FOR comedy choices this year, University Concert Hall has an extensive list of bookings this Spring. Along with the likes of Farmer Michael, Rhod Gilbert and Pat Shortt, the venue is bringing back its successful series of standup comedy nights this Tuesday 28.
Happening on the last Tuesday of each month, The Punchline creates an intimate atmosphere at UCH with quickfire comedy routines from some of Ireland’s finest on the circuit.
MC and event organiser Tom O’Mahony set up The Punchline series in 2019 and soon found a willing and regular audience.
Tom told Limerick Post that the venue received loads of positive messages from the audience after the gigs.
“It was brilliant for people who wouldn’t regularly go to stand up comedy or a comedy club. It grew and grew every month.”
The concert hall is reduced down to a 300 seater gig for The Punchline nights, giving the place an intimate club atmosphere.
“It looks gorgeous – it changes the whole dynamic.
“The lighting, the backdrop, everything, it looks so, so good.”
“With a comedy club – you are going to get hit like a machine gun.
“Rather than putting on someone’s own theatre show, there is a different vibe, there is a different pace, there won’t be a narrative running through it.
“It keeps your heart rate up, it’s a different vibe to the theatre show.”
Each Punchline night will feature a support act, Tom O’Mahony as MC and a headliner.
Tom will be doing his “usual craic with the audience.”
First headliner is Colin Geddis.
Colin is perhaps better known in the North of Ireland and the UK but he has carved out some huge support for his comedy. He sold out SSE Arena in Belfast recently – at 3,500 capacity – and then he put on a second night and sold that out as well.
“Colin Geddis has been at the cutting edge in comedy. He had a podcast nine years ago when nobody knew what podcasts were!”
“He was doing funny sketch characters ten years ago when nobody had YouTube. He has been ahead of the game on a lot of things and a very, very funny standup as well.”
Colin has millions of hits on YouTube and over a million podcast listens to his ‘General Banter’ podcast.
As with all the headliners Tom has sourced for The Punchline. They are all 100 per cent capable of bringing the house down.
“We are trying to catch them before they are going to sell out tours!”
Coming up in February at The Punchline is Danny O’Brien. The hardworking comedian supports Today FM’s Dermot and Dave on their national tours.
“He has opened for Dermot and Dave. The gang at UCH loved him and the audience loved him.”
Expect to see Mickey Bartlet and Fred Cooke feature in the months ahead.
Tom O’Mahony will soon be announcing further dates for his own ‘Defending The Caveman’ show in the coming weeks which see the actor, comedian and podcaster return to UCH with this legendary US theatre show.
Tom can be heard weekly on his own very funny podcast ‘Buckshot’.
He has also debuted a brand new podcast, a two hander with Eoin Colgan (Hardy Bucks) called ‘Hard Advice’ – it is more than a bit insane – offering life coaching advice from two men who don’t even pretend to know anything.
