Sea Church Ballycotton will once again play host to some of the country’s top stand-ups as the 4th Ballycotton Comedy Festival is announced for late September. Running from Thursday September 26th to Sunday 29th, the festival in the seaside village will have renowned Cork comedians Chris Kent and Ross Browne as MCs, and will feature high profile performers like Danny O’Brien, Emma Doran and Colin Murphy.
Four days of laughter lie ahead in East Cork, kicking off on Thursday in Sea Church with John Colleary, co-writer and star of IFTA nominated TV shows like ‘The Savage Eye’ and ‘Irish Pictorial Weekly.’
Friday sees a packed line up at Blackbird, where the opening gala of the Ballycotton Comedy Festival features the highly acclaimed Danny O’Brien, a regular at festivals all over the world from the Edinburgh and Melbourne Fringe, to the Cat Laughs in Kilkenny and Electric Picnic. Also on the bill that night is Cork’s finest Ross Browne as MC, and Eric Lalor – another regular on the festival circuit and familiar face on numerous TV panels. Attendees on Friday will also be treated to a solo show with the extremely quick-witted Willa White, one of the major acts of The Laughter Lounge in Dublin.
The weekend continues in this high-energy vein, with a Danny O’Brien solo show at Blackbird on Saturday, and a stellar main show in Sea Church featuring Chris Kent as MC – one of Ireland and the UK’s rapidly rising stand-up comedians. Confirmed on the bill with Chris will be the award winning Shane Daniel Byrne, well known Cork personality and funnyman Shane Bucks, and the highly acclaimed Colin Murphy, known for the likes of ‘The Blizzard of Odd’ and RTÉ’s ‘The Panel.’
Chris and Ross will also host The Noble Call in The Blackbird on Saturday, with the tagline “Secret lineup, no plan, anything can happen. Not to be missed!” Sunday night closes with a host of top class entertainers; Cork’s Laura O’Mahoney makes her return to Ballycotton, along with Emma Doran whose ability to satirise many aspects of Irish life has made her one of the country’s best loved comedians; and London-based funny man and podcaster Mike Rice.
Commenting on the upcoming Ballycotton Comedy festival, General Manager of Sea Church John Kidney said the event is going from strength to strength: “We’re lucky in Ireland to have so many fantastic comedians, it’s a really healthy scene at the moment with numerous rising stars on the horizon too. This year’s lineup for the Ballycotton Comedy Festival is already mind-blowing and we have a lot of big names yet to announce. It’s great to work with two of Cork’s finest comedians, Ross Browne and Chris Kent, whose help and support has been invaluable in putting this lineup together. There’s always a great buzz around the village when the performers and punters arrive and I think this year’s festival will be extra special.”
For more information on the Ballycotton Comedy Festival, and other upcoming events at Sea Church this summer, visit www.seachurch.ie
