Paddy C Courtney has been a stand up comic for over three
years
He left the world of nine to five as accountant for EMI records
in 1998 to concentrate on his true calling as stand up comic.
Within days of his resignation he appeared at the Edinburgh
Comedy Festival where he spent the following four weeks in
the best of Irish show 'Just for the Craic'.
"Paddy Courtney is a high velocity wit who lives life
just a side step away from normality" - The Scotsman,
1998
In his years as a devoted comedian, Paddy has toured Scotland,
Ireland, appeared in London and successfully completed three
Edinburgh Fringes. His first being Channel 4's "So you
think you're funny?" competition and his latest being
'The Main Event'.
During his month in Edinburgh he wrote a weekly diary for
Ireland's no.1 web site. Oceanfree.net, and has since become
a regular contributor to Enter Magazine, the Internet magazine.
Other festivals Paddy has appeared at include the Kilkenny
Cats Laughs, various Murphy's Ungagged, as well as the Dublin
Fringe Festival.
'Controversial Courtney' as he has been recently christened
by Hot Press magazine, has also been described as a 'Comedy
Juggernaut' by 3D Magazine. The Sunday Times offers the advice
'to mark him out as one to watch, with his 'original well-crafted
material, he has a punchy delivery and a keen eye for the
thing they call timing'.
"Irish charmer Paddy C Courtney works the crowd like
a pro and immediately endears with his exuberant observations
on Northern Ireland's peace process" * * * * - The List
2000
"Paddy Courtney, a cheeky chappie sort of performer
whose quick-fire material and jaunty delivery always makes
him a crowd pleaser" - The Irish Times 2000
Paddy's TV, Radio and Film credits include the following:
RTE Radio 1 and Today FM:
* Sketches written and performed
BBC Radio Scotland:
* Regular contributor on 'Fred MacAuley Show'
RTE:
* The Blizzard Of Odd
* Don't Feed The Gondola's
* The Lounge/Best of The Lounge
* Podge and Rodge
Film:
* The Castle
* Separation Anxiety
RTE short Film:
* The Candidate
* Solomon 1
Channel 4:
* The Comedy Lab
* Edinburgh or Bust
ITV:
* Funny Biz
Bravo TV:
* The Basement
BBC:
* Custer's Last Stand-up
Paddy is presently doing warm ups for Ireland's 'Who Wants
to be a Millionaire?' and RTE's sitcom 'The Cassidys'.
Adverts and Voiceovers include:
Eircell:
* Photo Shoot for Magazine advert.
Eircell:
* Voiceover for message re: Leaving Certificate.
A.I.B.
* Nationwide radio campaign for Students.
"He eases the audience into laughter with an endearing
mix of charm and sarcasm" - The Scotsman, 1999
Karl Spain
Courtesy of The
Limerick Leader
NOT many Limerick men could say their life-long ambition
is to make people laugh or become a Pretty Polly model.
But for one 28 year old Corbally man, at least one of his
dreams have come true.
Karl Spain, a stand up comic, has beaten hundreds of other
hopefuls to make it through to the famous Edinburgh comedy
festival next month which attracts the cream of international
comedians.
And he's only one of three Irish people who have made it
through to the prestigious event.
"I always wanted to do stand-up but never had the guts,"
Karl said. "And everything's happened so fast! I was
absolutely terrified the night I did my first gig at an open
comedy night in Dublin last April. But I got a great reaction
from the audience and there's a great buzz when you're on
stage."
Karl will perform his routine on Sunday, August 13, as part
of the hit Channel Four show, So You Think You're Funny?,
which is an integral part of the festival.
Describing himself as an "avid synchronised swimmer"
and a huge Marty Whelan fan, Karl got interested in performing
on stage through his TV production diploma course in Coláiste
Dhulaigh in Dublin.
Most of his material is Limerick based, featuring the Cranberries,
Frank McCourt and "local experiences" including
limbo-dancing in O'Connell Street and tap dancing through
the People's Park!
The son of Bernard and Geraldine Spain, Lower Park, Karl
is working in Atlas Aluminium for the summer to finance his
trip to Edinburgh.
The competition has launched the careers of many former winners
including top comedians Dylan Moran, Tommy Tiernan and Phil
Kay
Neil Delamare
Young and energetic, Neil favours the classic humorists style
of delivery, and is committed to enervating, escalating entertainment.
These are the hallmarks of a stage presence that "charmed
the pants off the entire room", according to Hot Press.
His consummately quotable material features a "freshness
that makes him very popular with audiences" (The Event
Guide), and achieves those near-impossible symbioses of the
clever and the trashy, the observational and the absurd, the
gut-bellowing HAW-HAW and the cerebrally brilliant, the locally
global and the international in-joke.
Based in Dublin, Neil has performed all over Ireland as well
as at the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and can regularly
be seen MCing - engaging and eclectic, pulling disparate comedic
elements into a cohesive whole.
In his relatively short career so far, Neil has already garnered
accolades, most recently the storming victory on The Late
Late Show when he won the RTE New Comedy Award 2001.
In addition he has featured in the finals of Channel 4's "So
You Think You're Funny" 2001 awards and the BBC New Comedy
Awards 2001.
"Fantastic, talented and original" was the Evening
Herald's verdict. Check out this explosive talent before -
well, before he explodes.
