The annual Smithwick’s Cat Laughs Festival in Kilkenny, already well into its second decade, has been described as “the world’s best little comedy festival.”

And Tommy Tiernan has been acclaimed as one of the best comedians on the planet, so it’s a marriage made in comedy heaven to have them united for this year’s festival, which takes place for five days over the forthcoming June bank holiday weekend.
Actually, Tommy returns to this attractive medieval market town on a bit of a roll after a hugely successful 2006 that climaxed with the release of his chart-topping tour documentary DVD Jokerman, which followed his attempts to make it in America. Indeed, few comedians of any nationality would have the self-confidence to allow material filmed in empty comedy clubs in New York to be seen in daylight. The DVD also caught Tommy in such offbeat situations as attending a church service with over 20,000 people – perfect training, some might argue, for his return trip to Kilkenny!
Tiernan is possibly our most feted comedian on the international circuit, his trophy cabinet requiring room for such awards as the Perrier Award, collected by him in 1998, and the British Comedy Award from Channel 4 that same year, but Tiernan has never let such plaudits dilute his often manic approach to exposing the bizarre contradictions in Irish society. Nor have such awards encouraged any kind of complacency, and Tiernan is still not averse to using his comedy skills to make serious points, about say, the Catholic Church or religion in general, or such key topics as the Celtic Tiger.
In many respects his delivery style echoes the tradition of the old storytellers of Ireland, and, like them, he uses his observations from real life as the basis for his rich material, often making us question aspects of Irish society we’ve taken as read for centuries but which, when exposed by Tiernan’s razor-sharp wit, seem positively absurd. One of the finer instances of this is when he contrasts three priests, from different backgrounds, delivering the same sermon to hilarious effect.
It also shows the strength in depth of Irish comedy that a universally acclaimed comedian like Tiernan can fit seemlessly on a bill that includes such towering talents as Steve Hughes from Australia, alongside the likes of Des Bishop, Ed Byrne, Neil Delamere and Phil Kay. But then, as Jimmy Carr explains, “Kilkenny is what a festival should be. It’s just a weekend and it’s in pubs. Everyone’s pissed so they laugh anyway.”
Indeed, Smithwick’s Cat’s Laughs is as popular an event with comedians as it is with the public, with comedy gigs in some of the most intimate settings imaginable, like cosy pub back-rooms, which facilitate a closer interaction with the audience than some festivals allow. That, apart from the quality of the entertainment on offer, is one of the reasons why the Guardian newspaper rates Smithwick’s Cat Laughs as one of the five best comedy festivals in the world. But then why wouldn’t it, when the bill can boast comedians such as Tiernan, about whom the most predictable thing you can point to is his (often explosive) unpredictability?
Some of Tiernan’s most memorable appearances have been linked with “late shows” on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2006 he appeared in the USA on The Late Show with David Letterman, sandwiched between actor Robert Duvall and noiseniks Sonic Youth. That appearance was immortalised on a shedload-selling DVD, but prior to that Tiernan had highlighted the hypocrisy of our own Late Late Show when he was virtually banned for upsetting the Uncle Gays and Mothers of Eight in Nenagh with a routine that got too close to the truth. Thus, long before the bishops of Ireland got round to blaming Podge and Rodge for the appalling drop in moral standards in Ireland, they had Tommy in their sights.
That Late Late rumpus allegedly involved a record number of complaints, and a spokesman for Ireland’s Catholic bishops proclaimed that “it is time for those responsible to be made accountable”, not quite the same policy they adopted towards paedophile priests, you’ll note. Some in the clerical ranks even reckoned that Tiernan’s performance “bordered on blasphemy”. The devil!
In that sense, Tiernan did what he does best, underscoring the rank two-facedness of religious authority figures and helping us, if not them, laugh at the same time. So it was no surprise that he later showed up in the ever-running Father Ted series in the role of the terminally-despondent Father Kevin in another poke at the po-faced.
This year, fans will have no less than five opportunities to catch Tommy in Kilkenny. He plays the Skyline at Hotel Kilkenny on the Saturday night, and on the Friday, Saturday and twice on Sunday (an “early bird” gig at 6.30 and another at 8.30) at KK Ormonde.
One more thing… If you’re going to Kilkenny, enjoy Tommy Tiernan sensibly.
The Smithwick’s Cat Laughs Comedy Festival takes place in various venues in Kilkenny, May 31 to June 4.