Katherine Lynch
Encyclopedia
Katherine Lynch is an Irish
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 television personality from County Leitrim
County Leitrim
County Leitrim is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the county...

.

Lynch is known for several television series broadcast on RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...

: Katherine Lynch's Working Girls
Katherine Lynch's Working Girls
Katherine Lynch's Working Girls is a three-part Irish comedy television programme broadcast on RTÉ Two in January 2008. It stars comedienne Katherine Lynch, who also co-wrote and co-produced the series alongside Warren Meyler. It was the pair's first television series.Lynch described it as a...

 (January 2008), Katherine Lynch's Wonderwomen
Katherine Lynch's Wonderwomen
Katherine Lynch's Wonderwomen is a six-part Irish comedy television programme broadcast on RTÉ Two. It stars comedienne Katherine Lynch, who also co-wrote and co-produced the series alongside Warren Meyler...

 (September 2008), in which she plays a variety of unusual characters such as Singin' Bernie Walsh, Liz Hurley and Shelia Sheik, 2008 Christmas TV special An Audience with Katherine Lynch and newest series Katherine Lynch's Single Ladies which began on January 12, 2010. Lynch also participated as a bainisteoir
Manager (Gaelic games)
In Gaelic games, a manager or coach is an individual involved in the direction and instruction of the on-field operations of a team. Managing, or coaching, entails the application of sport tactics and strategies during the game itself, and usually entails substitution of players and other such...

 in the second series of the RTÉ One
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...

 television programme Celebrity Bainisteoir
Celebrity Bainisteoir
Celebrity Bainisteoir is a prime-time reality programme produced for Radio Telefís Éireann, which was produced by Animo Television/Kite Entertainment...

 in 2009.

Lynch has a following in the Irish gay community
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...

.

Career

Lynch began her career as part of the Irish gay scene where she had the stage name Busty Lycra. This part of her career included winning Miss Alternative Ireland in 1998 with a show produced by Warren Meyler from County Wexford
County Wexford
County Wexford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wexford. In pre-Norman times it was part of the Kingdom of Uí Cheinnselaig, whose capital was at Ferns. Wexford County Council is the local...

. Music manager and judge on The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...

, Louis Walsh
Louis Walsh
Louis Walsh is an Irish music manager and judge on the British television talent show The X Factor.-Band manager:...

 was on the judging panel.

Meyler and Lynch adapted their characters for television and produced three shows; Katherine Lynch's Working Girls, Katherine Lynch's Wonderwomen and An Audience with Katherine Lynch.

Katherine Lynch's Working Girls was her first television series. The three-part series was broadcast on RTÉ Two on Tuesday nights in January 2008. The series featured three of Lynch's characters; Singin' Bernie Walsh, Sheila Sheik and Busty Lycra. The comedian described it as a "hybrid" series, featuring both sketches and interaction with the general public. Darragh McManus of the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...

 wrote that it was "in the spirit of the 'comedy of cringe' vein which is so in vogue".

Katherine Lynch's Wonderwomen commenced broadcasting on 20 October 2008. It was the first production by WAKA TV, a company established by Lynch and Myler. The six-part series focused on the exploits of four characters, Singin' Bernie Walsh, Sheila Sheik and two new characters, Liz Hurley and Dalkey Dunphy Davenport.

An Audience with Katherine Lynch followed this in December 2008, described by the Irish Independents John Boland as "an hour-long show in which Katherine Lynch's ego was allowed to run rampant in front of an audience of minor celebrities". That show received one of the highest ratings during RTÉ's Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 season
Lynch was a bainisteoir in the second series of Celebrity Bainisteoir in 2009. She managed Dromahair GAA in Leitrim, claiming that the passion she felt for her county was her motivation to take part in the show. Dromahair competed against the George Hook
George Hook
George Hook is an Irish broadcaster, journalist and rugby union pundit. He had a career as a rugby union coach and businessman, before becoming a rugby pundit with Raidió Teilifís Éireann...

