Galway Comedy Festival 2025 – 3 nights of Gaeilge, Gáire, agus Craic go leor

Gáire agus craic go leor will be delivered at Galway Comedy Festival 2025 with the return of Gáire as Gaeilge stand-up night and two live recordings of the hugely popular How To Gael podcast. Discover what they've got planned for GCF25 right here....

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Long before the first words of English were ever spoken, the Irish language already had an established and formidable tradition of humour, comedy, and satire through its myths, legends, storytellers, and satirists - a tradition that lives on at this year’s GCF.

As a West of Ireland-based event, in the county with the largest Gaeltacht in Ireland, Galway Comedy Festival is committed to showcasing comedy in our native tongue and providing a platform for the language and comedians with the ability to do stand-up as Gaeilge. Gáire as Gaeilge, the Festival's annual night of rí-rá agus ruaille buaille takes place in the Pálás (Thursday 23 October, 7.30pm), with Hector Ó hEochagáin, Al Porter, Galway’s Eddie Mullarkey, and Paraic Breathnach. Luíonn gáire (“fits of laughter”) are guaranteed.

above: Al Porter

Hector, one of the three funniest men to ever come out of Navan (the other two being Tommy Tiernan and Dylan Moran), will be Fear an Tí, bringing what Evoke.ie called his “boundless liveliness, craic and joie de vivre” to the night’s proceedings.

Al Porter is Dublin-born and bred, but teenage years in the Gaeltacht and his current status as a resident of Donegal’s Gaeltacht mean his high-energy, witty, saucy, feel-good comedy can now be enjoyed, not only as Bearla but as Gaeilge as well.

Eddie Mullarkey is a rising name in Irish stand-up, thanks to his deft, top-notch, crowd work and interaction as well as his engaging, storytelling approach to observational stand-up. From Connemara, Paraic Breathnach is a visual artist and actor, but only turned to stand-up in more recent years. However, his charisma and natural talent as a storyteller have resulted in a terrific new addition to Irish comedy.

For those whose Irish is not perfect, or perhaps non-existent, How To Gael is the best, funniest, and friendliest language lesson you will ever enjoy.

above: How to Gael

Live recordings of How To Gael take place in the plush surrounds of Pálás Cinema (Friday 24 October & Saturday 25 October, 7.30pm) - where Doireann Ní Ghlacáin, Louise Cantillon and Síomha Ní Ruairc will treat audiences to lively and engaging bilingual conversations and discussions, covering everything from current affairs to pop culture.

How To Gael, which has been praised by The Irish Times for being “funny and candid”, aims to promote the use of Irish in everyday life, showing that it remains a living language, a still relevant way to communicate, and a great means through which we can all have a laugh.

For more information and tickets see www.GalwayComedyFestival.ie.

All photos courtesy Galway Comedy Festival.

Main image of Hector Ó hEochagáin