This Irish comedy festival aims to have more than Irish eyes smiling

The Real Irish Comedy Fest is ready to deliver St. Patrick's Day humor to Irish Americans this March

That time of year is fast approaching where America reaches for Shamrock Shakes, Lucky Charms commercials make a comeback, corned beef and cabbage hits the menus, and green Bud Light pushes its way to center stage as the false king of St. Patrick’s Day beverages.

There is a lot to poke fun of about America’s interpretation of our cherished day and no better group to make fun of it all than a bunch of Irish comedians let loose in the USA.

The Real Irish Comedy Fest is back this year hoping to build on the 2,000 plus attendees who came out in 2019 in seven cities across the San Francisco Bay Area to hear about modern Ireland in the most hilarious and wit fuelled fashion possible.

Among the comedians will be Chicago-based Adam Burke, who hails from Camlough, Co Armagh and is a regular panelist on the ever-popular NPR show "Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me."

When quizzed on his favourite American St. Patrick’s Day traditions, Burke said, “In Chicago, of course, we dye the river green. This is the same river of which we reversed the course in the late 19th century just to confuse the bass.

"But my own personal favorite? It’s got to be the Observance of the First Break-Up of the Day. Be warned, you’ll have to get out early to catch it. In Chicago, it occurs around noon or 30 minutes after the Parade ends, whichever comes first. Even if you don’t catch the Break-Up itself you can usually catch its resplendent after-math; keep a keen eye out for a young woman crying the shamrock stickers off of her cheeks, or a guy in cargo pants futilely yelling “REBECCA!” while trying not to spill two eight-dollar cups of green Bud Light.”

Burke, who moved to the US in 1999, says he’s looking forward to spending Paddy’s Day in San Francisco for the first time ever. Although his act pokes fun at Irish Americans about their way of celebrating the big day, he says since starting comedy in 2006, Irish Americans have always been fantastic and very supportive.

“They’re up for a bit of a jar and to laugh at themselves which is as Irish as it gets and exactly my scene, " he said.

With a hint of sarcasm easily missed by someone suffering the brain freeze aftershock of a fresh and frosty Shamrock Shake, Burke says he is eager to see if the Bay Area “will have that true staple of any St. Patrick’s Day celebration: corn beef and cabbage, which, as any fourth- generation, ruddy-cheeked ginger with an O’ in his surname will tell you, is Ireland’s National Dish.

"Walk down any street in Dublin, Kildare or Killarney and you’ll find a thoroughfare fairly clogged with fast-service cabbage dispensaries, alongside several of Ireland’s thriving corned-beef-to-go chains.”

It all kicks off on March 6 hoping to tell American audiences, in the funniest way possible, that modern Ireland is a far cry from the stereotypes of old. Whether US audiences will listen or just wash down another plate of corn beef and cabbage with a green Bud Light remains to be seen.

Check out more details about The Real Irish Comedy Tour and Fest on its website.

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