Jake O’Kane (born 12 March 1961) is a

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

-based stand-up comedian, and a resident compère of the

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

comedy club, "The Empire Laughs Back" at The Empire Music Hall in Belfast. O'Kane has toured on the comedy circuit, and has also appeared at clubs including

The Stand ''The Stand'' is a post-apocalyptic dark fantasy novel written by American author Stephen King and first published in 1978 by Doubleday. The plot centers on a deadly pandemic of weaponized influenza and its aftermath, in which the few survivi ...

, Jongleurs and The Comedy Store. He hosted and performed on the BBC Northern Ireland stand up television show ''One Night Stand'', and was a resident panellist on the show '' The Blame Game'' on both TV and radio from 2005 to 2021. In addition to his comedy, O'Kane also runs an off licence shop in North Belfast.

Personal life

O'Kane lives in North Belfast with his wife and 2 children. He was a champion power-lifter in his youth. O'Kane suffers from

coeliac disease Coeliac disease (British English) or celiac disease (American English) is a long-term autoimmune disorder, primarily affecting the small intestine, where individuals develop intolerance to gluten, present in foods such as wheat, rye and barl ...

and is teetotal. His father, Jim O'Kane, was a Republican Labour councillor on

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the l ...

and was interned in 1971 as part of

Operation Demetrius Operation Demetrius was a British Army operation in Northern Ireland on 9–10 August 1971, during the Troubles. It involved the mass arrest and internment (imprisonment without trial) of people suspected of being involved with the Irish Repu ...

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Okane, Jake Living people Male comedians from Northern Ireland Male actors from Northern Ireland Stand-up comedians from Northern Ireland Satirists from Northern Ireland Comedians from Belfast 1961 births