David Nihill

David Nihill is an Irish stand-up comedian, author and speaker who has built his career mainly in the United States. Born and raised in Dublin, he left Ireland at age 22 and went on to live and work in twelve countries, visiting more than 70 in total. After earning a master's degree in business, he moved to San Francisco, where he worked for an Irish government body that helped Irish startups expand into the American market. He got his start in comedy after spending a year pretending to be an established comedian nicknamed "Irish Dave," using the character to overcome a fear of public speaking by performing at as many clubs, festivals and shows as he could. He went on to win the San Francisco Comedy Competition, whose past finalists include Robin Williams and Ellen DeGeneres, and was runner-up in the Moth's largest US GrandSLAM storytelling competition. In 2017 he was named to the Irish America 100 list. Nihill released his debut stand-up special, "Documented," with Dry Bar Comedy in 2019, followed by "Cultural Appreciation" in 2023 and "Shelf Help" in 2025. He is also the founder of the FunnyBizz Conference and the author of the bestselling book "Do You Talk Funny?" His work has been featured on The Late Late Show, TED, SiriusXM, Just for Laughs and the Netflix Is a Joke Festival.