The tiers of Ireland's clowns

There is no shortage of venues, festivals or opportunities for our new comedians, but there is also no sign that the glory days of 1990s Irish comedy are about to return, writes BRIAN BOYD

AT LAST month’s Carlsberg Comedy Carnival in Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens, there were all the familiar Irish names in their familiar places. There were acknowledged stars Des Bishop, Tommy Tiernan and Jason Byrne; established comics David O’Doherty, Paddy Courtney, Maeve Higgins, Andrew Maxwell and Neil Delamere, all capable of selling out their own Vicar Street shows; and those still on the way up, such as Eric Lalor, Gearóid Farrelly, Aidan Bishop and Jarlath Regan. Their position in the Irish comedy hierarchy dictated what size of venue they played and their position on the bill.

For many of the above, the Dublin Comedy Carnival is part two of their summer triptych, which began with Kilkenny’s Cat Laughs in June and carries on at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, beginning next week. There the hierarchy crumbles. Des Bishop (a huge Irish star) comes in below David O’Doherty (who won the overall Edinburgh Comedy Award, formerly known as the Perrier) two years ago. Andrew Maxwell goes to the top of the pack due to the fact that he’s UK-based and has sold out his last five Edinburgh shows. Irish household names (those who have had their own TV shows) struggle, while virtual unknowns who have been quietly building up a profile on the UK comedy circuit prosper.

But despite the return to Edinburgh this year (after more than a decade away) of both Tommy Tiernan and Ardal O’Hanlon, and the fact that Jason Byrne is one of the biggest-selling comics in Edinburgh box-office history, the glory days are over and the nature of Irish comedy has changed irrevocably. Between 1996 and 1998, there were two Irish Perrier award winners, Dylan Moran (1996) and Tommy Tiernan (1998), and, in between, Graham Norton was nominated for the 1997 award. At Edinburgh’s 1996 So You Think You’re Funny? awards (the “baby Perriers”), the first four places were taken by Irish acts. At the same time, the most talked about comedy programme on television, Father Ted, was written by and starred Irish comedic talent.

Since 1998, Irish names – with a few notable exceptions – have been largely absent from the roll-call of the big Edinburgh comedy awards. After the 1996-1998 deluge, there was a notion that anyone who got a few laughs from his/her mates in a pub could stroll into Dublin’s Comedy Cellar (where everyone begins their career) and within weeks be a star.

Just as Dublin became the “city of 1,000 bands” following U2’s international breakthrough in the mid-1980s, so a small army of the good, bad and awful donned their leather jackets, genuflected in front of a poster of Bill Hicks and saw the Big Time as their birthright.

But the class of 1996-1998 was exceptional. Moran and Tiernan were one-offs, as were Father Tedand Graham Norton. All concerned from that time still enjoy flourishing careers. The next truly big name to emerge was Dara Ó Briain. Unlike some of his peer group who eschewed the hard toil of the unforgiving UK comedy circuit, Ó Briain wasn't happy to glide along in someone else's slipstream. He would drive up to Co Donegal, perform in front of six people and then drive back to Dublin. He did the miserable Edinburgh years – but year on year he increased his audiences. Now one of the most recognisable faces in the British entertainment world, there's not a venue at Edinburgh which would be big enough for his huge live appeal.

What is most markedly different today from the glory days of Irish comedy is the emergence of a two-tier system. Des Bishop, Tommy Tiernan and Dara Ó Briain can set up camp in Vicar Street for months on end and dazzle sold-out audiences with well-honed, well-crafted and, in Tiernan's case, intensely passionate sets. Just below them, acts such as Jason Byrne and Andrew Maxwell (who has benefited hugely from his exposure on RTÉ's The Panel) can do multiple nights too, but nowhere near the business of the top three.

Away from the “name in lights” shows, the Irish circuit has never been stronger. From the professional, well-run and relatively well-paid Laughter Lounge venues around the country (Dublin, Belfast, Galway and Waterford) to any amount of out-of-Dublin theatre venues, and with Cat Laughs, Comedy Carnival and the annual MCD-run International Comedy Festival in September, there is no shortage of opportunity for good comedians.

For those on the way up, there are five comedy nights each week at Dublin’s International Bar, as well as numerous other pub venues in the city. Bray, Dalkey, Gorey, Portarlington – comedy clubs are now stretching beyond their traditional city-centre base.

But for the brightest of the new acts out there, such as sketch trio Foil, Arms and Hog or impressive new Cork comic Chris Kent, having a lot more venues available to them than the Comedy Cellar (where Ardal O'Hanlon, Barry Murphy, Dylan Moran and Dara Ó Briain all learnt their craft) doesn't mean that much, given the mercurial nature of the stand-up scene. Ironically, the right infrastructure has arrived at the same time as RTÉ's The Panelhas become the new open-mic spot – but an open-mic spot watched by all the movers and shakers in the comedy industry (bookers, agents, management) and also, on UK channels, by millions of viewers.

As for today’s material, so-called “alternative comedy” (which came from a radical and politicised agitprop background) has been replaced by “new mainstream” material – best exemplified by the pan-generational appeal of a Peter Kay. Railing against the Catholic Church, the Government, the recession, Nama, and so on, doesn’t really have the same potency when all newspapers, radio stations and TV news features programmes are doing the same thing, except with better production values.

Given Ireland's size, vehicles such as The Panelor well-received shows such as The Savage Eyeare never going to make the same impact as Mock the Weekor 8 Out of 10 Catsdo in Britain, but every comedy festival organiser and club booker will tell you that audiences flock to see an Irish act with a TV profile. Word of mouth has been replaced by YouTube viewing and, yes, while comedians can still can "grow" their acts over a number of years on the club circuit, a few good TV spots can help them leapfrog over those awkward first steps of their comedy careers.

Later this year, RTÉ will broadcast its own take on the hugely successful "comedy roadshow" format. To be shot in Galway and featuring both national and international acts, it may not create instant stars in the way Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshowhas done in the UK of John Bishop and Kevin Bridges, but it is an acknowledgment of the new focus and direction in stand-up. People have neither the time, inclination nor money to sit in a dingy pub watching an "experimental" comic cut his teeth when a well-produced TV show can give you a good act's greatest hits in 15 minutes.

The biggest thing to happen to Irish comedy this year will take place in the Olympia, Dublin, next week (on August 19th) when McIntyre films one of the roadshows for his BBC series. When Jonathan Ross's TV chat show was suspended briefly in the wake of the Andrew Sachs phone-call incident, the then little-known McIntyre (who shares the same management as Ross) was drafted in to the huge-ratings slot with a show that featured four comics (known and unknown) doing 15-minute sets. Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshowis now just behind Top Gearin the size of its TV audience.

With Tommy Tiernan as the special guest, the focus on the night will also fall on a largely unknown new Irish comic, who will be well aware that other acts who have performed in the “unknown” slot on the show have gone from playing to 50 people to 5,000 people. Such is the programme’s reach and impact. No pressure than for rising Irish comedy act Keith Farnan.

Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshowis at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, on Aug 19. Tommy Tiernan, Jason Byrne and Ardal O'Hanlon are all playing various dates at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which runs until Aug 30; edfringe.com. Dara Ó Briain is at Vicar Street, Dublin, from Sept 2 to 12. The Comedy Cellar is at the International Bar, Dublin, every Wednesday evening, and the International Comedy Club is at the same venue from Thursday to Sunday nights