Four decades of City Limits: 'I've seen comedians do a set without mentioning Cork...it hasn't gone down well'

Thu, 24 Apr, 2025 - 15:04

WHILE there is undeniably a comedy boom in Ireland, with podcasts and social media content helping acts get more well-known, it is also true that a huge step for them is to perform at the coalface, live in a comedy club.

City Limits on Coburg St has been operating for more than 30 years and, as they prepare for their summer season Brian Coughlan, the venue’s owner/manager, reflects on what makes City Limits tick and the difference between a comedy club and other spaces that put on comedy,

“City Limits is famous all over the comedy world,” he said.

“For me, a comedy club is dedicated to just comedy, and you can tell by how it’s run, by how the bar is run, how the audience are just coming for the comedy, and the respect that the comedians have for the comedy club.

“Whereas when people do a comedy show in a bar, or a larger venue, you might find that there’s a lot of noise there, it tends to be just ‘a gig’ as opposed to a comedy show.

“One of the things that makes City Limits better than most other places is we actually don’t have the bar in the same room as the venue.

“So you cut out all noise, people come for the comedy, not come for drink. We prefer people who come to see the show, and they might have two drinks, three drinks — that’s up to them, we’re about entertainment.

“More and more staff parties come here now as they have a great night, and they mix with each other, and they it on Monday at work, as opposed to some people just go to the pub and get demented.”

One of City Limits’ most famous regular performers constantly endorses the venue, Brian added.

“Tommy Tiernan says City Limits is one of his favourite places to gig in the world (Tommy’s comedy special Crooked Man, directed by Richard Ayoade, was recorded there and released in cinemas),” Brian said.

“Of course he does Live At The Marquee and other huge venues, because so many thousands of people want to see him, but it’s when you’re in the room in City Limits with him — he’s unbelievable!

“My rule of thumb is if you can’t see the comedian’s eyes, then the venue’s too big.

“Here is the perfect size of 200 people; you can see the comedian’s expression, you can see their eyes.”

Killian Sundermann, who is performing there on Saturday, May 3, also raves about the space.

“I absolutely love the room, I’ve heard what Tommy says about City Limits and it’s for good reason, because the audience is just all around you,” he said.

“You have this little slip of a stage, and then the audience is everywhere.

“There are no phones, it’s just people in the room laughing, and laughter comes from all over.

Killian Sundermann says City Limits is one of his favourite comedy rooms.

“Anywhere you look there’s a face, and if it’s going well, it’s usually a laughing face. It’s one of my favourite rooms to do comedy, it’s really incredible, so incredible.”

When putting together the bookings for the summer, Brian tries to find a balance between generations and levels of fame.

“There’s no science, I suppose ‘mix it up’ is the best way to put it.

“For instance, over the next few weeks, we have Colin Murphy (June 14).

“There are very few comedians that are better than Colin Murphy, for me he’d be one of the top five comedians in Ireland.”

Brian is sure to put Cork talent on in the venue regularly too.

“The great thing about the space in City Limits is that we’ve two rooms, in the back room is where the bigger comedians like Tommy, Chris Kent, Kevin McGahern and Colin Murphy, they’re lovely shows, but then I do this thing called the Best Of Cork Specials (May 2, 9, and 23),” he said.

“Brilliant comedy talent like Paul Crowley, Michael ‘The Bar’ Roche, Leslie Martinez, Chris McShane, and Byron Murphy... and the other space is a bit freer, things can be said and teased out, and people tend to be a great laugh about it.”

Despite the many comedy heavyweights who have performed in City Limits over the years, such as Bill Bailey, Flight Of The Conchords, Omid Djallili, and Rich Hall, Brian is always focused on who is coming in the future, and finding new acts to bring to Cork.

“I have a lady coming over on June 7 called Maureen Langan.

Maureen Langan previously appeared on ‘America’s Got Talent’, and will perform at City Limits Comedy Club.

“I’d never seen her before, she’s in America and she’s coming back to visit her family, and got in touch with me. She was on America’s Got Talent, and she’s a brilliant comedian, and I can’t wait to see her.

“People have never seen her before, they won’t even know that she’s an accomplished comedian from New York, and then they’ll just come in and see her, and their minds will be blown away because she’s brilliant.”

Killian adds that he is well used to the Cork audience. “I have to say, and this isn’t just pandering to Cork people — even though it is pandering to Cork people — but I gig there a lot, I get a really, really good reaction off the crowd,” he says.

“There’s a bit of fun in the fact that I’m from Dublin, and there’s that whole kind of Dublin/Cork thing. Some of the best gigs that I’ve done have been in Cork, and I’ve always really, really enjoyed them.

"What I’ve learned is that they do require that you mention Cork early. I’ve seen comedians do a set, they haven’t mentioned Cork, and it just hasn’t gone down well.

“The crowd sit there and wait for you to say something about Cork, and then once you say it, it’s like ‘Ah, you said it. Now you can continue your gig!’ So it is sort of a requirement that you have some Cork-based material, of which I’ve stacked my show with just to make sure that it goes well!”