Everybody said he should be on the stage and it was only a matter of time before it would happen.  John has always had a fabulous quick wit and sharp observational comedy mind.  As a car mechanic, his customers would quite often gladly stay around to chat and enjoy his infectious personality.

It was a strange set of circumstances that led to John being shot to National Stardom with his alter-ego May McFettridge.

It all happened one morning when a relative of John, Eamonn Holmes (prior to his rise to National Fame) called into the garage to leave his car into be serviced by John.  During a conversation Eamonn asked John if he would call his phone-in Radio programme on Downtown Radio, just for a bit of craic.  John agreed and set to work on Eamonn’s car.

True to his word while Eamonn was on air John phoned the studio and was put through.  With nothing planned the pair didn't’t know what they were going to talk about.  Thinking on his feet John pretended to be a Belfast woman.  Eamonn said, “Hello and what’s your name?”  Thinking quickly, John said, “My names May” (his mother-in-law).  Eamonn trying to catch him out said “May, May what?”  Panic set in and lying on the desk in front of him was a newspaper, and the article was about a GAA footballer and the headline read ‘McFettridge Scores winning goal.’  So he said, “May, May McFettridge” and so the character was born.  The pair went on to talk about a number of non specific vague issues like chemical toilets in caravans, varicose veins, and rude bus drivers etc.  It was hilarious and there were an unprecedented number of calls to the studio people commenting on how funny the wee woman was, and telling Eamonn that he must have her back on air regularly.

Public demand for May on air was so great that she became a regular feature on Downtown Radio.  After a quick trip to a charity shop May was finally given a visible presence and her now trade mark look of woolly hat, cardigan, skirt, thick tights, flat slippers, and the make-up that had been put on with a trowel, and of course the blacked out tooth.

John has now become a star in his own right, and is much sought after for corporate golf days etc.

The achievements that this one time car mechanic have made are substantial and include a lifetime achievement award at the Big Buzz Entertainment Awards in 2003.  Early in 2005 he was invited to attend a function with Irish President Mary McAleese to celebrate his contribution to the Irish Entertainment Industry.

May McFettridge has now topped the bill in Pantomime at the Grand Opera House, Belfast for 15 consecutive years, and every year box office records get smashed.  In fact the Grand Opera House has commissioned a Bronze bust of May to take pride of place in the new foyer following their renovations.  John made another unique achievement when he performed An Audience with at the Opera House, and in the audience that night there were celebrities and politicians from all sides of the community.  Including David Irvine of the P.U.P. who said “John Linehan is a fabulous talent, a uniting force of comedy.”

Though one of the busiest entertainers in Ireland John still finds time to help countless charities.  In 2003 he was flown to Malawi to film a piece for Children of the Crossfire.  On his return he was that touched by what he had witnessed that John decided to concentrate his efforts on helping this worth while cause.  He organised his own Golf Classic which raised over £25,000. He was convinced he could do more, and together with the Children of The Crossfire he put his name to a national campaign that went onto raise over a million pounds in total.  John’s Golf classic has now become an annual event and a must for many people’s diaries.

John has been honoured by both the main terrestrial channels UTV and BBCNI who have both made biographical documentaries on John, and most recently the documentary ‘Bits of Belfast’ where he took cameras around the area he grew up in, and continues to live in, was the highest rating Observational.