Murphy’s Irish Stout has been announced as the main sponsor of the 4th Ballycotton Comedy Festival, which will run from September 26th to 29th in the East Cork seaside village.
The popular festival 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 September 26th 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 the Blackbird, where the opening gala of the Murphy’s 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 Blackbird The Noble Call 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 Murphy’s Ballycotton Comedy festival, General Manager of Sea Church John Kidney said the sponsorship is a great fit: “It’s a fantastic endorsement of the festival that we’ve secured such a high profile sponsor through Heineken in the form of Murphy’s Irish Stout, an iconic Cork product and one that’s hugely associated with standup comedy in Ireland. I’d like to thank Heineken for supporting the event which is now a solid feature on the Irish comedy calendar and will be for many years to come.”
For more information on the Murphy’s Ballycotton Comedy Festival, and other upcoming events at Sea Church, visit www.seachurch.ie
