Andrew Stanley
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Andrew Stanley (born 1980) is an Irish comedian and TV personality best known for his appearances as host of hit RTÉ 2 TV show ''I Dare Ya''. He has also featured on Neil Delameres Just For Laughs, RTÉ's ''The Cafe'', ''
Podge and Rodge Pádraig Judas O'Leprosy and Rodraig Spartacus O'Leprosy (born 1941) are the central characters of Irish television series '' A Scare at Bedtime'', created and performed by Ciaran Morrison and Mick O'Hara. More recently, the brothers have presen ...
'', Liffey Laughs and ''
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''. '' The Scotsman'' newspaper described him as "''a comic so clearly destined for the top, but with astonishingly good observational material delivered and timed to perfection there’s no doubt about the destination of the young Irishman’s career.''"


Early life

Stanley was born in 1980 in
Swords A sword is a cutting and/or thrusting weapon. Sword, Swords, or The Sword may also refer to: Places * Swords, Dublin, a large suburban town in the Irish capital * Swords, Georgia, a community in the United States * Sword Beach, code name for ...
, Co. Dublin and attended St. Finians Community College. He worked as a computer programmer before trying out stand up for the first time in 2000 after attending the
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. He said of the time "I was under the illusion that every comic had a new set for every show every night. Naïve wasn't even the word!"


Stand Up Comedy

Working his way around the Irish standup circuit, Stanley began playing in rooms such as The Comedy Cellar, which he would later go on to run, and the Laughter Lounge as well as clubs around the country and in the UK. He featured in a number of TV programmes in Ireland and the UK at the time including ''Young, Gifted & Broke'' and ''Take The Mic'' both on ITV.


Festivals

Stanley has appeared at numerous festivals worldwide as both a solo stand up and as part of comedy groups. He has made ten appearances at The Cat Laughs in Kilkenny, including two sold out solo shows in 2010 & 2011. He made five appearances at the
Edinburgh Fringe Festival 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 dif ...
with hour long shows. These included a show with Australian comic, Damian Clark, called I Dare Ya, which went on to become a hit TV show on Irish station RTÉ 2, two solo shows and a late night entertainment show called Mish Mash which he co-hosted with Irish comics Fred Cooke and Neil Hickey. Mish Mash went on to be performed at both the
Cat Laughs The ''Cat Laughs Comedy Festival'' is a comedy festival held over the first weekend in June each year in Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1994. History Cat Laughs was envisioned in 1994 by Lynn Cahill who ran Bi ...
and the Vodafone Comedy Festival to sell out crowds. Internationally, Stanley has performed in Australia at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (2008-2010), the Adelaide Fringe Festival (2007-2008) and Sydneys Cracker Comedy Festival (2009–2010). He also took part in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow in 2009 and the
New Zealand Comedy Festival {{Short description, Annual comedy festival in New Zealand The New Zealand International Comedy Festival is held simultaneously over three weeks during April/May in Auckland and Wellington. From its beginnings as a 2-day event, the Festival has n ...
in Auckland in 2010. He was also invited to the prestigious Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal where he performed alongside Ardal O'Hanlon, Colm O'Regan and Neil Delamere as part of the O'Comics show.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, Andrew Irish male comedians 1980 births Living people People from Swords, Dublin