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Catty and Batty it sure is a funny old game for Tommy

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By Dara deFaoite
Monday Jun 2 2008

FOOTBALL can be a funny old game, especially when it's played by a bunch of madcap comedians from around the world.

Ireland's finest comics took on the rest of the world in heated kick-about at the Cat Laughs comedy festival in Kilkenny yesterday.

The 14th annual Cat Laughs event, which closes today, featured more than 100 shows by 70 comedians in pubs and venues across the Marble City.

Tommy Tiernan allegedly upset gig goers with a joke about missing three-year old Madeleine McCann on Saturday.

But he seemed unperturbed by the controversy as he put on an extra show to the delight of fans last night.

It was not a weekend for those who are easily offended.

US comedy vet Rich Hall, Australia's Greg Fleet and Ireland's Kevin Gildea did their damnedest to stir things up at the 'Dark Show', where comedians used material they thought they'd never get away with.

But it was Kerrywoman Carol Tobin who got closest to the unspeakable with a delightfully deadpan trip into the sick and downright unpleasant.

She seemed to have no problem with the reputation of the festival's first ever 'Dark Show' on Saturday.

Des Bishop, Jason Byrne and Ardal O'Hanlon were among the leading Irish comedians to perform at the festival, with overseas artists including Reginald D Hunter from the US, Shappi Khorsandi and Lee Mack from Britain, and Scotland's Craig Hill.

Bishop is touring material from his recent RTE television series 'In The Name of the Fada', which chronicled his successful attempt to learn Irish.

He delivered a bilingual set touching on the peculiarities of Irish life and language, but paused to take a pop at the Government for what he perceives as failures in the education system when it comes to teaching Irish.

"It's hard enough having a serious conversation with a man named Batt," he said in a joking reference to new Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe. But in a moment of conviction, he said he was looking forward to more discussions on the subject in the future.

Up to 30,000 comedy fans made the trip to Kilkenny for the five-day laugh fest, which has been lauded as a great success.

"It's been a brilliant festival," said Cat Laughs producer Lynn Cahill.

"Comedians love playing here, they treat it like a play ground and the fans have been absolutely brilliant," she said.

"This is a hugely important festival for Kilkenny and we're looking forward to 2009 already," she said.

- Dara deFaoite