<b>In 2012, Jacksepticeye was making videos with a shaky mic; years later, he built one of gaming's longest-running channels</b>

Before Jacksepticeye became known for “Top of the mornin’ to ya laddies!” and huge charity streams, there was a wooden cabin in Ballycumber, County Offaly. That was where Seán McLoughlin started recording in 2012. The setup was far from polished. His microphone was shaky, the internet connection was terrible, and he sometimes had to keep his voice down so he would not wake his family. His first upload, posted on November 12/13, 2012, was not even a normal gaming video. McLoughlin tried a Solid Snake voice impression from Metal Gear Solid 4. Even the name Jacksepticeye had a story behind it. It came from a childhood football injury involving a friend’s glasses, which badly cut his eye and caused it to become infected.The numbers changed after one PewDiePie competitionThe biggest shift came in September 2013. McLoughlin entered a shoutout competition hosted by PewDiePie, Felix Kjellberg, who was then the biggest creator on the platform. He won. The effect was immediate.Jacksepticeye had around 2,500 subscribers before the shoutout. Four days later, that number had jumped to 15,000. By February 2014, he had reached 100,000 subscribers.That gave the channel a completely different scale. What started as quiet uploads from an Irish cabin had found a much bigger audience.“Top of the mornin’” became more than a catchphraseAs the channel grew, McLoughlin built a very recognizable identity around his Irish background. His opening line, “Top of the mornin’ to ya laddies!”, became part of almost every fan’s idea of Jacksepticeye.But his approach also changed with time. He moved away from the edgier gamer style and pushed something called “PMA,” short for Positive Mental Attitude.That shift became a big part of the community around the channel. Instead of simply relying on loud gaming content, he built an identity that could continue changing as his audience grew older.He turned the channel into a full businessJacksepticeye’s career did not stop at YouTube videos. In 2018, he co-founded Cloak with fellow YouTuber Markiplier. The idea came from a simple complaint about gaming merchandise. They felt a lot of it was cheaply made, so Cloak was created as a more elevated lifestyle and “anti-activewear” brand.Two years later, McLoughlin moved into another physical product business. In 2020, he launched Top of the Mornin’ Coffee, using the catchphrase that had already become closely linked with his online identity.Thankmas became one of his biggest legaciesThe most striking part of his later career has been charity. Through his annual Thankmas streams, McLoughlin works with Tiltify to raise money for major causes during the holiday season.The 2021 event became a standout moment when the stream raised $7.7 million in one day for New Story, an organization fighting global homelessness.He later raised millions more for World Central Kitchen and other global NGOs. That is what makes the Jacksepticeye story different from a simple gaming success story.The career started with a shaky microphone, weak internet and a Solid Snake impression. It eventually became a giant creator brand with businesses, a huge community and charity streams capable of moving millions of dollars.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.