He also found Dubai’s culture of convenience hilarious.
“Even today, I was going for my lunch, and they brought me down there in a golf buggy,” he laughed.
Despite touring internationally and sharing stages with comedians such as Bill Burr, Rory insists his own life back home is far less glamorous.
“I live in a one-bedroom flat,” he said while admiring the Palm views around him. “I don’t have a view. I just look at a wall.”
Long before sold-out gigs and comedy festivals, Rory was working as a delivery driver in Dublin while trying to make stand-up work.
“You do anything really before you start doing stand-up,” he said. “I’ve had a good few jobs, but I did do deliveries… just working around Dublin.”
That grounded background perhaps explains why Rory’s comedy style remains rooted in observational humour rather than controversy-driven material.
“You just want to go up and make people laugh,” he said. “That’s all.”
And for Dubai’s expat-heavy crowds, he believes comedy nights offer something familiar.
“I think it’s like something they know from home,” he said of Irish and British audiences living in the UAE. “They’ll enjoy it.”
Still, it’s clear Dubai itself may have become part of the act now too.
“You could stay here for a long time,” Rory admitted. “This is great.”