Hugely popular comedian Peter Kay returns to the SSE Arena in Belfast in February as he returns to live performances for the first time in five years.
The presale for his Northern Ireland gigs crashed this week due to the demand for tickets, with the general sale opening to the public on Saturday morning.
The SSE arena dates on 23rd and 24th of February next year will be marks on the calendar by many, particularly those from Co Tyrone.
READ MORE: Peter Kay tickets Belfast: Everything you need to know ahead of general sale
The much-loved comedian hails from Bolton, but has close links to the town of Coalisland. So what do we know about Peter Kay’s Co Tyrone roots?
Coalisland
Earlier this week Kay shared his mum Deirdre’s worries about his return to touring.
Appearing on the Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 on Wednesday to co-host, Peter told Zoe: "My mum rang on Sunday night after that advert went on and said, 'how many nights you doing?'."
Deirdre, who is from Coalisland, initially thought Peter was doing 11 gigs, but he informed her he was actually doing more. Peter said she told him: "Peter, that's a lot of nights.”
Peter’s mum Deirdre O’Neill was born in Coalisland in a family of six girls and two boys, with her twin sister Bernie working as a member of staff in the local Primate Dixon primary school for many years.
Having moved to Bolton, Deirdre married Michael Kay and they had two children - Peter and Julie.
The Bolton comedian has been known to visit Ireland frequently, including his mum’s hometown.
Speaking to RTE’s Late Late Show in 2017, Kay spoke about attending his grandmother’s funeral in the area.
“We went to the cemetery and they put my granny’s coffin in and everything and everyone was stood around.
“I was stood there and this couple both had matching shell suits on went ‘Peter, I just want to tell you, you’re the image of Elvis.
‘You’re the image of Elvis and you’re the image of your mummy,” Kay says the person continued.
“My mum doesn’t look like Elvis,” he goes on during the interview.
Kay cancelled a series of live dates in 2017 citing family circumstances for the cancellation, and has kept a low public profile in the years since.
He has previously revealed having a house in Ireland for more than a decade and visited relatives regularly.
“We’ve had a house here for 12 years. We used to come over and see family and drive around so we got a house in Tipperary,” he told the Late Late Show.
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