Irish comedian Dylan Moran is known for Black Books, shaggy hair and being pretty damn funny. We caught up with him for the latest craic ahead of the release of his new DVD.

Dylan on the zeitgeist: “We live in very serious times.”

But while his stand-up routine covers serious issues such as immigration and religion, he also likes to have a rant about what’s on the telly. If you meet him on the street here’s a tip for you – ask him about baking and dancing. You won’t regret it.

Dylan Moran and Michael Caine
(Haydn West/PA)

Dylan on fluffy TV: “Star dust and unicorns… to get away from the stuff you’ve just seen on the news. You cannot sit around processing that all day long. It’s just going to depress the living s*** out of you.”

He said people watch light entertainment shows as “a way to get through”, but concluded: “Nobody knows what we’re doing. I think the thing is everybody’s just trying, and I suppose that’s what I’m trying to talk about. Everybody is just… we’re all just trying. It seems to me. I sure as hell don’t have any answers.”

Dylan on religion: “Everybody knows in Ireland the phenomenon of the parents asking children who said Mass, so everybody had to have a contact who knew who’d said Mass.”

Dylan Moran (Yui Mok/PA Archive/PA Images)
Dylan Moran (Yui Mok/PA)

He said the “secular underground” has now become more normal and visible.

Dylan on whether there is more acceptance of immigration from Irish people due to the nation’s history: “I think you would hope that there is.”

He said Dublin is “really strikingly cosmopolitan compared to even some British cities”, and said integration seems to have been successful.

Dylan on possibility of Black Books coming back: “No, no, no. I’ve been asked that many times over the years, and no, it was a long time ago. That’s it for me. You do something, it’s fun, you move on.”

Dylan on topics that are off-limits: “I have no particular interest in laughing at pain.”

Dylan on why there’s so many successful Irish comedians: “I think for a small nation, what Ireland produces quite a lot of is dedicated grifters.”

He described a grifter as someone who lives on the wind and improvises their existence.

Dylan Moran
(Yui Mok/PA)

Dylan on BBC Three moving online: “I think it’s a shame.

“I hope it works first of all. But I think it’s great to have something on air that’s easy to see, easy to get to, where people get to try out new stuff. We need something like that.

“We used to have Channel 4, that don’t do as much of it as they used to do, so I think you need as many different places and chambers for that as possible.”

Dylan Moran’s Off The Hook is available on digital download now and on DVD from November 30.