The Real Mrs Brown

By BRIAN BEACOM

Hachette New Zealand, RRP $39.99, 12 September 2013

The authorised biography of Brendan O'Carroll, based on extensive interviews with the hugely popular star of Mrs Brown's Boys.

Brendan O'Carroll now performs to tens of thousands of people a night in packed-out stadiums around the world. His TV show Mrs Brown's Boys attracts a huge following. But this wasn't always the case.

Brendan was the youngest of eleven children, born to Maureen O'Carroll, a former nun who went on to become the first woman to be elected to the Irish parliament. Brendan adored his strong, brace mother and she would later become the inspiration for Brendan's indomitable Mrs Brown character. The family endured Angela's Ashes-style poverty and though food was scarce, the house was full of love. Brendan left school at 12 and soon after met his girlfriend Doreen. By his early 20s they were married with two kids and Brendan worked as a window cleaner, factory worker, printer's labourer and farmer.

A few years later he opened a pub bang in the middle of two warring neighbourhoods in Dublin's Northside, which according to Brendan, 'was like having a pub between Beirut and Baghdad'. The pub eventually became enormously successful- but Brendan was left devastated when his business partner stole everything from the business and left him bankrupt. His mother died shortly afterwards. Brendan went to see a fortune teller who told him she could see his future achieving success as a comedian and actor. At first Brendan laughed at the notion, but then he thought of how much his customers in the pub loved his gags, and decided to give it a go. The rest is history…

About the Author

Glaswegian journalist Brian Beacom is a long-time friend of Brendan's and he has been working on this book for nine years. He wrote it following extensive interviews with Brendan, his family and friends.