Dara O Briain

Dara O Briain is an Irish comedian and television presenter recognized for his stand-up performances and hosting roles on popular panel shows. After winning both the Irish Times National Debating Championship and The Irish Times/Gael Linn National Irish language debating championship in 1994, Dara O Briain began his television career at RTÉ, presenting the bilingual program Echo Island (1994-1997). He became a team captain on Don’t Feed the Gondolas (1998–2000) and later hosted The Panel (2003-2006). Concurrently, his stand-up career flourished internationally with extensive tours.

He hosted the British Academy Video Games Awards nine times between 2009 and 2019. He also hosted Robot Wars (2016-2018), Dara O Briain’s Go 8 Bit (2016-2018), Blockbusters (2019), and The Family Brain Games (2019). He was recognized in 2020 when Asteroid 4901 Ó Briain was named in his honor. A two-time champion, Ó Briain won Taskmaster series 14 in 2022 and Taskmaster: Champion of Champions series 3 in 2024.

Ó Briain has continued his exploration of science and history in his recent television work, presenting Wonders of the Moon with Dara Ó Briain in 2023, followed by Mysteries of the Pyramids with Dara O Briain and Wonders of the Sun with Dara Ó Briain in 2024. Also in 2024, he began co-presenting Curious Cases on Radio 4. Looking ahead to 2025, Ó Briain is set to present Volcano with Dara O Briain and will commence his new stand-up show, the ‘Re:Creation’ UK and Ireland tour. His literary contributions include Tickling the English (2009) and Beyond the Sky, which was nominated for a Blue Peter Book Award in 2017.