Laugh at the Bank is an annual weekend comedy festival founded in 2009 by Féile an Phobail

Feile an Phobail

Féile an Phobail , also known as the West Belfast Festival is a community arts organisation known for its August Féile . The organisation is prominent for its promotion of Irish and international culture...

 in Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

. The festival runs over the Spring Bank Holiday in May and features comedians from around the world. The festival also features charitable events such as Bull Runs.

History

In December 2008, Féile an Phobail, an arts organisation which runs four – five festivals a year, traditionally based in west Belfast, began planning the first dedicated weekend comedy festival in the city. The first festival was featured highly in the media in publications such as Hot Press

Hot Press

Hot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine based in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a circulation of 19,215 during 2007...

 and Irish national newspapers.

2009

Laugh at the Bank ran from 22 - 24 May 2009. The line-up and events included:

• PJ Gallagher
  PJ Gallagher
  PJ Gallagher is an Irish stand-up comedian, perhaps better known for his television show Naked Camera. His various characters in the programme include a mentally unstable taxi driver, ladies man Jake Stevens and a "Dirty Auld One", an old woman who makes sexual comments. PJ's performances on T.V...
  
  
• Kevin McAleer
  Kevin McAleer
  Kevin McAleer is an Irish professional stand-up comedian. He came to prominence on the RTÉ television show Nighthawks which began broadcasting in the late 1980s. McAleer became known for his three minute sketches of surreal rustic tales told in his slow County Tyrone drawl. One critic said that...
  
  
• Sean Hughes
  Sean Hughes
  Sean Hughes may refer to:* Sean Hughes * Sean Hughes , alleged IRA member* Sean Hughes , British Labour Party Member of Parliament 1983–1990* Sean Hughes of Green Day...
  
  
• Willa White
• Bull Run (in aid of CLIC Sargent
  CLIC Sargent
  CLIC Sargent is charity in the United Kingdom that was formed by the merger of Sargent Cancer Care for Children and Cancer and Leukaemia in Childhood in 2005. The charity specializes in providing support for children with cancer....
  
   Northern Ireland)

2010

Laugh at the Bank ran from 27 - 30 May 2009. The line-up and events included:

• Paul Tonkinson
  Paul Tonkinson
  Paul Tonkinson is an English radio presenter and television personality. He is perhaps best known for his work presenting on The Big Breakfast and The Sunday Show and his appearances on list programmes where he comments on popular culture...
  
  
• Karl Spain
  Karl Spain
  Karl Spain is an Irish comedian from Limerick. He is from the Corbally area of the city and was educated at CBS Sexton Street.In 2000, Spain won the RTÉ award for Best New Act....
  
  
• Neil Delamere
• Bernard O'Shea
  Bernard O'Shea
  Bernard O'Shea is an Irish comedian.O'Shea started out in entertainment at an early age playing traditional Irish music, touring Europe with several groups. While at college he studied Theatre and went on to star in several theatrical productions. He also worked in the National Theatre of Ireland,...
  
  
• Matt Reed
  Matt Reed
  Matt Reed is an American elite triathlete. Reed became a US citizen in 2007. He currently lives and trains in Boulder, Colorado.In 2009, Reed has won 7 triathlons and the Toyota Cup Series...
  
  
• Aidan Bishop
• Gemma Hutton
• Laugh 4 Haiti (featuring over 30 comedians in aid of victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake
  2010 Haiti earthquake
  The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
  
  )