Comedy duo bring show to Bardic in aid of Tyrone primary school

TYRONE comedians, Conor Grimes and Alan McKee (aka Grimes and McKee) are set to take to the stage in Grimes’ native homeland of Donaghmore this May for a great cause.

The duo, who are the brains behind such previous comedy productions as ‘The History of the Troubles (Accordin’ to my Da)’ and the ‘St Mungo’s Trilogy’, will bring their latest offering, ‘New Ireland’, to the Bardic Theatre stage on May 4, with all proceeds going to St Patrick’s Primary School in Donaghmore.

Speaking with the ‘Herald, Grimes explained, “Myself, my mother, and my sons all went to St Patrick’s Primary School, and my nieces and nephews currently go there.

“It’s a great school, so when they approached us to help them with fundraising, I thought we would kill two birds with one stone and bring the new show to Donaghmore, so that’s how that happened.”

Proceeds from the show will go towards funding for state-of-the-art equipment in order to benefit the education of pupils at the school.

Story of the referendum

‘New Ireland’ follows the story of a referendum that takes place in the late 2020s, when the North and Republic of Ireland vote to become ‘New Ireland’.

Grimes said that having already covered history and the GAA in their previous works, they decided to take a comical look into the future of Ireland and try to imagine what way things could be.

“The show contains all the usual associated problems, nonsense, fun, stress and silliness that would come with such a situation in Ireland,” explained Grimes. “Naturally, there is a lot of politics in there due to the framework, but it’s not necessarily a political show, but a comedy about what could happen.

“It even includes a sketch about the twelfth becoming a national holiday throughout New Ireland – and the irony is that the Southerners love it!”

‘New Ireland’ will take to the Bardic Theatre, Donaghmore, stage on May 4, beginning at 8pm. Tickets are available via www.ticketsource.co.uk.