Jimmy Carr's dad is urging the mayor of Limerick, as well as Limerick City and County Council, to take back the award they gave his son.
In 2013, the city gave the comedian a Certificate of Irish Heritage award; it was introduced in 2011 'to recognise descendants of previous generations of Irish citizens in an official way and to give greater practical expression to the sense of Irish identity felt by many around the world', according to Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs.
And while the certificate scheme was short-lived – it was discontinued in 2015 after uptake was 'considerably less than anticipated' – Carr senior wants it taken off his son for comments he made in his recent book, Jimmy Carr, Before and Laughter, unless he receives 'a sincere public apology'.
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Carr's dad, Jim Carr, told the Limerick Leader: “He’s one sick comedian, literally and metaphorically. It looks like it anyway. Leave all that aside, I don’t want somebody writing that about Limerick in a book.”
The excerpt from the 2021 book read: "I might seem urbane, but I’m the son of two immigrants from Limerick who moved to Slough (they moved from a s**t town to another s**t town, I guess they knew what they liked)."
Carr senior said the comments about Limerick were 'derogatory', 'offensive', and they 'crossed the line'.
"It’s the style of his comedy. I am not shocked or surprised that my son referred to Limerick and Slough as s**t towns. He is, after all, a shock jock.
"His defence will be ‘they are only words, I’m only having a laugh’. But there are people reading that Limerick is a s**t town and Slough is a s**t town. Ironically, we didn’t move to Slough, we moved from Limerick to South Kensington, London."
Elsewhere, Carr Snr took offence at a joke about potatoes that his son had included in the book, and said the book 'is full of defamation by word and innuendo'.
"I have instructed my lawyer, and my lawyer has issued a letter before action to Jimmy concerning defamation," he said.
“I love him, of course, like a son but I am still very active in business and I can’t be having my name sullied by innuendo."
It was recently reported that Carr hadn't spoken to his dad in 20 years, though Carr Snr claims his son phoned him in 2018 'asking for a huge favour'. He says he granted the favour, but 'received not a word of thanks', though the elder Carr added he is 'ready for a reconciliation'.
As for rescinding the certificate, a spokesperson for Limerick City and County Council said they wouldn't comment on the issue.
Topics: Jimmy Carr
Charlie Cocksedge