The Dublin launch of next month’s Galway Comedy Festival kicked off last Wednesday night in Eden Quay’s Laughter Lounge.
Galway Comedy Festival is the EU’s largest comedy festival with over 70 shows scheduled between October 19th and the 25th.
The night’s host, Colm, was a great laugh when he started picking on the front row. People visibly shrank from his gaze, probably wishing the small lamps on their tables would short out. The highlight of this segment was when he called a group of wealthy-looking ladies and gents in their fifties “people that looked like they used to own a lot of stuff during the Boom”.
Paul Marsh was the first full act up and he revealed to the crowd that he was also a fireman, and a paramedic. People howled with laughter during one long segment where he pointed out how different the two jobs were, with each joke funnier than the last. (People shouting ‘you’re on fire!’- if you’re a comedian that means you’re doing a good job, fireman: not so much.)
He had countless witty one-liners and observations, many of them so funny that you’d giggle in anticipation at the punchline and then wonder how you’d never heard of this Paul fella before.
Up next was the brash Enya Martin, with a slew of very relatable pandemic jokes jokes that had laughter echoing off the subterranean ceiling of the comedy club. People were bent over clutching their stomachs after one joke about growing up in a certain part of Dublin and her primary school classmates making fun of her because she and her twin brother shared the same father.
After a few great stories about growing up, she finished her set leaving the crowd wanting more. Luckily, she was succeeded by the hilarious Andrew Maxwell who spent his first few minutes on stage literally moaning in pleasure about how much he missed live standup and the agony of trying to keep performing during lockdown. “The thing about doing Zoom shows is that sometimes someone’s wife is sitting in the background on her phone not giving a crap!”
Maxwell finished off the night brilliantly with a perfect mix of witty and lowbrow humour, as well as a great ordeal he experienced bringing suspicious items through the airport.
Tickets for Galway Comedy Festival are available now, where you can see the great lineup from the Laugher Lounge, as well as Ardal O’Hanlon, Jason Byrne, Owan Colgan, Reginald D. Hunter, Waterford Whispers News and many more.
As well as some of the best Irish and international comedians, the event also boasts improv, mimes, photography, theatre and table quizzes.
Sounds like a festival worth seeing!
Jamie Mc Carron
Image Credit: Galway Comedy Festival