The JUST PADDY DVD records Paddy’s first ever solo show live at the Everyman in May 2009, and marks the extraordinary contribution the legendary performer has made to Cork. The city’s best loved entertainer took to the stage for three sell-out performances in a show featuring his unforgettable Uncle Peter creation, and Paddy’s own colourful recollections of his long show business career.    

Recipient of Cork Person of the Year award in 2004, the legendary Paddy Comerford has been entertaining Cork audiences for decades in pantomimes, musicals, revues and variety shows.

JUST PADDY follows shows produced in recent years by the Everyman Palace Theatre, which brought the Cork entertainer back to the stage after many years away. Remembering Pat Murray (2006) and Make ‘Em Laugh (2008) were two hugely successful productions at the Everyman in which Paddy took a starring role amongst luminaries of the past 60 years of Cork theatre and comedy.

The Everyman Palace Theatre is delighted to present this DVD of JUST PADDY in association with Thomas Crosbie Holdings, as a permanent record of a hilarious evening’s entertainment, and one of Cork’s most original talents.
 

MAKE 'EM LAUGH!  A Golden Age of Theatre By Declan Hassett Published by Everyman Palace Theatre in association with The Collins Press Priced at €16.99 and available from the Everman Box Office, and from all good book stores, from October 2008.

This remarkable book captures the golden age of theatre as recalled by the very people who graced our city stages, from the 40’s to the present day. Read about the legendary shows such as Up Cork, The Swans, Slags and Summer Revels, and the glittering panto productions loved by generations of Corkonians. The stars themselves tell their stories and think fondly of absent friends who no longer light our lives with laughter.

Read about Cha & Miah, Billa, Paddy Comerford, Tony Hegarty, Mon Murphy, Donal O’Donovan, Noel Barrett & Pat Sullivan, Eddie Mullins, Jim Mulcahy, Pakie O’Callaghan, Frank Twomey and many more. The stars of the musical stage, Dan Coughlan, Dave McInerney, Charlotte O’Byrne, Chris Whittnell also tell their rousing tales of when laughter and song blended in a heady mix on lives stage.
 

'The publication of Declan Hassett’s book, Make ‘Em Laugh!, is a fine addition to a depleted national archive on comedy and popular theatre in Ireland.'
The Munster Express
 

'This nostalgic book celebrates great moments of Cork theatre since the 1940s. Lovingly written by former Irish Examiner arts editor, Declan Hassett, it celebrates a time when theatre was "the great escape", before television and computer games.'
Irish Examiner

DAN DONOVAN An Everyman’s Life    By Vera Ryan Published by Everyman Palace Theatre in association with The Collins Press Priced at €16.95 and available from the Everman Box Office, and from all good book stores.

This book celebrates the life and career of Corkman and Everyman co-founder Dan Donovan, whose extraordinary life story is a cultural history of Cork in the 20th Century.

An oral memoir, Vera Ryan’s interviews bring readers into Dan’s diverse world as actor, director, teacher, broadcaster and major player in Cork’s artistic life.

Dan was involved from the beginning in all of the major cultural initiatives in his native city and the book is a fascinating journey through the early days of the Cork Film Festival with his great friend Der Breen, the Choral Festival, the founding of the Southern Theatre Group with James N. Healy and the first productions of the work of John B. Keane, through to the pioneering work of the Everyman Theatre and the restoration of the Palace Theatre on MacCurtain Street.

At age six, Dan began a become a life-long association with Presentation College as student, teacher and vice principal and his vivid memories of this institution have rich appeal. Memories of University College Cork during the war, being taught by Daniel Corkery and encouraged by Aloys Fleischmann are superb.

Core chapters on acting in and directing the work of Sean O Tuama and John B Keane are vital for anyone interested in Irish theatre. Epic events like the burning of the Opera House in 1955 are also recalled. Illustrated with over 50 photographs this evocative book brings to life a period in Cork of rich creative energy.