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taxi rank 'prank' Bernard O'Shea flees down the street dressed as a garda while filming new TV show

'Terrified' comic leaves gardaí in the lurch...

Bernard O’Shea ran away. Expand

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Bernard O’Shea ran away.

Bernard O’Shea ran away.

Bernard O’Shea ran away.

Eugene Masterson

Comedian Bernard O'Shea failed to see the funny side of being dressed as a Garda sergeant while filming for his new TV show - after he encountered two drunk men having a row with a taxi driver

So terrified was Bernard of the late-night row between the trio in Portlaoise that he fled down the street, leaving his carmera crew behind in shock.

The hilarious moment fails to make it into the opening episode of Bernard's Working Comics - in which he shadows various professionals and eventually gets some of them to do stand-up - but is recalled by one of guards he persuaded to try their hand at his line of work.

"A taxi pulled up with two fellows who were drunk in the back and there was a row over the price of the fare," recalls Garda Sarah McInerney (33).

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"I was dealing with it and I completely forgot that there were cameras following me. Bernard had been accompanying me and had a fluorescent Garda sergeant jacket on.

Incident

"When I was dealing with the incident I turned around, because there's always two of us together, and all I could see was the sergeant in uniform running down main street Portlaoise.

"Then I realised, 'jeez, that's Bernard, I'm on my own here'.

"He was running away, which was hilarious, but I just thought 'I'm here on my own here, where's Bernard gone?'.

Sarah was one of two guards in the Laois division do a stand-up routine for their colleagues.

Sarah, who is originally from Cloonlara, Co. Clare, and based in Mountrath, admits that "never in a million years" did she think she'd be doing stand-up, as she has rarely performed in public before.

"I don't think Bernard would ever be a guard, but it was the same with me trying to do the three-minute stand-up as well, I was petrified," she adds.

• Bernard's Working Comics RTÉ2 tomorrow 9.30pm

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