EURO 2012 - And then there were four!

So what do we know? We know that England are an average international outfit at best and that penalty shoot-outs and those who don the Three Lions are not comfortable bedfellows. Having being played off the park for 120 minutes by an Andrea Pirlo-inspired Italy, Premier League stars Ashley Young and Ashley Cole were found wanting from 12 yards. With the Azzurri losing 2-1 in the shoot-out after both sides had taken two penalties, Pirlo’s audacious chipped effort, made famous by Czechoslovakia’s Antonin Panenka in this tournament 36 years ago, swung the momentum in Italy’s favour and Alessandro Diamanti finished the job.

We know you can never write off the Germans and this side, Italy’s opponents in Warsaw on Thursday night, are no different. Germany, whose team is the youngest at the tournament, are the only side to win four straight games in Poland and Ukraine. However, the Germans have a poor record against Italy - of seven previous World Cup or European Championship matches, Italy have won three and the others were draws so the Germans, tournament winners according to many in the know, are sure to be given a stern examination by Cesare Prandelli’s charges. 

We know reigning champions Spain love nothing better than passing the ball over and back across the field, tiring out whatever opposition is put in front of them before a killer pass leads to a goal, which more often than not leads to a narrow win. That being said, Spain looked tired against a woefully unambitious France side and their exertions over the last four years might be catching up on them. 

If that is the case we know that their Iberian neighbours and semi-final opponents Portugal have the ability to exploit the situation. Portugal had not won a game this year coming into the European Championships but, with Cristiano Ronaldo (love him or hate him) hitting top form, Paulo Bento’s side have shown they are serious contenders for a first major title.

Finally, and interestingly, two of the remaining four teams left in the competition were in the Republic of Ireland’s group so maybe we, ahem, weren’t that bad after all!

For now,

Oliver Skehan (Guest Blogger) 

Be sure to follow Oliver on Twitter @oliskehan 

Euro 2012 .... The Rocky Road to ..... God know's where!!

 Even if you don’t know one end of the Premier League from the other, and you wouldn’t know Serie A if it sat on you while you were eating a bowl of La Liga you’d have to be living under a rock (and not one around Ballyfermot) not to know the European Championships are on at the moment.

We’re nearly a week into the tournament and despite losing their opening game to Croatia, the Republic of Ireland are (as we speak) still in it. However, by the end of the day that may no longer be the case as Spain (who are the reigning World and European champions) are next up for the team who first came to prominence for putting teams under pressure. 

Those of us from outside of The Pale all know that pressure is for tyres and there’ll be no shortage of it in Gdansk tonight but you never know… Fingers crossed!

For a country associated with luck we had little of it against Croatia - Slaven Bilic’s men scored a few minutes into the game, a few minutes before half-time and a few minutes into the second-half. Killer blows all. Perhaps our luck will return against Spain? In all honesty it will have to. A draw is probably the best we can hope for, and even at that we might be fooling ourselves. But you never know in football.

England, the Auld Enemy, are also still in it after an opening day draw with another of their (many) enemies, France. Fans of Ridley Scott’s ‘Prometheus’ - a prequel to the hit ‘Alien’ franchise - will know that Michael Fassbender’s character David’s hair is quite literally his crowning glory. The same cannot be said for Wayne Rooney, who will not be eligible to play until Tuesday when England face co-hosts Ukraine, and his Morrissey-style quiff.

For their part Ukraine are also still in it, as are their neighbours Poland. Inspired by Andriy Shevchenko, the former stunned Sweden a few nights ago, coming from 1-0 down to win their first ever game in the European Championships while the latter have two points thanks to two draws with Germany and Russia.

Outside of all that, Holland, one of the pre-tournament favourites, and a team chock full of egos, are on the verge of exiting proceedings following defeats to both Denmark and Germany. If it’s an ego you’re looking for look no further than Arjen Robben. A great player? That’s not in question. A team player? Not so much. The sight of the petulant Bayern Munich ‘star’ vaulting the advertising hoardings at the far side of the field last night after being substituted and not coming across to greet his replacement Dirk Kuyt was hardly endearing.

In complete contrast, the sight of folk hero Shevchenko and coach Oleg Blokhin embracing after they burst Sweden’s balloon was as endearing as it comes.

