More than 50,000 people travelled to Kilkenny this weekend for the annual Murphy's Cat Laughs comedy festival, the biggest date on the Irish comedy calendar. This "wit weekend" is equally popular with performers and audiences alike.
More than 80 comics from around the world have colonised the marble city on a mission of mirth-making.
Playing in venues ranging from large hotel ballrooms to tiny rooms above pubs, there's no escape from parody, puns and punch-lines.
Now regarded as the third most important comedy festival in the world (after Edinburgh and Montreal), Murphy's Cat Laughs attracts the cream of the comedy crop.
In attendance this year is current Perrier award winner Rich Hall, from the US, who is delighting all and sundry with his scabrous routines about George W. Bush. Also upping the mirth factor is the hugely popular British act, Johnny Vegas, who, when he's not leading his audience out into the street for impromptu karaoke sessions, is busy in the local craft centre giving lectures in the black art of ceramics.
With everyone in buoyant form and the city getting into the festive swing of things, the craic is hitting 90 as the multicultural posse of performers pull out all the comedic stops to entertain audiences.
More than holding their own against the international line-up is a strong Irish contingent, featuring Ardal O'Hanlon, Tommy Tiernan, Ed Byrne (with his new girlfriend Eastenders actress Letitia Dean), Dara O'Briain, Deirdre O'Kane and The Nualas.
With so many different styles on offer, there's something for everyone in the audience: from the Trotskyist ramblings of Mark Steel, to the lesbian chic of Rhona Cameron to the black, urban experience of Reggie McFadden. The festival continues today with some tickets still left for the remaining shows.
