Funny Festival by the Sea!

22 July 2011

The inaugural Crosshaven Comedy festival will be held between Friday and Sunday, July 29th -31st in Crosshaven Community Centre. The festival, being marketed as the "funny festival by the sea", is set to host several top comedians along with budding Cork talent and an opportunity for amateurs to try stand up performance.

Whilst weekend entertainment festivals are no stranger to Crosshaven, this upcoming event will be the first comedy festival and organisers are hoping to emulate the success and popularity of past music, sailing and sporting occasions with the comedy shows.

The Comedy Festival was the brainchild of local man Mark Lyons, who describes himself as "someone trying to make others laugh". Mark followed through on his idea, and along with Dublin based comedian Kevin Goldsmith, organised the weekend, with the village being branded as ‘Craichaven’ in light of the event.Amongst the festival acts are, Patrick McDonnell who has played Eoin McLove in Fr.Ted, famed for the ever humourous "I've no willy" line. McDonnell has also featured prominently in the ever-popular RTE shows, Naked Camera and The Savage Eye. He will be headlining the Sunday night show, and is sure to be a gig which will draw huge demand and will bring a close to the festival in style. Joe Rooney, lauded for his excellent performances of Timmy in RTE’s Killinaskully, will be headlining the festival on Saturday 30th. Rooney has also featured in Fr. Ted, playing the belligerent Fr Damo, and is a hugely popular face of Irish Comedy.

Kevin McAleer will open up the festival, headlining the Friday show. McAleer came to prominence on RTE’s Nighthawks; he became known and loved for his surreal rustic tales told in his slow County Tyrone Drawl. With such popular, well known and talented acts, the festival is set to be a success.

As well as hosting professional comedians, the festival will also accommodate amateurs, with an "open mic" facility being put in place in pubs throughout the weekend. Cork comedians, Tom O'Mahony, Chris Kent and Jason Coughlan will be MC's for the headline nights, giving these emerging talents a chance to showcase their abilities.

One of the acts, Patrick McDonnell has said that he is excited to be involved in the festival and is very much looking forward to coming to Crosshaven. He says that Cork is great and thinks Cork audiences are very welcoming and receptive. Patrick has not been to Crosshaven before and is happy to be involved, he is delighted to be involved with Joe Rooney in particular through the festival as they still gig together, with their Fr Ted acts being ever popular amongst Irish audiences. Patrick has signalled that current issues such as politics, the recession, and Irelands direction into the future are topics to feature in his stand up routine. He believes that comedians in recent years drifted from satire, however, now it is popular again amongst audiences and he looks forward to delivering a satirical and enjoyable show in Crosshaven at the end of July.

For further information on the festival visit their facebook page.  Tickets are available at www.tickets.ie at €12.50 including booking fee or at the door on the night.