So to sum up…

Let’s hope Ukraine (and Poland) progress to the last 16, the Republic of Ireland and their army of fans do likewise (an unlikely point against Spain and another unlikely three against Trapattoni’s home country Italy will suffice) and Robben’s Holland exit stage left, sooner rather than later.

Let's leave it at this because one thing is for sure.... us Irish make the best bloody supporters out there!!

For now,

Oliver Skehan (Guest Blogger)

Be sure to follow Oliver on Twitter @oliskehan

Grafton Lounge Celebrates in Style! #Graftonis2

I was so excited when I saw the black plastic envelope come trough the letterbox - an invite for me? and to a birthday party (not like a wedding invite that can be more like a subpoena to attend court) The Grafton Lounge was two!

I then thought, only two? because my initial reaction was, is it only two years since proprietor Noel Anderson talked about his new venture at another birthday party (afterdark.ie’s 4th birthday) and then I second guessed myself because the Grafton lounge is around longer, so much so that I was soon calculating my own age to use that as a reference point – I was getting even more confused!

Fred Cooke's hilarity's will leave you tilted!!

Whelan’s a venue synonymous with Rock music and the live gig where I’d once seen a Danish heavy rock band throw buckets of feathers into the audience is an unusual venue for a comedy gig. And as you enter from the side entrance it had the underground feel of a Chicago speakeasy during prohibition but this was also part of the charm and it worked.

I have to say that after Fred’s initial introduction followed by a claim that he was dining in Charlie’s on Wexford Street I feared that seconds would be ordered and the capacity crowd would be left disappointed. However with the appearance of our MC for the evening Tommy Nicholson the residual fears of Fred’s dietary habits interfering with my entertainment subsided.

Aidan Bishop - Misspelled - Irish opening

Do dyslexics make the best comedians?  

Just ask Eddie Izzard, Jay Leno, Robin Williams and Billy Connolly just to name a few. Growing up with undiagnosed dyslexia can be tragic and painful for some, but it’s in tragedy one often finds comedy. Who would have thought that being a bad speller or miss pronunciation of words would be so funny! Who would imagine growing up with the title of "poo-man" would bring a sense of sentiment! This is the show  that focuses on the trials and tribulations, laughs and hysterics of life with Dyslexia, something which Aidan himself was diagnosed with in 2008. 

(You're still trying to get the image of 6 year old Aidan running around in a cape as "poo-man" out of your head aren't you!!)

Rough Magic Bring Two Shows to the Gaiety Theatre

Following its hugely successful, Irish Times Theatre Award nominated production of The Importance of Being Earnest starring Stockard Channing in June 2010, award-winning theatre company Rough Magic are delighted to return to Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre with not one but two shows in early 2012.

Having entertained sell-out audiences in the Pavilion Theatre in Dún Laoghaire last July and following their current nationwide tour, Rough Magic bring their highly acclaimed production of Neil Simon’s delightful comedy Plaza Suite to the Gaiety Theatre for two weeks only from February 20^th to March 3^rd 2012.

'If only walls could talk…well in Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite they do just that’

Haiti- The week that changed my life! (Part 1) Espwa Pou Ayiti

As I stepped onto the plane on October 30th, my stomach was one giant ball of knots, a mixture of nerves and excitement. My head was screaming "What the hell are you getting yourself into"! I was on my way to Haiti as part of 300 volunteers with Irish charity Haven Partnership to build houses for the homeless of Haiti. Thankfully I wasn't alone as I was travelling with my mum, dad, two sisters and brother, collectively known for the week as the Brady Bunch! One look around the plane (never mind the two crazy individuals sat beside me) and I knew that no matter what was to come, we were in this together.We arrived at lunch time into searing heat and a swarm of heavily armed UN, local police and private security men all watching attentively every move we made. We were quickly escorted straight from the plane onto a fleet of 6 52 seater buses before being lead under tight security from the airport grounds in a convoy of buses, each with it's own armed security guard sitting in the front seat. In Ireland when a guy tells you he'll show you his guns this is not what I have in mind. I've only ever seen this amount of weaponry watching Ross Kemp!

