Former Travelling Salesman Turned Award-Winning Comedian Celebrates Fringe Debut

Ronnie, who was raised in West Cork, Ireland, was one of seven kids and said, "When I got a chance to talk, I had to keep their attention—I'd have to be funny, or one of my siblings would just talk over me, and I'd just disappear into the sound of talking and laughing."

Starting his career working on construction sites in rainy Cork, a sense of humour was a must to make it through the day. Seeking new challenges, Ronnie became a travelling 'pitchman' (salesman):

“Think of the opening scene of Guy Ritchie's Movie "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" with Jason Statham pitching jewelley out of a suitcase - that was what I was doing! Pitching products at markets and on the street is the rawest form of entertainment you'll ever see, similar to street performing. You must pull a crowd, be confident, think on your feet, and learn how to handle rejection. If you are not funny, no one buys anything. Even now, I could pull up a milk crate, leap on and start selling or telling stories anywhere in the world; nothing puts me off."

Ronnie Neville

Ronnie's weirder pitches included selling exfoliating sponges out of a horse box in Alaska and furry handcuffs at The Brisbane Royal Show: "I was opposite the Police recruitment stand, so I said they were the new police training handcuffs!"

He even sold onion choppers to motorcycle gang members:

"Even bikers and hardmen don't like chopping onions! I sold a fancy onion chopper to a Motorcycle gang member—a big, huge bloke! His onion chopper broke, and he came back looking to beat me up! He tried to barge through a crowd of elderly ladies I was selling to, but they wouldn't have it; they all turned on him and told him he must have been using it wrong, one of them told him he needed a good spanking from his mother. This giant of a man left with his tail between his legs!

"I loved my job as a saleman. It took me from London to Mexico, New York, and Hong Kong."

Ronnie's first TV break came when he was spotted selling vegetable peelers on the streets of New York. He then broke into US TV commercials with an advert for "Ultimate Irish peeler”, dubbing him: “The greatest Irish salesman of all time."

Ronnie says being funny and thinking on his feet comes naturally, and being a salesman has been the ultimate training ground for his comedy career:

"I thought I was attending a cooking show in Brisbane to sell whisks; I was dressed in chef's gear and demonstrating how to make Irish brown bread when I released it was a Sex show. The whisk was retractable and pushed up and down by hand, which I suppose made it sexier – so I did a roaring trade in 'sexy whisks' – I had a laugh & sold hundreds."

Unlike many comedians, Ronnie doesn't have his stories & jokes set in stone before a show:

"I'm just telling stories the same way I'd tell my brothers or good friends in the pub in Ireland, that's my style – it's a good craic and makes for the best show. It's exciting to get on board with no structure, no word-for-word scripts, just pulling stories out of thin air and seeing where we end up. I've collected stories from my travels that I love sharing, and I chat to the audience like friends and make sure everyone has a great night."

Ronnie Neville’s show ‘All Irish Comedy is at Ed Fringe this August: Ronnie Neville: All Irish Comedy | Comedy | Edinburgh Festival Fringe (edfringe.com)