Alison Spittle
Alison Spittle is an Irish comedian, comedy writer, radio producer and actress. She has worked for iRadio, RTÉ Radio 1 and Newstalk and created sketches for ''Republic of Telly'' and has written and starred in her RTÉ Two sit-com ''Nowhere Fast'' in 2017. She is the host and creator of the ''Alison Spittle Show'' podcast hosted by headstuff.org. Early life Spittle was born in Harrow, London. Spittle's father was a builder. The family moved frequently, including to Dresden, Germany before moving to Spittle's mother's ancestral home of County Westmeath, Tyrrellspass, Mullingar and finally Ballymore at age eight. She attended secondary school in Moate. Career Graduating from college in Dublin, Spittle moved back to Westmeath where she worked as a researcher for iRadio with comedian Bernard O'Shea. She began working in comedy, supporting PJ Gallagher. This led to her participation in So You Think You're Funny's Irish heats, qualifying for rounds in Edinburgh. She got a gues ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Harrow, London
Harrow () is a large town in Greater London, England, and serves as the principal settlement of the London Borough of Harrow. Lying about north-west of Charing Cross and south of Watford, the entire town including its localities had a population of 149,246 at the 2011 census, whereas the wider borough (which also contains Pinner and Stanmore) had a population of 250,149. The historic centre of Harrow was atop the Harrow Hill. The modern town of Harrow grew out at the foot of the settlement, in what was historically called Greenhill. With the arrival of the Metropolitan Railway in the 19th century, the centre of Harrow moved to Greenhill and it grew as the unofficial "capital" of the Metroland suburbia in the early 20th century; Harrow-on-the-Hill station is on one of the railway corridors between London and the Chilterns. Meanwhile, Harrow & Wealdstone station is on the West Coast Main Line and is the eighth oldest railway station, having opened in 1837 one and a half ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ballymore, County Westmeath
Ballymore () is a village in County Westmeath, Ireland, on the R390 road between Athlone and Mullingar. The historic Hill of Uisneach is nearby. The village was known in medieval times as the medieval borough of Ballymore Lough Sewdy, or Loughsewdy, after the nearby lake, the site of an ancient bruighean, or hostel. History Evidence of the area’s bloody history can be deduced by translation of some of its placenames - although it’s not clear when some of these names came into being. One notable townland is Lugnacaha (often pronounced locally as “Lugahaca”), which translates as “the hollow of the battle”. There’s a field in Shinglis referred to as “Lug na Fola”, which translates as “the hollow of the blood”, and locally, it is claimed that when, once, an attempt was made to plough that field, blood seeped up through the soil. Plary Abbey was founded before the year 700, and a monastery, in honour of the Virgin Mary, for Gilbertin canons, which order cons ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Irish Examiner
The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. History 19th and early 20th centuries The paper was founded by John Francis Maguire under the title ''The Cork Examiner'' in 1841 in support of the Catholic Emancipation and tenant rights work of Daniel O'Connell. Historical copies of ''The Cork Examiner'', dating back to 1841, are available to search and view in digitised form at the Irish Newspaper Archives website and British Newspaper Archive. During the Irish War of Independence and Irish Civil War, the ''Cork Examiner'' (along with other nationalist newspapers) was subject to censorship and suppression. At the time of the Spanish Civil War, the ''Cork Examiner'' reportedly took a strongly pro-Franco tone in its coverage of the conflict. As of the early to mid-20th century, th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Evening Herald
''The Herald'' is a nationwide mid-market tabloid newspaper headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and published by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. It is published Monday–Saturday. The newspaper was known as the ''Evening Herald'' until its name was changed in 2013. History The ''Evening Herald'' was first published in Dublin on 19 December 1891. In 1982 the paper changed its size from broadsheet to tabloid. Until November 2000, the ''Evening Herald'' was produced and pressed in Independent House on Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1. The monochrome printing facility in the basement of this building was then retired, and the paper is now printed in full colour at a purpose-built plant in Citywest, along with the ''Irish Independent'', the '' Sunday Independent'' and various other regional newspapers owned by Independent News & Media. In 2004, production of the paper was moved from Independent House to a new office on Talbot Street and the paper's old ho ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Comedy Festival
A comedy festival is a celebration of comedy with many shows, venues, comedy performers (such as stand up comics, sketch troupes, variety performers, etc.) and is held over a specific block of time. Normally, each festival has a diverse range of comedy themes and genres. Comedy festivals A partial list of well-known comedy festivals includes: * The Portland Comedy Festival *Moontower Comedy Festival *Leicester Comedy Festival (In Leicester, England the UK'S longest running comedy festival and one of top 5 in world) * Algé'rire, In Algiers, Algeria, the largest comedy festival in the country * ComediHa! Fest-Québec (In Québec City, Canada, one of the largest international comedy Festival in the world) *JFL NorthWest *Big Pine Comedy Festival *Edinburgh Festival Fringe *Glasgow International Comedy Festival (Europe's largest comedy festival) *Melbourne International Comedy Festival *FunnyFest Calgary Comedy Festival * YYComedy Festival *Cologne Comedy Festival * Just for Laughs ( ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fringe Festival