Dublin's Festive Fairs and Very Merry Markets

I know Christmas bits and bobs have been tempting/annoying us along Grafton and Henry street since before Halloween, but it's only now that December has hit, the decorative lights are strung and my Dad's annual Christmas dinner garlic potatoes are so close the drool is already forming that the festive season has now begun for me. Christmas tunes like this shall now be played at full blast...

With me being the kid at school who was not so good at sports (still holds true - all I can manage to do is 'power walk') but eternally happy with pritt and playdoh, Christmas fairs and markets are one of my favourite parts of December. Having ventured to the annual National Crafts and Design Fair at the RDS this weekend in our Rudolph-decorated car, my Keep Sketch notebook (available at Irish Design Shop Bow Lane and RHA store) is now full of dates for very merry markets around the city over the coming weeks. There are craft fairs, gift fairs and generally jolly fairs galore in the build up to the 25th, with DublinatChristmas.ie worth a look for thorough listings of family friendly to grown up events.

The Making of 'Tis Pity She's a Whore @ Project Arts Centre

The Making of 'Tis Pity She's a Whore (no...no...it's not based on my life story) is a gripping and powerful story of forbidden love, lust and obsession.

Following it's highly acclaimed production of The Lulu House at Dublin Theatre Festival starring multi award-winning chanteuse Camille O'Sullivan, Siren Productions (The Irish Times Theatre Award-winning Selina Cartmell) present a story of incest, violence and sensuality in The Making of 'Tis Pity She's a Whore which runs at Space Upstairs, Project Arts Centre, Temple Bar from December 1st - 17th.

International Comedy Club, home to legends!

On a random Thursday night myself and Shelly headed off to meet our good friends from Social Media Nanny for a few scoops and a catch up! Thursday nights can be pretty hit and miss in Dublin in October so we quickly agreed that the International Comedy Club on Exchequer St was our best bet as we were guaranteed a great atmosphere.

What we didn't anticipate was how bloody long it actually took us to get there! Now I'm not the most patient of drivers so you can imagine what poor Shell had to put up with after sitting in traffic for over an hour at the junction at Donnybrook Church.... what friggin brainiac decided to close all lanes of traffic to bloody resurface the road.... ARE YOU KIDDING ME - I was screaming from the top of my lungs with all windows rolled down for effect! (OK add in about 20 gazillion swear words and that's what I was actually yelling!) I was so wound up I even rang the local garda station to rant my frustrations! Yes they kindly listened but could they do anything about it..... Not a thing!

100 Facts About Sharks! David O'Doherty's crazy book launch!

Ok so anyone that knows me knows I'm not a huge animal lover (I know I just lost half the readers!!) so you can imagine what my reaction was when I received a call one Wednesday afternoon asking me to come along to a book launch of a book entitled "100 Facts About Sharks"...... yes a massive MAYBE! I then learnt that one of the authors involved in the publication was none other than the daft, dotty, David O'Doherty! Suddenly I realised, there must be more to this book than meets the eye!

Off I pottered down to the lovely intimate Gutter Bookshop in Temple Bar (This independant store is, in my opinion, one of Dublin's best kept secrets so if you haven't already been... don't go.... we don't want everyone hearing about it and ruining it for the rest of us!!) Now we were early to arrive - yeah I know, never really happens - but there was already a large crowd gathering and the makeshift stage, or focus point of the room was looking very endearing indeed! Lets just say it wasn't exactly what you would see at your average book launch!

Digital YOU! How 2.0 market your business or yourself online

 Ok, so by now now you've realised that along with our love of comedy, festivals, all things wacky & wonderful, we are also huge fans of the online world! Computer nerds.... not quiet! Computer mad.... most definitely! We are bloody obsessed with the online world.... I mean, where else would we find out about all the events we show up for! Who would have known about things like the "National Scarecrow Championship" or the "World Statue Festival" without the wonderful world of the web!

Now we're not completely naive.... we know we only came across all of these things because of how well they are marketed online. In today's challenging times, companies are spending more and more time promoting themselves online and focusing on digital marketing rather than traditional marketing techniques. There are many reasons for this but mainly down to the massively reduced costs, the speed and distance at which you can reach your audience, and the ability to change your mind or direction at a second's notice.

