RTÉ has announced a new series of comedy shorts featuring up and coming Irish comedic talent, available on RTÉ Player and RTÉ Player International around the globe. These, “Comedy Bites,” new bite-size sketches being released every Monday for the next four weeks.

From a One Man GAA Team and How to Guides with Alison Spittle to hard-hitting investigative journalism sketches with Geoff Pierce and the trials and tribulations of a weary tidy towns committee, the new series of shorts highlights the quality of young comedic talent throughout Ireland and just how bright the country’s comedic future looks right now.

Funded by RTÉ television and mentored by the team that commissioned comedy heavyweights, such as “Callan’s Kicks”, “Republic of Telly” and “Savage Eye”, “Comedy Bites” on RTÉ Player is a collection of 16 comedy shorts from four young and talented production companies – Four Giants, Southpaw Pictures, Ghost Train Willy, and Fawn Films.

The sketches have emerged from RTÉ’s development work with young Irish comedic talent and by showcasing them on RTÉ Player, audiences will get the chance to sample the best of the new generation of Irish comedic voices, in entertaining fun-size vignettes.

According to Eddie Doyle, RTE television’s Head of Comedy, “We are constantly looking at ways to discover and provide a platform for new talent and RTÉ Player offers both the flexibility to experiment with emerging talent and an audience that enjoys home-grown comedy. The short-form format really lends itself to comedy and the sketches we have selected from these talented production companies is of a really high standard. I am really happy with the results and I hope people will enjoy them.”

As Ireland’s number one video-on-demand service, RTÉ Player offers a valuable platform for comedy talent to reach new audiences domestically, while the availability of Comedy Bites free of charge on the new RTÉ Player International App offers invaluable access to Irish audiences living abroad.

Commenting on the announcement, Aoife Byrne, Director of Content and Products, RTÉ Digital, “We are thrilled to be showcasing such a fantastic selection of up and coming Irish comedy talent on RTÉ Player. RTÉ Player’s audiences love their comedy and these snackable, bite-sized funnies are perfect for our increasingly mobile audiences. We want RTÉ Player to be a platform for experimenting with fresh voices, stories and faces, particularly in shortform content. Comedy Bites fits this bill perfectly.”

Comedy Bites will be available on RTÉ Player and RTÉ Player International from today with new bite-size sketches being released every Monday for the next four weeks.

Comedy Bites

Week 1

Joe Tierney One Man GAA Team

TD Fintan O’Leary 1

How to Break into TV (Alison Spittle)

Tidy 1

Week 2

TD Fintan O’Leary 2

The Piercing Truth with Geoff Pierce

Reasons to come back to Ireland

Tidy 2

I’ll Go With Ye

Week 3

Colm Griffith Irvine 1

Tidy 3

International Drinking Forecast 1

Spare Change

Week 4

Colm Griffith Irvine 2

International Drinking Forecast 2

The C.I.A.

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RTÉ Player International is available to download from the app store for free, users can access 100 hours of free content, refreshed daily and the full content offering of 500 hours can be accessed and watched free of advertising for a monthly subscription of €8.99 ($8.99/ £6.99) through the Apple Store.

For more information visit www.rte.ie/playerinternational or follow the RTÉ Player International on Twitter at @RTEPlayerInt or on Facebook at Facebook.com/RTEPlayerInternational.