Well, it’ll soon be here again, the June bank holiday weekend and there’s only one place to be for the discerning comedy fan, the Kilkenny Cat Laughs festival.

It’s probably the comedians’ favourite festival. It’s the opposite of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, no awards, no reviews, no pressure. Edinburgh is your wife, you’re involved longer, it’s tougher and if you’re successful it’s very rewarding. Kilkenny is your mistress, she’s short, she’s sharp, but she might flash you her knockers. The population of the city (make no mistake it is a city, they are very particular about that) doubles for 5 days with everyone seeming to get into the spirit of it all.
My first Kilkenny in 2002 doing the Cats Comedy Cellar was a revelation. The audiences were great, the gigs were amazing and you get free stuff. To get to your hotel and have a little pack of pens, cards and Murphy’s stout vouchers just makes you feel like you’ve arrived! That, and seeing Des Bishop performing House of Pain’s “Jump Around” at the festival club will live with me for a long time. I just hope Ed Byrne can be persuaded to give a rendition of Kiss this year too.
(Truth be told, it never takes much persuasion to get him to sing it, something like:
“Ed, will you be singing tonight?”
“No.”
“Go on.”
“OK”.)
The county of Kilkenny has produced some great sportsmen down through the years, Eddie Kehir, DJ Carey (he’s good but he’s no Brian Whelehan) and it’s only right that the real reason comics want to be there, the whole raison d’etre of the festival is a sporting contest. It’s the football game between the Irish comedians and a team made up of the rest of the world players. The gigs are just a front , a cover for what, if the spirit of it is properly adhered to is the most seriously taken event in world sport. So much so that the rest of the world team introduced ringers last year in a cheap and cynical ploy to win the game. For shame. The fact that it worked is neither here nor there. A reason for this seething battle of hatred had to be invented and so a festival was born around it.
This is the 10th year of the Cat Laughs and so the line-up was bound to be special. Once again comedy godfather and festival director Richard Cook has outdone himself cajoling many international comedy luminaries such as Rich Hall, Emo Philips and Mike Wilmot to appear. Not to mention the finest of our homegrown Irish talent. That’s the cool thing about Kilkenny, pretty much every show is going to be damn good. Check out the Cats Comedy Cellar with the nicest man in comedy Tommy Nicholson, the brilliant Reuben and the unpredictably great Dave McSavage too.
My tip for real laughs though is to watch about 30 of the unfittest fuckers on the planet chase a ball round a pitch. Remember that, when you see the flowing figure of New York’s Aidan Bishop running down the wing, ball at feet, intent on scoring. But what’s this, his legs are viciously scythed from behind, hacked down mercilessly by an Irish player who stands above him, laughing at his broken battered limbs. Aidan I’m coming for you. I’ll be playing with the embittered Irish attitude, if he’s better than you, just kick him.
Right I have a few words left, so please come and see my preview Edinburgh show in the Hub, Eustace Street in Dublin on June 24. Thanks.

The Cat Laughs Festival takes place at various venues in Kilkenny from June 3 to 7 June