Des Bishop - My Dad was nearly James Bond!

 My love of comedy began at a very early age. My Dad would never call himself a fan of comedy, yet my first introduction was through him. I would curl up on the couch beside him in delight and watch Fawlty Towers, The Thin Blue Line, Only Fools and Horses, and as I got a little older I got to share Billy Connolly with him. I would keel with laughter every time he would tell me about the time he brought my mum to see Billy Connolly live, convinced that she too would love his quick and fiery humor....... "NEVER AGAIN" he would proclaim! My mother drove him mad during the show, constantly poking and asking my dad what had just been said on stage as she couldn't understand Billy's thick Scottish accent! I loved when he told this story as I always felt it brought us closer, nobody else in the family got it.... it was our thing!

Beware of Brussels Sprout Lovers, Fans of Will Ferrell and Novelty Ties!

With now being the time to think ahead and book the annual end of year work party, Ireland's premier comedy venue the Laughter Lounge reveal the results of their Christmas office party survey and reveal the statistics surrounding co-worker hook ups, cringe worthy karaoke and rowdy behaviour. Nearly 1000 respondents took part in the recent survey and have confessed their work shindig shenanigans.

Comedian Karl Spain (RTÉ’s Karl Spain Wants a Woman and Karl Spain Wants to Rock) was on hand to help launch the results of work party survey and reveal the 5 stereotypical party goers or ‘Usual Suspects’ that have been identified from the responses: ‘The Sneaky Snogger’, ‘The Festive Fistycuffs’, ‘The Dad Dancer’, ‘The Seasonal Snoozer’ and ‘The Escape Artist’. 37% of office workers have shared a cheeky kiss with a co-worker, with over 3 in 4 (76%) admitting to dancing around their handbags and throwing shapes on the dancefloor. 25% admit to insulting a co-worker or their boss, with 28.5% of Healthcare staff confessing to telling their employer exactly how they feel at the bash.

To Arthur! To Aloe Blacc, Ed Sheeran, Scissor Sisters and more!!

 So Arthur Guinness day hey? Here, I'll cheer to who ever you want if it means a country wide bash to beat all bashes!! So Shell got held up and my super glam cousin "B" kept me company for the night! This year we got to see it, feel it and sure as hell celebrate it, down at Dublin's infamous Olympia Theatre thanks to the lovely Darragh @ Yay.ie! When the INCREDIBLE Aloe Blacc arrived on stage with MTV's super siren Laura Whitmore appeared on stage we it wasn't Martha or Arthur we were cheering it was "To Darragh" we were bloody yelling!!

Are you a Dad Dancer, Sneaky Snogger or Festive Flirt?

With the office Christmas party season just around the corner(seriously how quickly has this year gone!), Dublin's comedy venue the Laughter Lounge launched today a new survey into the truth behind end of year work celebrations and the festive faux pas committed by employees across the country. We can only begin to imagine the embarrasing stories this is going to unearth...

Have you ever had a secret snog with a co-worker, or do have your eye on the new skirt or shirt in the office for this year's Xmas bash? Are you guilty of falling over while attempting to do the Dirty Dancing jump and flashing your Bridget Jones knickers to the whole room? Do you think that a relationship started at the Christmas office party can last?

Britney Wannabes take note - there ain't no party like a F&M party!

Pop music educators and flamboyant comedy duo Frisky and Mannish opened at the Absolut Fringe's Theatre Club tonight, and I am not going to wait until the usual end-of-blog-post-plug to urge you to log on/ring up/queue up to buy tickets because this pop parody may be sold out by the time you finish reading this. Seriously tickets to F&M were like gold dust at the Edinburgh Fringe this year!
Having wowed audiences at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with 2009's School of Pop and 2010's follow up The College Years, Pop Centre Plus is structured like a careers advice service to help fame seekers and wannabe superstars secure employment in the fickle world of pop - no talented required. I mean, if those boyband 12 year olds of X factor last year can do it, no doubt we can do it too!

Big Wheel World Record

We are working alongside the Bone Marrow For Leukaemia Trust, who announced today their Big Wheel World Record, the Guinness World Record attempt for the longest continuous ride on a Ferris Wheel. The Big Wheel World Record attempt will take place on Saturday, 22nd October for a total of 24 hours and 10 minutes (WOW!!) on the massive 60 meter Big Wheel, known as the “Revolver”, at Dublin’s Point Village.