-managed Cuala Casements GAA of Dalkey
Dalkey
Dalkey is suburb of Dublin and seaside resort in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County, Ireland. It was founded as a Viking settlement and became an important port during the Middle Ages. According to John Clyn, it was one of the ports through which the plague entered Ireland in the mid-14th century...

, County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...

 in the tournament's quarter-final. Upon reaching the final, she appeared alongside her opponent Derek Davis
Derek Davis
Derek Orlando Davis is an Irish broadcaster. On television, he has co-hosted Live at 3, presented Out of the Blue and won Celebrity Bainisteoir.-Early life:...

 on Tubridy Tonight
Tubridy Tonight
Tubridy Tonight is an Irish chat show hosted by Ryan Tubridy that aired for five series on RTÉ One between 2004 and 2009. The programme featured guest interviews , audience participation and live music from both a guest music group and the house band...

.

Lynch has also performed live shows as her characters in Dublin's Vicar Street
Vicar Street
Vicar Street is a concert and events venue in Ireland, located on Thomas Street, Dublin 8. Its capacity allows for 1,000 people for seated performances, and 1,500 people for standing gigs...

 venue.

On 16 November 2009, Lynch released the DVD of the Diddy Diddy Dongo Tour, Live in Vicar Street, Dublin. It outsold DVDs by Neil Delamere and PJ Gallagher, though did not manage to outsell Des Bishop
Des Bishop
Des Bishop is an Irish comedian and was brought up in New York. He is now primarily based in Ireland, after moving to County Wexford in 1990 at the age of 14.-Approach to Comedy:...

's DVD.

Lynch appeared on The Cafe
The Cafe (chat show)
The Cafe was an Irish chat programme aimed at youthful persons. It was broadcast on RTÉ Two as part of the TTV strand each Friday evening at 19:00, having switched from its previous location in the Thursday scheduling from 7 November 2008....

 on January 8, 2010. Her series Katherine Lynch's Single Ladies began later that week, achieving a 29% audience share for its first episode which featured nudity, and an encounter with footballer Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

.

On 8 March 2011, Wagon's Den returned to Tuesday nights on RTÉ2 for a second series.

Characters

Lynch is known for her multiplicity of characters and her confusion over which one is her personal favourite. When asked by the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...

 which was her favourite she initially declared it was "like asking a woman to pick her favourite child" but when prompted chose Liz Hurley, described as a "sexually confused small-town girl of 35 who still lives at home with the Mammy, coaches the local ladies' GAA team, plays bass
Bass (instrument)
Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...

 in small-town AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...

 Tribute act 50-50". Lynch's other characters include a resurrected version of eighty-foot supermodel Busty Lycra, portrayed as a foot fetish
Foot fetishism
Foot fetishism, foot partialism, foot worship, or podophilia is a pronounced sexual interest in feet. It is the most common form of sexual preference for otherwise non-sexual objects or body parts.-Characteristics:...

 model and porn star
Pornographic actor
A pornographic actor/actress or a porn star is a person who appears in pornographic film. Most actors appear nude in films...

 from Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 who returns from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 when her career is destroyed by a verucca
Plantar wart
-External links:* at the Mayo Clinic website* at The Merck Manual* at dermnet.com...

 in her own foot. When Lynch walked down Dublin's Thomas Street in the guise of Busty Lycra, she was stopped on many occasions by people asking for her identity, with some people believing she was Mr Pussy. Lycra featured in Working Girls but was removed from Wonderwomen amidst concerns about perceived rudeness expressed by RTÉ. According to the RTÉ Guide (the same publication which fuelled rumours over her relationship with Patrick Kavanagh), Bernie Walsh, another of Lynch's creations, is her favourite character. Walsh is a country and western singer with an album, Friends in Hi Aces, featuring songs such as "Start Packin' the Van (Dundalk, Dundalk
Dundalk
Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...

)", "My Van" and "Stand By Your Van", to sell. The character has even performed on The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ...

