Joanne McNally is generally laid back when it comes to people poking fun, but there is one thing that grinds her gears. The comedian has hit out after receiving an influx of hate comments about her South Dublin accent.
The funny woman, who hails from Dalkey in south Dublin, spoke out about the attitude towards her voice. saying she notices a common theme among people who make hurtful remarks… they are mostly Irish men.
Joanne took to social media to record a clip while out for a stroll, asking if the issue is actually her accent or if they just dislike women.
Joanne McNally. Pic: Shutterstock
‘Every time I do the Irish press, I get annihilated for my accent by Irish men,’ she said, before adding: ‘Irish women are always a little more discreet when we’re slagging each other, although I know Irish women aren’t fond of the Southside accent, but the Irish men, wow.’
‘Do you really hate the accent, Seamus, or do you hate women?’ she asked. ‘How is it that you have your girlfriend in your profile and you think it’s perfectly acceptable to tell a woman on the internet to shut the f**k up?’
Pic: Joanne McNally/Instagram
‘It’s crazy. These men are nutjobs. Thank God I’m not one of them,’ Joanne said as she ended the clip.
The podcaster was born in Roscommon but was raised in Killiney, south Dublin, by her adoptive parents. She opened up to EVOKE about her strong accent, admitting she’s not proud of it.
‘I wish I could say I was [proud of it], I’m not, but the gas thing is that I think because when I first started, I remember there was so much talk about it, it’s the most hated accent in Ireland, blah, blah, blah… What am I supposed to do? It’s too late to develop a French accent at this point!’ she told us.
Joanne and her mother, Pat. Pic: Joanne McNally/Instagram
‘I think there’s a lot of assumed privilege with the accent and, you know, we don’t do ourselves any favours at the best of times,’ she laughed.
‘There was all this talk that at the start [of my career], like, “You’ll never get a job in radio with that accent. You’ll never do Vicar Street with that accent. No one can listen to you.”’ Joanne recalled.
Pic: Joanne McNally/Instagram
‘So, I think I kind of subconsciously toned down. So I think I’m practically a Dub now, which I’m sure no one else agrees with at all,’ the comedian joked.
Joanne opened up about a conversation she regularly has with fellow comedian and South Dubliner, David McSavage, which highlighted the issue she is talking about.
David McSavage pictured at the premiere of The Hurler: A Campions Tale at the Odeon Cinema in Point Square, Dublin. Pic: Brian McEvoy
‘Me and David McSavage have this conversation all the time because when I started, David was slagging me over it and he was like, “You need to let them on when you’re on stage, you need to let them know that you know how ridiculous you sound.”’
Joanne pointed out that the comedian, who hails from Blackrock, has the exact same accent as her, if not stronger.
‘And I was like, “Dave, you sound exactly the same. We’re both deluded”. He was like, “I don’t sound like you.” I said, “Dave, I think you’re worse,”’ Joanne laughed.
