Zig and Zag were locked up in the attic, but all the other comedians were out to party. The Shelter@Vicar Street was the mecca for all those who love to joke.
As the Dublin Fringe Theatre Festival kicked into gear on its opening night, television land hosted a party to mark the beginning of Network 2's upcoming Monday night comedy fest. Writer Brian Lynch has created a new series, called The Cassidys, with his younger brother, Adrian Lynch, and Darragh Byrne as co-producers. Brian says the Monday night show is about "a family of dysfunctional orphans". It's a comedy of course, to be showcased this Monday. Some of the stars are here, including Niamh Daly, Alison McKenna and Amelia Crowley. Another Cassidy star, Ed Byrne, popped in before jetting off to Canada for a 15-city tour with the Just for Laughs troupe.
Kieran Carney, who is director and writer of the new comedy series, Bachelors' Walk, with his younger brother, John Carney, and Tom Hall, says it is about "three men looking for love in contemporary Dublin". Ah.
Ronan McCabe, producer of Podge and Rodge, the puppet presenters of A Scare at Bedtime on Network 2, says the brazen duo (i.e. P & R) will have a new video out at Christmas. Many's the cheeky family member who'll want to make a note of that.
Meanwhile, the winners of the Radio 75 National Poetry on Radio Competition were announced at a special party on Thursday. The winner of the £1,000 prize is Tom Duddy from Galway for his poem, 'The European'. He was born in Ramolin in Co Mayo. He lectures in NUI Galway in the Department of Philosophy. There were 10 runners-up, who each received £100.
There were more than 700 entries and the offerings were judged by Brendan Kennelly, Nuala N∅ Dhomhnaill and Seamus Hosey. All the poems affirm "the degree to which radio in Ireland has become part of the daily imaginative, emotional and cultural landscape of the individual", said Kennelly.