Discover comedy festivals and clubs where the craic is mighty
April Fool’s Day is the traditional time to joke around but in Ireland you can get a laugh anytime at one of its many comedy clubs and festivals.
Festival of Fools, Belfast
The island of Ireland is famous for its craic – the banter and fun that is a part of everyday life. And with an innate talent for storytelling, the Irish are natural comedians who can spin a yarn with a comedic twist in the tale. Even the magical characters from Irish folklore, such as the shape-shifting Púca, enjoy fooling people and getting up to all sorts of mischief.
Finding an evening of great stand-up comedy on the island is easy as there are multiple comedy festivals and clubs that present the best of local comic talent as well as established international entertainers.
Belfast has not one but two comedy festivals in May. The Festival of Fools (3–5 May) takes over the city centre for a weekend of laughter and colour with over 70 performances including circus, parkour, dance, archery, physical comedy, acrobatics and visual arts. The festival events are mostly outdoors, and daytime events are free.
The city will also host the 2025 BBC Comedy Festival which gives producers, both established and new, the opportunity to get together to celebrate and explore comedy in a series of talks, panels, and screenings. There will also be live events showcasing the best local comedic talent.
In June, Kilkenny gets in on the fun with The Cat Laughs, which for 30 years has been one of the island’s top-drawer comedy festivals. Over four days the festival will present a laugh-a-minute programme of comedy shows in venues across the medieval city. The festival famously helped to launch the careers of some of Ireland’s internationally successful comedians including Dara Ó Briain, Aisling Bea, Graham Norton and Ardal O’Hanlon.
The Laughter Lounge, Dublin
Later in the year, the Galway Comedy Festival (21–27 October) will bring the finest comedians to the Wild Atlantic Way in a week that will pack in almost 80 laugh-out-loud performances. This year’s headliners include Rhod Gilbert and Chris McCausland.
Happily, you don’t have to wait for the next festival to enjoy an evening of craic as you can head to one of the great comedy clubs on the island, which present year-round shows.
Roisin Dubh in Galway is the top spot in the west attracting big names and, for comedians, is a favourite venue on the circuit. Cork’s City Limits club has an international reputation and has been called “one of the main pillars of Irish stand-up comedy”.
Ireland’s biggest comedy club is The Laughter Lounge in Dublin which runs Friday and Saturday night stand-up shows each featuring four comedians. Dublin is also home to Ireland’s oldest comedy club The International, which hosts a great line-up of comedians as well as shows with a twist such as Sunday night Dublin Comedy Improv.
No Joke Comedy, Out of Office Brewing, Belfast
In Belfast, Lavery’s Comedy Club provides mid-week laughter and has hosted names like top US funnyman Kevin Hart, while The Empire Laughs Back presents great comedy acts every Tuesday and has been entertaining audiences for over 30 years. Out of Office Brewing hosts the monthly No Joke Comedy Club.