Eric FitzGerald of Limerick Post talks to comedian Steve Cummins who will play a homecoming gig here on September 24.
“I worked with some incredibly violent young people for many years so I have no fear of walking out in front of 50 or 500 people, they are less likely to throw a chair at me,”
Steve Cummins originally from Glenagross Park in Moyross has been a full-time comedian since 2004.
He has performed at the Edinburgh festival and comedy clubs all over Ireland. He is the resident host in The Laughter Lounge, Ireland’s biggest and most prestigious comedy club, for the simple reason that he’s the best at what he does. He is also a regular contributor to Today FM’s Last Word and Newstalk 106fm.
When I reach Steve by phone he speaks to me in hushed tones, in minutes he will walk into a meeting with RTÉ, his proposal to host a panel show on 2fm are at an advanced stage and he expects final word on it soon.
Graduating from Clement’s College in ‘88, Steve spent 15 years working with the homeless, juvenile offenders and adolescent gang members in Limerick, London, the Projects in Chicago and Dublin.
Wondering what got him into comedy he informed me that “when my first kid was born, I decided to take a years career break from working with young offenders so my kid’s first year of life wouldn’t be in a crèche, it also gave me a chance to push the comedy thing, I had been kind of dabbling, sometimes dying spectacularly on my ass but eventually got better and when the comedy took off, I was able to chuck in the government job.”
Any performance in front of people can be a nerve wrecking experience but for a comedian it must be ten-fold, so what is it that makes Steve Cummins such a good comedy club MC? “The major reason is I’m not afraid of an audience, I worked with some incredibly violent young people for many years so when it comes to having a bit of authority on stage, I have it because I have no fear of walking out in front of 50 or 500 people, they are less likely to throw a chair at me, and anyway, I’m from Moyross!”
Steve has just launched a podcast series, The Steve Cummins Show with trusty sidekick and 2fm DJ Dusty Roades, where they “lift the lid on celebrity and take a pop at pop culture”, it can be downloaded from his site www.kevincummins.ie
On Cummin’s upcoming gig at The Loft he commented; “I’m really excited about the Loft gig, I’ve heard other comedians that played there say that if you had a magic wand and you wanted to make a perfect comedy venue the Loft is what you’d create.”
Now based in Dublin for many years, Steve is particularly looking forward to this homecoming.
“I just really enjoy performing, I take the piss out of the audience and the idea of being in Limerick, my home town, having the crack, it’s going to be fantastic”.
Steve appears in The Laughing Loft, Locke Bar on Friday, September 24 with Peter Byrne from Dublin doing support along with Steve Spade a local magician/comedian.
MC for the evening will be John Caplis.