Amongst the groups and teams that have already signed up to take part in the record breaking attempt are students from; Dublin City University, University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin and University of Limerick. To take part in the full 24 hours and 10 minute world record attempt, you can email Shell on bigwheelworldrecord@gmail.com. A 10 minute break, in accordance with Guinness World Record rules, will be given every 2 hours where participants can take a bathroom break and get some food into them!

Irish boys bring comedy gold to Edinburgh Fringe (Part 2)

............ So next stop on our "Irish Night" was the beautiful Aidan Bishop and his show "Misspelled", only a quick rickshaw journey away in the Gilded Balloon! - OK.... completely lying here.... it was no more short.... we hadn't clocked on the scary journey down the hill (see previous comments) that even scarier was that we now had to go up the bloody hill in the rickshaw!! Dear God..... not only did we feel bad for the poor chap that had to ride the bike up the hill with the two of us lumps in the back, but it appeared the whole of Edinburgh felt sorry for him as passers-by joined in, the now farcical situation, and started to push us up the hill! Now I don't mean strapping young lads either! I mean 50/ 60/ 70 year old men!! Meanwhile myself and Shell were attempting to cover our laughter creased faces with the flimsy blanket wrapped around our legs! If ever I were to die from laughter, this moment would have been the cause!! -

Irish boys bring comedy gold to Edinburgh Fringe (Part 1)

Day 2 in fabulous Edinburgh led us on a tour of all things Irish when we attempted to cram in as many Irish performers as we could! ( A lot harder than you'd imagine when you are hungover as hell having spent until the wee hours of the morning chatting with the many Irish faces we bumped into at Gilded Baloon's many bars!!) First stop, the 3 musketeers that are Foil Arms and Hog, made up of Conor McKenna, Sean Flannagan and Sean Finnegan, for their show "Comedy Doesn't Pay" at the Gilded Balloon! Have broken our backsides to get to the gig on time (not easy to get a cab when it's bucketing down outside) we grabbed our seats just as the lovely 3 arrived on stage! I had never had the pleasure of seeing these 3 live before but was hoping that they lived up to the high standard I had come to expect having heard great reviews! (Shell has previously written about them so I was keen to check them out for myself!)

Burgh it's cold here...It must be the Fringe in the atmosphere!

For the past four years I have satisfied my post Street Performance World Championship blues and been blown away by the creative energy and artistic vision at the largest arts festival in the world - the Edinburgh Festival Fringe! I can catch up with international performer friends, experience upcoming talent and get a chance to see some of the biggest most respected names in the comedy, theatre, music and dance circuits. Best thing is I can do all this on a shoestring budget and only have to travel 45 minutes to enjoy it all.
We flew over on the ungodly 6.30am Ryanair flight from Dublin, and needless to say I had not got a wink of sleep the night before because even though I am in my mid 20s I still act like an overexcited child the night before I go on holidays. It honestly had nothing to do with the fact I left all my packing to the last minute and had to weigh, remove shoes and reweigh, remove more shoes and reweigh my to-be-max-15kg-bag a few times!

The Howya Festival Durrow ..... Hay.... why not!!

On an extremely hungover Bank Holiday Monday, having partied in the bright lights of Portlaoise on the Sunday night we had two choices...... commiserate with headaches and dodgy stomachs or get up out of bed and distract ourselves! Not ones for feeling sorry for ourselves we decided on the latter and took off on another of our little adventures! Where to?? None other than the picturesque town of Durrow, Co Laois for the 3rd annual "Howya Festival" aka "The National Scarecrow Competition. (I know, we didn't know such thing existed until Mammy Mc rang with an invite!!) So the two of us packed our 10 heads into the car and away we went!

Pulling into Durrow we didn't know where to look..... there were scarecrows all around us in all shapes and forms but there is no doubt which one caught our attention straight away..... we found WALLY!!! (Our obsession with the childrens' fictional character is evident in our previous posts!) Originally dubbed the Festival of Friendships, what better way to start our trip than with a good old catch up with our old pal Wally!

