Comedian PJ Gallagher has revealed his crippling stage fright came from the trauma of being adopted.
The radio presenter was forced to take a break from stand-up comedy 2 years ago due to his confidence on stage vanishing.
The Dublin native had always knows he was adopted however he discovered 12 years ago that his biological parents went on to marry and have four other children.
Despite growing up in a very happy household with his parents Helen and Sean, PJ admitted his stage fright stemmed from being adopted.
Confidence: PJ suffered from crippling stage fright
“I suppose I never really felt that there was a place for me,” he said.
“You grow up thinking you were born and no one wanted you, so you mustn’t belong anywhere.”
While PJ has since been reunited with his biological family who live in the west of Ireland, but revealed it still feels “weird”.
“My two mums have also met and they get on well,” he told the Independent.
Lost: PJ felt he never belonged everywhere | VIPIRELAND.COM
“It’s weird though, I go around to my mam’s on Mother’s Day and she says, ‘Did you phone your mother yet?'”
“I met one sister and two brothers first and I didn’t look like them but then I met the other sister and nearly died…it was like looking at myself.”
“We found it hard to talk to each other initially because we were so mindblown.” he admitted.
The funny man also discovered one of his brothers is also named Patrick – after his birth parents originally named him Dermot.
Family: PJ has since re-connected with his birth parents | VIPIRELAND.COM
“One of my brothers is called Patrick which is weird. My birth parents had called me Dermot, which I didn’t know,” he said.
They are just normal nice people who had a kid when they were young and the way Ireland was back them, they had to give the baby away.”
