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Martin Brennan is a factional character created and acted by the comedian Steve Coogan for the critically acclaimed 2019 comedy programme "This Time with Alan Partridge". The programme was a parody of day-time British shows such as "Good Morning Britain" and "The One Show", hosted by Coogan's long-term character Alan Partridge, who in turn is a parody of a tactless and inept television host.

The character gained controversy due to his seeming mocking of an Irish stereotype, and because he sang two Irish Rebel Songs on mainstream British TV. However it was very well received in Ireland, with one critic writing that because Coogan was half Irish himself, Brennan could have become an "offensive caricature", but instead become an overnight "social-media icon".

Sketch

In the skit, Partridge and his co-host Jennie (played by Susannah Fielding) interview Martin Brennan, also acted by Coogan, who was invited as a Partridge doppelganger. Brennan is presented as a farmer from County Sligo with bad teeth, gelled hair and a heavy brogue accent.

The interview quickly becomes unruly as Brennan claims to have never heard of Partridge until a few weeks ago—he had been told that Partridge was a "famous fella, used to be on the TV way back". Brennan then controversially sings the Irish Rebel Songs "Come Out, Ye Black and Tans" and "The Men Behind the Wire", interrupting the show's planned closing montage of police dogs set to music. The political and incendiary lyrics of the rebel songs lead to Partridge's and the other hosts and guests discomfort.

Reception

The character has been described as the highlight of "This Time" and quickly became viral on social-media. The nuance behind the caricature of a West of Ireland bachelor farmer was widely praised by Irish critics and fans. Writing for the Irish Sunday Independent, the critic Pat Stacey titled his review of the episode "This is what truly great, enduring comedy looks like".

Coogan, who was born and raised in Manchester to Irish parents, defended the controversial aspects of the sketch by saying "the decisions I make on comedy aren’t made on a whim. That whole history between the British and the Irish runs through me. My mother grew up in Mayo and I spent all my summers there". In contemporary interviews he says that he grew up hearing Irishman jokes and told "a few" himself, clarifying that "all that stuff is important to me. There is a strange thing going on in Ireland with the younger people saying: this is our country." He further stated that although singing republican songs on prime time British television had been a comedic goal of his for a number of years, partly born of "mischief", he was unsure how it would be taken, and was glad when his mother "was relieved that people thought it was great."