I’ve had the best craic over the last few weeks, increasing awareness for Funny Women, specifically the Funny Women Awards.
The annual awards are in full flight this summer. The aim is to find new and emerging funny women across a number of award categories: The Stage Award, The Comedy Writing Award, the Comedy Shorts Award and the Content Creator Award.
The awards have been on the go for more than 20 years, but believe it or not, there has never, I repeat, NEVER, been an overall Irish winner of The Stage Award. How can that be the case when we all know that Ireland is jam-packed with hilarious women from Malin Head to Mizen Head, Ballyhaunis to Blanchardstown?
We have come close, though. Sharon Mannion, resident MC of the Comedy Cellar in the International Bar on Wicklow St, was a runner-up. As was Aine Gallagher, who does some of her comedy in Irish. Past winners and finalists of the awards include Katherine Ryan, Sara Pascoe, Sarah Millican, Kerry Godliman and Diane Morgan.
I’m firm in the view that one of the reasons why Irish funny women haven’t taken the crown is due to a lack of awareness. So, I set out on a mission to increase awareness of the awards and encourage Irish funny women to enter.
To do that, I joined forces with Barbara Scully, whose outlook changed after we “enthusiastically encouraged” her to take part in a Funny Women gig I ran with my comedy pal, Orla Diamantino, in 2023. Following a eureka moment on stage, where Barbara realised that she could make people laugh, she wrote her own one-woman show, Older, Bolder, Wiser, which is now on tour in Ireland. Proof, if ever it was needed, that engaging with an organisation like Funny Women can be transformative.
As part of our radio roadshow, Barbara and I got to chat with Pat Kenny on Newstalk, Kathryn Thomas on her new show on Dublin’s Q102, Dancing With the Stars judge, Brian Redmond on KCLR FM and more. We went on air in LMFM, Kerry Radio, Dublin South FM and Near FM.
Hopefully, some of the listeners were inspired to enter, and who knows, perhaps one might win The Stage Award in 2025. The Dublin heat of the Stage Award will take place in Little Whelans, Wexford St on Tuesday, 24th June 2025.
Come along to catch the next rising stars of Irish comedy before they get too famous. Tickets here.
Check here for tickets to Barbara’s upcoming shows.
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