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The "Mike and Pat" characters were stock Irish comic figures in Vaudeville and early American popular entertainment, often portrayed as two working-class Irish brothers or friends. They were stereotypical, exaggerated, and usually comedic representations of Irish immigrants — and reflected both ethnic humor and the attitudes of the time.

Time Period: Late 1800s to early 1900s

Mike and Pat served as comic relief — their routines often played on:

Thick Irish accents
Misunderstandings due to language or logic
Excessive drinking jokes
Brawling or arguing, but with affection
Wordplay, puns, and malapropisms

Usually a two-man act with rapid back-and-forth banter.

Mike and Pat were interchangeable, but usually one was the "smart" one (relatively speaking), and one was the "fool."

The humor relied on stereotypes of Irishness: cheerful ignorance, fondness for drink, loyalty, and Catholic references.

By the mid-20th century, as ethnic humor fell out of favor, the Mike and Pat routines faded.
Modern audiences often view them as examples of dated and offensive ethnic caricature, similar to how minstrel shows treated Black Americans.
That said, they were a major part of Vaudeville's history, and their format influenced later comedy duos (like Abbott & Costello's "Who's on First").