Jimeoin

James Eoin Stephen Paul McKeown (born 24 January 1966), better known as Jimeoin (/dʒɪˈmoʊɪn/), is a Northern Irish-Australian comedian and actor.

Jimeoin rose to prominence in the early 1990s in Australia, where he had his own TV show and where he still resides. He came to public attention in the UK between 2005 and 2008 while performing a tour of Australia's outback and major cities, which was filmed for the BBC Northern Ireland documentary Jimeoin Down Under.^[1] He has also gained international recognition and is a frequent performer at comedy festivals, including the Edinburgh Fringe, where he made his debut in 1993 and where he has since appeared every year.^[1]

Early life

James Eoin Stephen Paul McKeown^[2] was born in Leamington Spa on 24 January 1966, the son of Irish parents.^[3] He grew up in the Northern Irish town of Portstewart,^[4] where he attended Dominican College. After working on building sites in London for four years, he moved to Australia at the age of 22 and found work as a gardener.^[5]

Career

Jimeoin's UK television appearances include Sunday Night at the Palladium (ITV1), Live at the Apollo (BBC1), 8 Out of 10 Cats (Channel 4), The Royal Variety Performance (ITV), Channel 4's O2 Comedy Gala, Dave's One Night Stand, Edinburgh Comedy Festival – Live! (BBC3, three consecutive years), Monumental (BBC NI team captain, series I and II), Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow (BBC1).^[6] He has also appeared on the Conan O'Brien Show in the US as well on a number of international specials for Montreal's Just for Laughs. in 2016 he guested on John Lloyd's Museum of Curiosity for BBC Radio 4.^[7]

He both starred in and co-wrote two Australian feature film comedies, The Craic (1999) and The Extra (2005), both co-starring Bob Franklin.^[8][9] He had his own comedy television program, the eponymous Jimeoin (1994–95) which ran for three seasons.^[1] He played Convict Griffin in the sitcom Bligh (1992).^[10]

He is also known for his extensive live comedy tours in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Great Britain. In 2013, he made his solo debut at London's Hammersmith Apollo and began to take his tours into the arenas, starting with the Belfast Odyssey Arena.

In 2010 he completed a new series Jimeoin: Over the Top for The Comedy Channel on Foxtel and Austar. The series features Jimeoin travelling across sections of northern Australia, interspersed with stand-up routines recorded at towns visited along the way.^[11]

During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Jimeoin hosted Australian TV SBS's primetime comedy program The Full Brazilian,^[12] teaming up with the network's live coverage of 2014's World Cup games. The 25 live-to-air, hour-long shows were a mix of Jimeoin's stand-up, sketches, chat, football talk via satellite link to Rio de Janeiro, musical acts and guest comedians.

In 2025, Jimeoin participated in Saudi Arabia's Riyadh Comedy Festival,^[13] an event which Human Rights Watch characterized as an attempt by the Saudi government to whitewash its human rights abuses.^[14][15]

Personal life

Jimeoin married Catherine Arena in 2000, and they reside in Melbourne with their four children.^[5] He is a fan of Australian football team South Melbourne FC. He said in a 2009 interview that he is "not really into that nationality thing" but revealed that he supports the Australian national football team, as well as supporting Australia in other sports, because "Ireland's shit at everything".^[16]

Discography

Albums

Singles

DVDs

Filmography

Television and radio

As himself

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.

! Ref. |- | 1994 | Goin' Off |rowspan="5"| Best Comedy Release | |rowspan="5"|^[18] |- | 1995 | Crack | |- | 1998 | Forklift Truck | |- | 2005 | Third Drawer Down | |- | 2010 | Jimeoin on Ice Live |

References

1. ^ "Jimeoin Biography". jimeoin.com. Archived from the original on 26 June 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
2. ^ "McKeown, James Eoin Stephen Paul, 1966-". January 1966.
3. ^ "Comedy: Australian comic Jimeoin reveals he's from...Leamington Spa - Birmingham Mail". birminghammail.co.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
4. ^ Tulloch, Sarah (19 October 2018). "'I think we do humour well at home. We just slag ourselves off' - Comedian Jimeoin set for Belfast return". belfasttelegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
5. ^ "Jimeoin is a class act". Londonderry Sentinel. 12 September 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
6. ^ Clarke, Andrew (18 November 2019). "13 of the best comedians coming to Ipswich 2019-2020". Ipswich Star. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
7. ^ "Episode 3, Series 10, The Museum of Curiosity - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
8. ^ "The extra - Kevin Carlin, Jimeoin McKeown, Rhys Muldoon, Katherine Slattery - CIA". thecia.com.au. Archived from the original on 19 April 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
9. ^ "Artist Profile: Jimeoin". eventseeker.com. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
10. ^ Vagg, Stephen (18 August 2019). "Australian Movie Stars". Filmink
11. ^ "Jimeoin: Over The Top Premieres on The Comedy Channel". throng.com.au. 15 February 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
12. ^ "Jimeoin returns to TV after four years of stand-up and goes The Full Brazilian for SBS". The Daily Telegraph. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
13. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Comics take the Saudi coin : News 2025 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
14. ^ Pandya, Hershal (2025-09-26). "‘Two Weeks of Laughter in the Desert’". Vulture. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
15. ^ "Saudi Arabia: Riyadh Comedy Festival Whitewashes Abuses | Human Rights Watch". 2025-09-23. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
16. ^ Symes, Isis (11 March 2009). "Stacks of jokes". townsvillebulletin.com.au. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
17. ^ p. 145.
18. ^ "ARIA Awards Best Comedy Release". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 17 April 2022.

External links

• Jimeoin's official website
• Jimeoin at IMDb
• Jimeoin on YouTube
• Jimeoin on the British Comedy guide