The clip below is Dave Allen, the Irish Comedian, at his very best, recalling his introduction to religion – his first day of school! Personally, I think this is quite hilarious. Did you know that he was banned from Irish TV in the 1970’s, if you watch this clip, you will understand why … enjoy.
He was a religious skeptic, and according to Allen himself, “what you might call a practising atheist”, and often joked “I’m an atheist, thank God” as a result of his deeply held objections to the rigidity of his strict Catholic schooling. Consequently, religion became an important subject for his humour, especially the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England, generally mocking church customs and rituals rather than beliefs. In 1998 he stated “The hierarchy of everything in my life has always bothered me. I’m bothered by power. People, whoever they might be, whether it’s the government, or the policeman in the uniform, or the man on the door – they still irk me a bit. From school, from the first nun that belted me – people used to think of the nice sweet little ladies … they used to knock the fuck out of you, in the most cruel way that they could. They’d find bits of your body that were vulnerable to intense pain – grabbing you by the ear, or by the nose, and lift you, and say ‘Don’t cry!’ It’s very hard not to cry. I mean, not from emotion, but pain. The priests were the same. And I sit and watch politicians with great cynicism, total cynicism.”