The zealous festival, which started on July 4th and ran until August 1st, injected a sense of magic and myth to the village of Durrow, a once famous pit-stop for people on route to Kilkenny or Cork before the new motorway opened last year. After our little catch up with Wally we took off on our scarecrow trail around the village where our mouths were a gasp with some of the effort and artistic flare, not to mention imagination, that went into each and every one of the scarecrows! We met "Crowry McIlroy" (the golfer scarecrow with a "hole" in one on show) , Mrs Doyle and Father Jack, Postman Pat, The Queen and Prince Philip, The Britain's Got Talent judges, along with Gigs and Imogen Thomas who met their super injunction, all the while we had Humpty Dumpty looking over our shoulders from his perch on the bridge!

James Vincent McMorrow, Marmite and Clean Portaloos @The Park

I first came across Dublin singer-songwriter James Vincent McMorrow when preparing a publicist's 'cheat sheet' on Irish acts going to South by Southwest (SXSW) earlier this year. Having spent the day going through numerous websites and listening to the varying sounds of the near 20 Irish talents travelling to Austin, it was McMorrow's sensitive musical style and distinctive falsetto that had me pressing replay. I pressed replay not only until the task was complete, but for the rest of the work day, through my daily hour-long no.7 bus journey home and for the 7 months since then.

Having failed to get my hands on the much sought after tickets to his Pepper Canister Church gig earlier this year, last week I finally got the chance to see this Irish songsmith perform live at @The Park in Marley Park.

Misspelled...... Aidan Bishop nits the hail on the ned!!

It was a miserable November evening (on the 21st of July!!) when I made my way to Dublin's underground of comedy that is the International Comedy Club for a sneak preview of Aidan Bishop's show "Misspelled" in preparation of his sell out gigs for the infamous upcoming Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Having read some info on the show prior to going and learning the it focuses on the trials and tribulations of life with Dyslexia (something which Aidan himself was diagnosed with in 2008) I was wondering how exactly he was going to pull this one off without offending anyone. Having a sibling myself with Dyslexia I was a bit dubious as I often find myself being very guarded and protective about the subject...... there was absolutely no need!
From start to finish I found myself giggling and nodding as I related to different stories he told of growing up with the difficulties around it. Aidan described how some words he confused often lead to completely different meanings which would lead to jibes and jeering around the kitchen table..... something I experienced many a time growing up when we would laugh about the slip ups my own sibling had made. However, as bad and all as it was in my house, it must have been ten times worse in the hard streets of Queens, New York.

Foil Arms and Hog...the best threesome you'll ever have!

Last year while leaflet-dodging on the infamous Royal Mile, the mecca of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe every August, the Irish accents of three 20-something lads promoting their show stopped me in my tracks. After the usual oh-you-know-that-person-I-know-him-too conversation us Irish seem to engage in wherever we go, I was convinced and tickets to my first ever Foil Arms and Hog show were bought.

Centra... Brighten up your day!

So Centra decided they wanted to brighten up our day on the longest day of the year, Midsummer, June 21^st….. kind of ironic that it turned out to be one of the most miserable days of the year weather wise! Darragh at Niamh from www.yay.ie hooked us up with 3 tickets, so along with the terrible two from Yay and Jeremy (aka Goliath The World’s Strongest Smallman) we headed off to Eddie Rockets for a quick bite before the gig! On route to the venue the heavens opened! When I say it started to rain, I mean it bloody started to pour!!! Of course because there was a glimpse of sun when I was leaving the office I thought I was great in my little flimsy chiffon top and sure no need for a jacket, after all it was the middle of summer!! Duh!!! This is Ireland!! I was like a drowned rat on arrival at Vicar Street! (Perfect venue for a comedy gig)

Once Upon a Time ..... SPWC 2011

Once upon a time….. in a land far far away (Ok I lied, it was only Temple Bar!!) two friends stumbled upon an incredible street performance that was to change their lives forever! Two months later they packed in their boring day jobs and started planning what would become one of the biggest annual events to be held in Dublin. This year nearly 200,000 got to experience the fruits of their labour (and kind of crazy idea) at the Street Performance World Championships in Cork, Portlaoise and Dublin.