Legendary Irish performer Brendan Grace's career in music and comedy has spanned 50 years.

He is now the subject of a documentary, Funny Man, which airs on RTE One tonight at 9.35pm.

After so many years, Brendan says he still loves performing, and his family is a very important part of it: "In the early days I was away a lot, but I always made a point of coming home after a gig."

He started out as a singer before moving into stand-up comedy, which came from telling jokes on stage in between songs with his band.

"Whenever the guys broke a string I was pushed forward to tell a joke. My birthday is April Fool's Day, so I suppose I was destined to be a clown in some form or another."

One of Brendan's most memorable characters is Father Fintan Stack in Father Ted, which introduced him to a new audience. As a result of appearing in the show, he says he is often approached by younger people who might not otherwise know who he was.

He also spoke about his health and his long friendship with Brendan O'Carroll, who pays tribute to him in the documentary.

To catch the full chat press the play button on the image on the top of the screen