then there are people like me, who are just addicted to making people laugh.

I love L.A. Some people arrive with big expectations and are inevitably disappointed, but I can audition in the day, which can be gruelling and lonely, but then gig and be creative in the evenings.

In the U.K. and Ireland, crowd-work is a big thing. It shows you how funny someone would be if you met them off-stage. Americans don't care if you're funny off-stage. They want to see the writing; they want to see the work you did.

I grew up in rural Ireland; we only had a few TV channels and had never even heard of sketch shows, but it was completely natural for me to tell jokes and stories.

One year, I did 10 or 11 pilots of TV shows that never went anywhere.

In karaoke, you don't choose the song; the song chooses you.

An hour show panics me a lot less than five minutes at the O2. How do you put yourself across and make sure people have a good time in five minutes?

Repealing the Eighth Amendment is about women who don't want to be pregnant. It's not about a certain type of woman, a certain age of woman - we all known sisters and mothers who have chosen to go on with a pregnancy and those who haven't.

Songs with simple lyrics really take off in Irish nightclubs.

I had a bad break up at university - you know, when your heart breaks for the very first time, and you think, 'I must leave this island,' as if it had never happened to anyone before. I said 'OK, I'll go to England,' and it was the best decision I ever made.

Your first love is your first love. It cannot be analysed, explained, nor forgotten.

When I was growing up, I idolised my father. I thought his ghost followed me around the house. I had been told how he adored me, how I was funny, just like him. Because of our lovely Catholic upbringing, I secretly assumed that he would eventually come back, like our good friend Jesus.

People who succeed in my job are people who are not afraid to look silly.

In America, they like to think, 'Do as many things as you can.' That's what I like about being here. 'You're a polymath! We call you multi-hyphenates!' I like the idea you're allowed work as much as you can.

Brexit is not ideal. I'm famously not a Brexit negotiator, but relations between Ireland and the U.K. have been getting stronger, and a big part of that has been trade and feeling like sister countries within the E.U. I don't think it will affect the 'vibe' of relations, but it will have a significant effect on trade and business.

Put everything into it if you're asking people to part with money for it. That's the way I feel about it.

No matter what your views are on abortion, the Eighth Amendment in the Constitution is a very cruel, cruel law which benefits no one.

My job is to make people laugh.