AMERICAN COMEDY legends Steve Martin and Martin Short have lifted the lid on their Irish roots ahead of gigs in Belfast and Dublin.
The Hollywood twosome, who starred together in films like The Three Amigos and Father of the Bride, are visiting the island of Ireland next March.
In preparation for the trip, they appeared on RTÉ Radio 1's Sunday with Miriam to discuss their Irish heritage, among other things.
Short’s father, Charles Patrick Short, was an Irish Catholic emigrant from Crossmaglen, South Armagh.
Eager to escape Ireland around the time of the Irish War of Independence, he stowed away on a ship bound for North America with several of his 11 siblings.
The Hollywood star told RTÉ Radio 1: "He went to Canada then he met my mother and he had five children, I being the youngest.
"The others, one went to Birmingham, my uncle Frank, the father of Clare Short [The MP], one went to New York, I have some Irish family in Brooklyn, and the rest stayed there."
Eager not to be left out, Martin revealed he too had some Irish heritage – though he didn’t miss the opportunity to crack a joke on the topic.
"And I have Irish blood," he said, quipping: "It's sitting on my mantle in a jar."
"No I'm kidding, I actually do", he continued. "I have Scottish and Irish and English blood. It's a legend in our family but it's also confirmed by DNA testing, but I don't know what actual Irish family [I have]."
Better known for their solo work, recent years have seen the long-time friends Martin and Short team up for a show that has gone down well with fans and critics alike.
Steve Martin and Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life debuted on Netflix last year and currently boasts a 100% rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.
