Like many of Dublin’s comedians, Foil (Sean Finegan) Arms (Conor McKenna) and Hog (Sean Flanagan) cut their teeth in the International Bar on Wicklow Street. Ireland’s first and longest-running comedy club continues to pack ‘em in and make ‘em laugh every night of the week.
“It’s the best comedy spot in Dublin, definitely”, Arms begins. “There’s something on seven nights a week, and it’s always a high standard. You get in there and it’s intimate; there’s no microphone. You sometimes have people sitting on the stage.”
“...Or sometimes we sit on the lap of the other person on stage while we’re waiting to join in!” adds Foil. “The free night that runs in the Stag’s Head – the Comedy Crunch – is brilliant too. That’s always packed. A free gig with free ice-cream! Colm O’Regan runs a monthly gig that’s really fun as well; Colm O’Regan’s Inn Jokes in the Patriot’s Inn, Kilmainham. Vicar Street is always good, of course. It’s a thousand-seater but it really doesn’t feel like it, from both an audience and performer perspective. It’s a different buzz.”
Also receiving the Foil, Arms & Hog seal of approval is the Laughter Lounge on Eden Quay, a lively spot that embraces pageantry with loud music and big entrances, the Woolshed’s Comedy Shed every Monday night on Parnell Street and Chaplins Comedy Club on Hawkins Street. There is another place that they hold dear to their hearts, however...