The 2 Johnnies share €719,000 in directors' pay in another bumper year for comedy duo

Gordon Deegan

‘GAA catfish’ sensation podcast hosts and former 2FM presenters The 2 Johnnies are laughing all the way to the bank after sharing directors’ pay of more than €715,000 at their firm last year.

In another bumper year for the two comedians, Johnny 'Smacks' McMahon and Johnny B O'Brien, accounts show that post tax profits at the pair’s Big Ball Small Ball Productions Ltd totalled €281,253 for the 12 months to the end of April last.

The post tax profits resulted in accumulated profits at the company rising above €1m for the first time to reach €1.13m at the end of April last.

The post tax profit of €281,253 for last year was a 38 per cent drop on the post tax profits of €453,682 for the prior year.

Profits reduced as directors’ pay, including pension contributions, for the two soared by 48pc from €485,447 to €718,993.

Directors’ pay was made up of €521,493 along with pension contributions more than doubling to €197,500.

The company employs four and staff costs, including directors’ pay, last year increased from €568,175 to €802,465.

Company coffers were boosted during the year under review with The 2 Johnnies recording a box office of €741,597 in front of 12,450 fans at the sell out gig at Dublin’s 3Arena in December 2024.

Box office receipts are shared between artist, promoter, venue operator and ticket seller.

During the year under review, the 2 Johnnies also staged their very successful Pints in a Field at St Anne’s Park in Dublin in June 2024.

The duo return to the 3Arena in April and it is already a sell-out and will again stage Pints in a Field at St Anne’s Park on June 8th.

Next month, the two commence a five city date tour of Australia and New Zealand taking in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane during February and Auckland in New Zealand on March 1st.

The year under review took in the two announcing their shock departure from 2FM as afternoon hosts in May 2024.

The lucrative year also coincided with an explosion in popularity for the 2 Johnnies’s podcast where its ‘GAA Catfish’ episodes enjoyed over two million streams across the globe over four days in January 2025.

The profits of last year and 2024 follow profits of €269,533 profits in 2023.

Cash funds at the company - owned and controlled by John O’Brien and Jonathon McMahon - last year declined from €618,026 to €465,868 while money owed by debtors rose from €251,838 to €635,135.

During their time at 2FM, the Co Tipperary two increased their audience to 150,000 making it the most listened to show on 2FM at the time.

The two also added to The 2 Johnnies revenues last year with the sales of books, merchandise and music.