"And maybe that's true. Once it gets over a certain level you just keep it big and loud and energetic and wild."

Tommy's mention of Eddie Izzard leads promptly into the next question. Eddie Izzard vs Chris Rock? "Oh, Eddie Izzard any day of the week and I'll tell you why." His demeanour means business and he moves closer.

"Chris is very logical. All his points are serious. He'll say something funny to illustrate something serious. He'll talk about American prisons, marriage or American elections. Eddie will talk about something stupid and talk about it stupidly. To me that's funnier. His starting point is much less self-indulgent and braver.

"If you get up and talk about being a black man in America, the context automatically gets people on your side. If you're talking about wasps in a hairdryer, it's harder to be funny about that."

Tommy's charm, charisma and humour has left marks where ever he has gone, but whilst he has assumed God-like status amongst comedians in Ireland, the press in the US appears less forgiving. Newspapers and magazines have been far more willing to scrutinise his comedic worth and vocalise their criticism. Asking Tommy how he finds the difference in attitude in America he says, "It's a lot less friendly and people are much more objective about you. It's funny to read about yourself in those terms. It's funny to read about yourself when you've been dissected like that. So the best thing to do is not to read them, so I don't.

"A review makes you very self-conscious. A few years ago I did a story about a father and son and there was this moment where I slowed down and had this image in my mind that I described. When I read a review about the show, it mentioned how lovely this particular bit is.

"I was doing the show that night and when I got to that part, in my head I thought; oh, here is the lovely bit. Once that was in my head it spoilt it for me because I became too conscious of how it was being perceived as opposed to going with the intent to create something nice. It became too managed, so I had to drop that bit.

"When a review tells one of the jokes then you can't do that joke again because you think; oh, some people might already know the joke. So it's best not to read reviews. Maybe read them at the end of a tour but not during."

Then, my time is up and Tommy has to repeat a similar chat with two more people who were scheduled after me. Coming up with something noteworthy to throw to the press as fodder cannot be easy, once it becomes the daily grind. So, just before I make my exit I throw in one more quick question.

How is the running going? Having done the Dublin Marathon last year and walked 650 miles through Ireland for the TV show SuperTramp I had him down as someone who could take up Olympic walking should comedy ever fail him. Not that it looks likely.

"I've stopped. I didn't even train properly for the marathon. I limped. I took as long as the first guy who ran the marathon in sandals in 4 AD, or something like that."

Maybe not Olympic walking then.

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