Kevin Bridges tells of arrest after drunken night in Ireland

Scots comedian Kevin Bridges has told how his arrest after a drunken night out in Ireland was a wake up call which forced him to clean up his act.

Comedian Kevin Bridges. Picture: John Devlin

The funnyman was arrested by police officers after lashing out at a bouncer who had thrown him out of a pub.

Bridges woke up in a police cell just hours before he was due to meet his comedy hero Billy Connolly for the first time to present him with a lifetime achievement award.

The 30-year-old was charged with criminal damage and being drunk in a public place in Killarney, Co Kerry, in December 2012. The charges were later dropped after he apologised and paid for the damage to the car.

He said: “It was a big moment to present Billy Connolly with an award and I had actually woke up in a prison cell in Ireland that morning.

• READ MORE: Kevin Bridges: Top six jokes about Scotland

“I got far too drunk and got involved in an argument with a bouncer and got put in the cells.

“They let me go and I had to fly home and present Billy Connolly with an award. I would have liked to have met him under different circumstances but it was still an amazing feeling.

“I felt as if I could have told him the story because he was a bit wild back in his day.”

Bridges said the incident happened after he had went on a drinking session following the end of a tour in Ireland.

He said: “It was the last night of my tour and I fell asleep in a pub and got manhandled off a bouncer.

“I overreacted a bit and he threw me into a car and the guy’s wing mirror came off.

“Then it was just 90 seconds of pandemonium and the wing mirror lost its life.

“I had to pay for the wing mirror and then met Billy Connolly the next night.

“It was one of those decisions you are left with in life, ‘which path do I want here, the guy who is in the prison cell or the guy who is handing Billy Connolly with a lifetime achievement award?’

• READ MORE: Scots comedian Kevin Bridges jokes about Ian Cathro on Twitter

“I have never seen a prison cell since so that’s good.”

Bridges, who later quit boozing and embarked on a health kick, was arrested and brought to Killarney garda station where he was charged at 4.15am.

He admitted to gardai he was “very drunk” at the time and apologised to the people of Killarney.

The stand up, from Clydebank, was being interviewed on a radio station in New Zealand to promote a series of shows there when he revealed details of the incident.

Last week, he thanked Connolly, 74, for boosting his career by describing him as “brilliant”.

He is playing a run of 15 gigs in Australia and New Zealand this month including two shows at Sydney Opera House. He is also performing in Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai next month.