Dublin comedy festival in full swing as thousands flock to it after three-year break

Well known faces in the Paddy Power Green Room last night included Kellie Harrington, Ruby Walsh, Niall Quinn, Ryan Tubridy, Dave Fanning, Norah Casey and Joe Duffy.

Over 90 artists will perform 36 shows in four fully seated venues in the city centre walled gardens until Sunday.

The VIPs last night caught Tommy Tiernan in ‘The Bleedin’ Massive Stage’, with support from Chris Kent, Sindhu Vee and MC Fiona Frawley.

‘The Craic Den’ saw Deirdre O’Kane entertain a packed out crowd, with support from Catherine Bohart, Helen Bauer and MC Karl Spain.

‘The Only Joke Inn’ saw Foil, Arms & Hog supported by internet sensation Killian Sundermann and Mary Beth Barone, with MC Duane Doogan. Over on ‘The Free Gaff’ stage, viral hit Shane Daniel Byrne headlined, with support from Ger Staunton, Justine Stafford and MC Martin Angelo.

The 9.30pm shows included Jason Byrne on ‘The Bleedin’ Massive Stage’, Tony Cantwell in ‘The Craic Den’, Enya Martin at ‘The Only Joke Inn’ and The Comedy Crunch performed in a packed out ‘The Free Gaff’.

As a new sponsor, Paddy Power wants to support to some of the talented comedy clubs across Dublin and so ‘The Free Gaff’ stage was born.

On each day of the festival, local comedy clubs will be hosted as part of the programme on this stage, and for every ticket sold for The Free Gaff stage featuring a ‘Comedy Club’, Paddy Power will match its price in funding for that comedy club.

This will allow those clubs to finance more gigs, creating more opportunities for aspiring comedians to perform and hone their talent in front of a live audience.

For full details of the Paddy Power Comedy Festival line-up, programme information and to buy tickets, click here.