. Sheila Sheik is a female bellydancer
Belly dance
Belly dance or Bellydance is a "Western"-coined name for a traditional "Middle Eastern" dance, especially raqs sharqi . It is sometimes also called Middle Eastern dance or Arabic dance in the West, or by the Greco-Turkish term çiftetelli...

 from Tallaght
Tallaght
Tallaght is the largest town, and county town, of South Dublin County, Ireland. The village area, dating from at least the 17th century, held one of the earliest settlements known in the southern part of the island, and one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres.Up to the 1960s...

, County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...

, with an Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

ian husband. Dalkey Dunphy Davenport is a teenage blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...

ger from Ballsbridge
Ballsbridge
Ballsbridge is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, named for the bridge spanning the River Dodder on the south side of the city. The sign on the bridge still proclaims it as "Ball's Bridge" in recognition of the fact that the original bridge in this location was built and owned by a Mr...

 who streams live online from her hotel suite in Dublin. Dunphy Davenport is described as "the Peaches Geldof
Peaches Geldof
Peaches Honeyblossom Geldof is a British journalist, television presenter and model.-Background:Geldof was born in London in 1989, the second daughter of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates. She is the granddaughter of Hughie Green. Her sisters are Fifi Trixibelle Geldof and Pixie Geldof...

-obsessed mall rat with the orange perma-tan, the fluorescent smile, the 3 inch false eye-lashes and the thousand euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

 handbag who... 'ooooh my gawd is just loike soooooooo booooored!'".

Personal life

Lynch is from Mohill
Mohill
Mohill is a town in County Leitrim, Ireland. The town is located in the south of the county, north of the midlands of Ireland. The town of Carrick-on-Shannon is approximately 16 km away....

 in County Leitrim
County Leitrim
County Leitrim is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the county...

. Claimed repeatedly to have been "nurtured by drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...

s". Her genealogical
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...

 links have seen claims that she is related to everyone. Lynch's father is from County Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...

 and she has a strong GAA background, with former Kerry
Kerry GAA
The Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry...

 footballer and manager Páidí Ó Sé
Páidí Ó Sé
Páidí Ó Sé is a retired Irish Gaelic football manager and former player. He played football with his local club An Ghaeltacht and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1975 until 1987...

 being one of her cousins. Despite persistent rumours fuelled by the RTÉ Guide
RTÉ Guide
The RTÉ Guide is a television and radio listings magazine in Ireland published by RTÉ Commercial Enterprises Ltd, a subsidiary of Raidió Teilifís Éireann....

 that she is the granddaughter of the acclaimed Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh
Patrick Kavanagh
Patrick Kavanagh was an Irish poet and novelist. Regarded as one of the foremost poets of the 20th century, his best known works include the novel Tarry Flynn and the poems Raglan Road and The Great Hunger...

. RTÉ have since ensured that they have corrected this mistake in her online Celebrity Bainisteoir and Werwomen biographies. Revelations concerning her links to the Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...

 revolutionary Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...

 were also discussed on RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1 is the principal radio channel of Irish public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926...

 by songwriter, Shay Healy
Shay Healy
Shay Healy is an Irish songwriter, broadcaster and journalist. He is best known for his role as host of Nighthawks, a RTÉ Television chat show of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and for composing "What's Another Year", Ireland's winning entry in the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest.-Early life:Shay...

. This comes about through her connections to the Galwegian
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...

 Patrick Lynch
Patrick Lynch (Argentina)
Patrick Lynch, born 1715, was an Irish emigrant who became a significant landowner in Rio de la Plata, which is now part of Argentina. He was born in Galway and was the second son of Patrick Lynch of Lydican Castle and Agnes Blake...

 and his relatives who also include the naval officer Patricio Lynch
Patricio Lynch
Patricio Javier de los Dolores Lynch y Solo de Zaldívar was a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and a Rear Admiral in the Chilean navy, and one of the principal figures of the later stages of the War of the Pacific...

