Comedy Night

This year, we are delighted to bring a new element to the festival programme with our Comedian in Residence, Sharon Mannion.

As part of her residency, Sharon will lead a six-week programme of workshops aimed at nurturing local talent in the art of stand-up comedy writing. Drawing from her 20+ years of experience, she will mentor aspiring comedians through a series of exercises focused on storytelling, improvisation, finding comedy in everyday moments, and refining their comedic voice. Participants will gain hands-on experience in all aspects of stand-up, from writing and editing to performance techniques.

The programme will culminate in a special Red Line Book Festival Comedy Night, where our newly minted comedians will take the stage at the Coach House, Palmerstown, to showcase their newfound talents. Join us for the closing event of the festival on Sunday, October 20th, and witness these emerging stars in action!

Sharon Mannion is a comedian and writer best known for her role as ‘Concepta’ in the RTE 2/UKTV hit comedy, ‘Bridget & Eamon’. She is the resident host of The Comedy Cellar at the International Bar, the longest running comedy club in Ireland. 

She is a co-writer on ‘Blasts from the Past’, a historical sketch show for RTE 2, has written political satire for ‘Callan’s Kicks’ on RTE Radio 1, and recently wrapped as a writer and performer on ‘You Couldn’t Make It Up’, a topical comedy panel show for Newstalk FM. 

Previously, she wrote & performed alongside PJ Gallagher and Jim-Jim Nugent in the hidden camera series ‘Trojan Donkey’ for Channel 4 and she is a performer on the IMRO Award winning radio series ‘Colm O’Regan Wants A Word’ – RTE Radio 1. 

She performs as a stand up at clubs and festivals all over Ireland and the UK including The Cat Laughs Comedy Festival – Kilkenny, Paddy Power Comedy Festival - Iveagh Gardens Dublin, Vodafone Comedy Carnival, Galway and more. 

She recently won a Writers Guild of Ireland Zebbie Best Radio Script Award for her RTE Radio 1 play ‘Stuck’, and the radio version of her highly successful one-woman comedy show ‘The Curse of the Button Accordion’ was nominated for a Celtic Media Award in 2019. 

Further FILM/TV credits include ‘Sapphire’ (Merman Pictures/Apple TV) ‘Small Town Big Story (Sky TV), ‘Aisha’, ‘Michael Inside’ (Pathway Films, directed by Frank Berry), ‘Republic of Telly’, ‘Irish Pictorial Weekly’ (RTE), ‘Damo & Ivor’ (RTE), ‘Prosperity’ (RTE, directed by Lenny Abrahamson), ‘Roy’ (BBC) and more. She has also narrated two series of RTE’s ‘Don’t Tell the Bride’. 

She is a regular MC for corporate events. Previous clients include, Dingle Animation Awards, Skillsnet Ireland and C.R.C to name a few.