Marty Morrissey believes good old fashioned entertainment shows are the recipe for love.
The GAA pundit and broadcaster – on tour with his entertainment show – reckons nothing says romance like the Marty Party.
Marty, 64, is even throwing his hand at matchmaking and describes his nationwide tour as “the Ploughing Championships where love blooms”.
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He told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “The reaction we’re getting so far is great.
“I’d rather have a decent crowd and make it reasonable, than go into a huge venue and nobody turn up.
“You know how at the Ploughing Championships, people end up meeting the love of their lives.
“It’s the place to be, this is where romances and love journeys begin.
“We added games to incorporate the weekend that’s in it. You never know what might happen.”
“It’s getting people to start meeting each other again and having a bit of craic.
“There’s a lot of guests and a lot of music and variation, no matter what taste you have, you’ll be entertained.
“We have a mixture of things to suit all audiences, we have country star Clodagh Lawlor, Eurovision winners Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan – and tickets to a European holiday destination.”
National treasure Marty, who delighted audiences during his stint on Dancing With The Stars, said live dancing on his tour provides a great opportunity to “mingle”.
He added: “I remember going to Abba The Musical in London a million years ago. I loved Abba and I was dancing myself in the aisle and singing ‘Mamma Mia, here we go again.’
“I’d like people to be leaving the shows dancing and smiling having enjoyed a good night out.”
Notoriously private Marty and his partner Liz Kidney have been together for 28 years, but he avoids talking publicly about their relationship.
Quizzed about his plans for Valentine’s Day he replied: “Ah yeah a bit of romance and love is no harm for anyone.
“I think I’m a romantic meal type, into that sort of thing, without being too showy.”
The face of GAA commentary, Marty admitted that he gets “waylaid” everywhere he goes. He revealed: “I was in Portlaoise in that classy restaurant Supermacs the other night.
“Next thing the team from Cork IT came in, they’d been playing Sigerson, we ended up taking photos there.
“I don’t get too much privacy you know.”
Asked about the secret to his charisma, he quipped: “I keep saying it must be the aftershave but I doubt it.
“I don’t know what it is, I’m just lucky.”
He expanded: “I love people, enjoying their company and finding out more about them.
“I never had a problem with anybody in a nice way taking the p**s out of me because I’d do the same with them.
“I like to have a smile and a laugh. That’s always been my nature.
“Maybe it’s because I was an only child growing up, I needed to have friends.
“When you don’t have brothers and sisters I think you need friends.
“I’ve been very lucky to have great friends over the years. I think you have to be real, if you try to be something you’re not I think people cop onto that very quickly.”
The affable broadcast veteran is teaming up with historian Liz Gillis for a new RTE TV series called Marty’s Big Picture Show to air this autumn.
The duo as they go on a nostalgic mission to trace people featured in archive photos from the 1950s to 1970s and find out their life story.
Marty said: “It’s a great opportunity to do something outside the norm. It’s great that I’m allowed to do it too. We’re finding photographs from amateur photographers who took photos in their community... say a lovely baby appears in a pram, we’ll track down who that baby is and talk to them.
“It has the potential to be a really nice show, a voyage of discovery with the odd twist here and there as we do.”
Marty reckons the gift of the gab is our Irish superpower.
He said: “Our waffle is quality, some people call it bulls**t.
“But we’re able to tell a yarn, we love music, we love sport, we love socialising.
“Our instinct is to be party animals, but as a result barriers are broken down.” Marty brought the party every Sunday when he danced the night away with his Dancing With The Stars co-stars in Copper Face Jacks after the show.
He joked that his reputation on the show in 2018 has made his stage show a reality.
He added: “Life is short and I don’t want to be dead and buried and think I really should have done that show.”
As to whether he’s seen the video Marty Morrissey Sex Symbol, he laughed: “I haven’t seen it, but come on it was done as a joke. I think people will take that as a good laugh. You have to be able to take the p**s out of yourself and not take yourself too seriously.
“There’s nothing worse than somebody who thinks they’re the bee’s knees which I never did.”
The Marty Party is at UCH Limerick on Friday, March 10, Leisureland, Galway, Saturday, March 25, and Letterkenny’s Clanree Hotel on Friday, March 31 . Tickets available on Ticketmaster.
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