, and the writers Benito Lynch
Benito Lynch
Benito Lynch, Argentine novelist and short-story writer, was born in Buenos Aires on 25 July 1885, and died La Plata, Buenos Aires Province, 23 December 1951.-Origins and life:...

 and Adolfo Bioy Casares
Adolfo Bioy Casares
Adolfo Bioy Casares was an Argentine fiction writer, journalist, and translator. He was a friend and collaborator with his fellow countryman Jorge Luis Borges, and wrote what many consider one of the best pieces of fantastic fiction, the novella The Invention of Morel.-Biography:Adolfo Bioy...

.

Lynch currently resides in a 1970s two-bedroom Dublin apartment overlooking Portobello
Portobello
-Places:England* Portobello, West Midlands* Portobello Road, London* Portobellow, an estate in Wakefield, West YorkshireIreland* Portobello, Dublin, IrelandNew Zealand* Portobello, New ZealandPanama* Portobelo, PanamaScotland* Portobello, Edinburgh...

. Long-term friends, who include the singer Brian Kennedy
Brian Kennedy (singer)
Brian Edward Patrick Kennedy is an Irish singer-songwriter and author, known for his ballads, and has represented Ireland at Eurovision 2006. He is the younger brother of musician Bap Kennedy.-Personal life:...

 and the television presenter Brendan Courtney
Brendan Courtney
Brendan Courtney is an Irish comedian and television presenter, the first openly gay presenter in Ireland. He has hosted Wanderlust on RTÉ Two, The Brendan Courtney Show on TV3, Playdate on ITV2 and Off the Rails on RTÉ One.-Career:Brendan began his career on RTÉ Two's Wanderlust and ITV1's Love...

, often visit to watch her television shows with her. Lynch's preferred radio station is RTÉ lyric fm
RTÉ lyric fm
RTÉ lyric fm is an Irish classical music radio station, owned by the public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. The station, which is based in Limerick, was launched in 1999 and is available on FM in Ireland, on satellite, on Sky Digital in Ireland and United Kingdom and via the...

, which she listens to for its music. Lynch describes herself as "a bit minimalistic as regards possessions", donating most of her music collection (which included Adam Ant
Adam Ant
Adam Ant is an English musician who gained popularity as the lead singer of New Wave/post-punk group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring ten UK top ten hits between 1980 and 1983, including three No.1s...

 and Alison Moyet
Alison Moyet
Alison Moyet , is an English singer, songwriter and performer noted for her bluesy voice.Her UK album sales have reached a certified 2.3 million, with 800,000 singles sold, all in the UK, where all seven of her studio albums and three compilation albums have charted in the Top 40 UK Album Chart,...

) to Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...

 when she moved house. She can often be seen walking around Dublin, particularly to RTÉ and to venues such as Whelan's
Whelan's (music venue)
Whelan's is a small music venue in Dublin, Ireland, located on Wexford Street.The venue and pub was initially started by Gary Whelan and Ian Keith in 1989 and ten years later was bought by Frank Gleeson. Local musicians and actors frequent it...

 and The Village
The Village (music venue)
The Village is a state-of-the-art music venue situated next door to Whelan's on Wexford Street, Dublin. The venue was an old nightclub owned by Mean Fiddler, but since 2003 has been turned into a music venue. It has a large balcony right around the venue onto right up by the stage and has a...

.

External links

  • Television series: Katherine Lynch's Wonderwomen An Audience with Katherine Lynch Celebrity Bainisteoir
  • Interview which led to false allegations of Lynch being the granddaughter of Patrick Kavanagh
    Patrick Kavanagh
    Patrick Kavanagh was an Irish poet and novelist. Regarded as one of the foremost poets of the 20th century, his best known works include the novel Tarry Flynn and the poems Raglan Road and The Great Hunger...

     in the RTÉ Guide
    RTÉ Guide
    The RTÉ Guide is a television and radio listings magazine in Ireland published by RTÉ Commercial Enterprises Ltd, a subsidiary of Raidió Teilifís Éireann....

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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