Brave Social Commentary: The Weapon Of Choice in 2024

Comedy, ridicule and challenging debate are back on the menu.

Gervais leaves Boyle holding his cock...

From under the dark clouds of incompetent censorship emerges various forces for change such as scrutiny, outspokenness and mockery. Observational humour is central to this as it forms an essential coping mechanism and release valve for intrusive thoughts but also serves an external, communal purpose of counterbalancing the attempts of the unworthy in their quest to impose their insanity on the rest of us. For example, through extensive adept application of this form of social commentary, we have leaned on the seriousness of the impending Hate Speech Bill and moulded it into a laughing stock in the eyes of the general public before it has even hit the shelves. Such is the power of opinion, and in particular the power of observational humour, that the legitimacy of a states authority can be challenged and defeated. The potency of this effect relies entirely on the absurdity of the actions of said state, rendering free speech as a whole benign in the presence of just rule and malignant in the presence of tyranny.

As 2023 draws to a close we have been treated to a real demonstrations of comedic and bravery of expression in general. One such example comes to us via Ricky Gervais’s Christmas Day Netflix special: Armageddon. I have not watched the full special but the segment that caught everyones attention was a bit about migrants and Gary Lineker. This is by no means a rib splitter but it drew the right kind of laugh from the crowd and indeed myself. A chuckle that was equal parts relief and agreement swept over the crowd like a cool breeze on a hot day. That has been a long time coming and I feel that Gervais’s bravery here will have opened the door for mainstream comedians to tackle not just migration, but the celebrities that push it in the new year. Woke sell-out Frankie Boyle tried to take down Gervais in response to this unapproved deviation from The Message but ended up gaslighting the audience as to the existence of political correctness as a negative and forgetting to add a punchline. Gervais’s knockout blow here is made ever the more impactful by the sight of his concussed opponent trying to continue the fight while looking like a new-born foal trying to stand up again. Boyle made the claim that Gervais “he’s not a fucking stand up comedian” while Gervais achievements in the field of stand up comedy dwarf Boyles astronomically. The left can’t meme.

This reclamation of comedic real estate by Ricky Gervais should be interpreted as a starting pistol by those here in Ireland with the talent and balls to go for it. Mainstream comedians here in Ireland are among the most submissive and docile people there has been in this fight, agreeing tacitly to preserve “The Message” through voluntary self-censorship. In the last 5 years we have been presented with an avalanche of tame woke growls and gripes of social media influencer types who initially show great promise but soon devolve into product-code peddlers and Montrose mouthpieces. Irish humour in the main has itself devolved into variations of the same bit. Chicken fillet rolls, Tayto and the immersion feature throughout the wispy portfolio’s of these copycat jesters with criticism of the detractors of the current thing forming the spine of their shtick. In my opinion, this formulaic failure to entertain has reached now its crescendo right at a moment when the dam is about to burst on the Irish comedy scene.

Real comedians have been bubbling up to the surface and it is our job to support them wether they offend us or not. The heirs to the Hardy Bucks legacy, Stephen “Cowboy” Kelly and Peter ( French Toast O’Toole) Cassidy are driving the rural comedy scene while preserving our cultural values such as free speech and creamy, fuckin pints but there are many others out there who deserve a shout out such as Martin Malone (Eddie Durkan) who has lended his name to the cause from very early on. Aiden Killian is one such comedian who has stood with us since the very start of this attack on our way of life began in 2019. Killian is someone I had the pleasure to meet at the quaint but powerful Tuatha De Dannan Festival in Fermoy earlier this year. Shout out to Gerry O’Neil here who would organised that great event. Killian shared the stage with none other than Ozzy industry giant, Steve Hughes and if I am quite honest he was just as entertaining. Killian broke apart the covid narrative like a piece of bread and left a large, packed party tent reeling. It wasn’t just humour though, it was therapy and not just for us but for Killian as well. You could visibly tell it meant a lot to him to be back on a stage after years of standing his ground on the passports and masks. There are definitely 20-30 comedians in this country who can relate to Kelly, Cassidy and Killian. They have been fighting more than most to squeeze into the mainstream with the message of free speech, which is what any comedian worth his or her salt should be doing right now.

Maurice Fitz and Stephen Cowboy Kelly on the DeadHedgehogs Podcast

Stand up comedy is not the only art form that can apply humour to social observation. Panel shows, particularly British shows but we have produced a few, have in the past provided the viewer and the panelists themselves with an outlet of criticism and satire. Rather than defending the current thing or “The Message” they would rip such things apart along with stereotypical mockery of age old traditions. There was balance, variety and soundness to what was being said. Shows such as Qi provided intellectual, cross the aisle debate but also contained some of the most unique comedic takes on social life you could find. Other shows like Nevermind the Buzzcocks featured trashy ridicule and edgy quips while also providing a wide variety of visual humour such as semi famous celebs from the past lining up with their doppelgängers in “identity parades” with the various participants receiving scathing appraisals of their appearance, racist or not. Mock The Week provided an excellent middle of the road breakdown of topical news and for the most part stayed unbiased although you could see the woke function creep in latter seasons. There are many other shows like this and they heavily featured Irish comedians. Why did they heavily feature Irish comedians? The reason for this goes without saying but here it is: We speak our minds. The Gaelic thought process happens to be disorganised and intermittently committed to normality. We break out after short periods of thought with profound observations on impulse. Essentially, we are built for this shit and this morning I caught a glimpse of what such a panel show might look and sound like if we had one here.

Real debate, Real smiles.

When I watched 2023: Bhlian Na nGael, an end of year review hosted by Christian Morris which also featured John Waters, Thomas Sheridan and Stephen Sutton, I saw a group of well known and respected Irish personalities hold a sustained, topical and humorous discussion for two hours or more, without fear of offence. The feel of the conversation gently dovetailed into organic, well developed contributions from all involved. It brought me right back to the turn of the millennium feel of tongue-in-cheek late night television but also brought with it a level of maturity and honesty you will not find anywhere on the sanitised State broadcaster RTE nor will you find it on any of the corporate subscription services. Although merely set up to be a once off review of the year that was, this podcast showed real potential for such a panel show as all of the participants have their own audiences that they bring to the table and they truly represented the intellectual diversity of the Irish people. What a panel show such an endeavor could be with the addition of other such characters like Cowboy Kelly, Aiden Killian, Martin Malone et al. Other honourable mentions I could make are characters like Maurice Fitz, a young farmer that has captured the young agricultural and rural community’s support for his advocacy for the future of Irish farming. Fitz has a great turn of phrase and world view that can be observed on his instagram and his various appearances on podcasts. I will also throw Gerry O’Neil’s name into the hat here again for his ability to hold a conversation on par with any of the lads on last nights podcast, and so too would Aisling O’Loughlin, a seasoned mainstream black sheep presenter who has shown real leadership to the women of Ireland with articles and podcasts of her own. There are ten people for every one I have mentioned here that would do us a service if they committed to such a project and that is just the people who I can think of. You the reader would have many such people that you believe would be fantastic in such a role and this coming year you should encourage them to throw their hat in the ring.

Now you know my thoughts on this I want to offer you my New Years Resolution. My New Years resolution is to facilitate such an eventuality and to play my part in breaking based thinkers back into the mainstream or at the very least, to compete with them.

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