Edward Cathal Byrne

Edward Cathal Byrne (born 16 April 1972) is an Irish actor and comedian. He has presented the British television shows Just for Laughs and Uncut! Best Unseen Ads, has been a guest on numerous television panel games, and has appeared on a number of television cooking shows. Byrne was born in Dublin, Ireland, and grew up near Swords.

Deciding to study horticulture at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Byrne was made entertainments convener at the Students' Union in his second year. He started a comedy night called The Comedy Cellar in the basement of the 13th Note public house in Glasgow, where early acts included Ford Kiernan, Phil Kay and Greg Hemphill. After a few months he gave up studying and headed to London. After building up his observational act, he was nominated for the prestigious Perrier Comedy Award at the 1998 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

In 2006 he toured the UK, recording a DVD in Leeds entitled Pedantic and Whimsical, and he later recorded the live DVD Different Class at the King's Theatre, Glasgow, in 2009. Byrne frequently appeared on the BBC stand-up comedy programme Mock the Week as the most frequent guest panellist, appearing on 73 episodes. He also appeared in Father Ted, and the 2015 series Dara and Ed's Great Big Adventure followed Byrne and Dara O Briain on a journey down the Pan-American Highway.