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Cat Laughs

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Cat Laughs
StatusActive
GenreComedy Festival
FrequencyAnnually
Location(s)Kilkenny, County Kilkenny,
CountryIreland
Inaugurated1994 (1994)
Founder
  • Lynn Cahill
  • Richard Cook
Websitethecatlaughs.com

The Cat Laughs Comedy Festival is a comedy festival held over the first weekend in June each year in Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, Ireland. It was founded in 1994.[1] It has been referred to as the "Best Little Comedy Festival in the world" by The Guardian and RTE.[2][3]

History

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Cat Laughs was envisioned in 1994 by Lynn Cahill, who ran Bickerstaffe Theatre Company in Kilkenny. As a means to expand the company's programme, she considered with her business partner that Kilkenny was great for a festival. After originally planning a choral festival called "Cat Sings", her business partner Richard Cook suggested a comedy festival instead.[1] For the first two editions, no Irish comedian closed the festival due to the audience preferring British comics.[1] The first edition was sponsored by Smithwick's before being sponsored by Murphy's Irish Stout until 2015 when Smithwick's returned.[4] The festival experienced a major financial loss in its inaugural year, with debts ranging between £70,000 and £100,000. The festival's second edition was held with the hopes that the debts from the first edition could be paid off. By 2002, the festival had become a profitable venture; 2002 the first year that the festival received support from the Arts Council, which provided a grant of €95,000.[5]

The festival is traditionally held over the June Holiday long weekend.[6] Each comedian is previewed at other shows by the festival directors before being invited to perform at Cat Laughs.[1]

Many comedians from the UK and Ireland have attended including; Dara Ó Briain, Ed Byrne and Eddie Izzard.[7][8] Some notable names in stand-up, like David O'Doherty, have gone from audience member to headliner over the festival's history.[7] The festival has also been used as a way to launch the careers of comedians from outside the United Kingdom and Ireland.[9] Other notable Irish comedians who have worked Cat Laughs include Tommy Tiernan, Dylan Moran, Joanne McNally, Jason Byrne, Neil Delamere, Alison Spittle, Karl Spain, and Eleanor Tiernan.[10]

A tradition developed over the years that as a part of the festival, the Irish comedians would play a football match against comedians from the rest of the world for the Cat Cup.[11][7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "My big week". Irish Times. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  2. ^ Cook, William (24 May 2003). "The guide: PREVIEW comedy: * cat laughs comedy festival KILKENNY". The Guardian. Proquest. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Cat Laughs celebrates 25 years with all-star comedy line up". RTE. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Stellar line-up plays for Laughs". Irish Times. 7 May 2005. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Cat Laughs festival opens in Kilkenny tomorrow". Irish Times. 29 May 2002. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  6. ^ "Comedy Festivals in Ireland". DiscoveringIreland.com. 28 April 2010. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  7. ^ a b c "Comedy festival cats out of the bag". Irish Independent. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  8. ^ "Kilkenny Cat Laughs 2019 announced". Buzz. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  9. ^ "I was a psycho always blaming other people- comedian Bill Burr". Irish Independent. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  10. ^ "Cat Laughs celebrates 25 years with all-star comedy line up". RTÉ News. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  11. ^ "Smithwick's Cat Laughs Comedy Festival". Irish Independent. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
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