Fringe theatre is theatre that is produced outside of the main theatre institutions, and that is often small-scale and non-traditional in style or subject matter. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.Kemp, Robert, ''More that is Fresh in Drama'', Edinburgh Evening News, 14 August 1948 In London, the fringe are small-scale theatres, many of them located above pubs, and the equivalent to New York's Off-Off-Broadway theatres and Europe's "free theatre" groups. In unjuried theatre festivals, also known as fringe festivals or open-access festivals, all submissions are accepted, and sometimes the participating acts may be chosen by lottery, in contrast to juried festivals in which acts are selected based on their artistic qualities. Unjuried festivals (such as the Edinburgh Fringe, Edmonton Fringe Festival, Adelaide Fringe, and Fringe World) permit artists to perform a wide variety of works. History In 1947, eight theatre companies showed up at the Edinburgh Internationa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dublin Fringe Festival
The Dublin Fringe Festival is an annual curated arts festival in Dublin, Ireland focusing mainly on theatre. The festival allows artists to submit their work via an application which is subsequently reviewed by the programme manager. The festival is open to both Irish and international participants. The festival started in 1980 as a small independent festival over a weekend and expanded into a sixteen-day festival, annually held in September and focuses on new and emerging artists. The Dublin Fringe has live entertainment as well as performances in dance, theatre, live art, visual art, and music. History The Dublin fringe festival was initially founded in 1980 during a recession and held at various times througout the 1980s without significant media attention or funding. In 1995, Bedrock Productions, with some support from the established Dublin Theatre Festival and Arts office of Dublin City Council, created a revived Dublin Fringe Festival, to "promote and showcase the work o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 different shows in 322 venues. Established in 1947 as an alternative to (and on the fringe of) the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place in Edinburgh every August. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe has become a world-leading celebration of arts and culture, surpassed only by the Olympics and the World Cup in terms of global ticketed events. As an event it "has done more to place Edinburgh in the forefront of world cities than anything else" according to historian and former chairman of the board, Michael Dale. It is an open access (or "unjuried") performing arts festival, meaning there is no selection committee, and anyone may participate, with any type of performance. The official Fringe Programme categorises shows into sections for ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Murray Show
John Murray is an Irish journalist and broadcaster. Currently heard on Weekend Sport, he presented ''The John Murray Show'' on RTÉ Radio 1, "focus ngon lifestyle and entertainment items", filling the slot from 09:00 to 10:00 previously occupied by Ryan Tubridy, who moved to RTÉ 2fm. Murray was one of the presenters of ''Morning Ireland'', Ireland's most popular radio show, before going on to host his own weekly programme, ''The Business''. Career Murray trained at the School of Journalism in Rathmines in Dublin. In 1983, his first job was as a junior reporter with the ''Tallaght Echo''. After six months, he moved to ''The Cork Examiner'' and worked there for six years. He was Head of News in a new independent radio station, Cork's 96FM, from 1990 until 1992. Later that year, he became a general reporter for RTÉ. Murray worked in RTÉ for three years. In his time there, he worked on ''Morning Ireland''. In 1995, he was asked by Mary Harney, then leader of the Progressive De ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth. Edinburgh is Scotland's List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, second-most populous city, after Glasgow, and the List of cities in the United Kingdom, seventh-most populous city in the United Kingdom. Recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century, Edinburgh is the seat of the Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament and the Courts of Scotland, highest courts in Scotland. The city's Holyrood Palace, Palace of Holyroodhouse is the official residence of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchy in Scotland. The city has long been a centre of education, particularly in the fields of medicine, Scots law, Scottish law, literature, philosophy, the sc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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So You Think You're Funny
So You Think You're Funny? (SYTYF) is an annual stand-up comedy competition for new acts. The competition began in 1988 in the United Kingdom. The finals are held every August at The Gilded Balloon during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Past winners include Aisling Bea, Dylan Moran, Lee Mack, Peter Kay and David O'Doherty. History ''So You Think You're Funny'' was the idea of Karen Koren, Artistic Director of The Gilded Balloon, in order to discover new comic talent. During the years it has developed into the most influential competition of its kind in the UK, helping start the careers of many of the country's leading comedians including Dylan Moran, Lee Mack, Graham Norton, David O'Doherty and Tommy Tiernan. Other competitors have included Ardal O'Hanlon, Johnny Vegas, Ed Byrne, Jason Byrne, Alex Zane, Reginald D Hunter, Craig Hill, Alan Carr, Rhod Gilbert, Andrew Lawrence and Russell Howard. Sponsorship from Channel 4 began in 1993 and ran until 2004, since when Channel 5 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Support Act
A opening act, also known as a warm-up act, support act, or supporting act, is an entertainment act (musical, comedic, or otherwise), that performs at a concert before the featured act, or "headliner". Rarely, an opening act may perform again at the end of the event, or perform with the featured act after both have had a set to themselves. The opening act's performance serves to "warm up" the audience, making it appropriately excited and enthusiastic for the headliner. In rock music, the opening act will usually be an up-and-coming group with a smaller following than the headliner. On long concert tours, different opening acts may be used for different legs of the tour. In comedy, a warm-up comedian or crowd warmer is a stand-up comedian who performs at a comedy club or before the filming of a television comedy in front of a studio audience. More rarely, a comedian will open for a music concert. Their role is to make the audience feel integral to the show and encourage reac ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |