Charity comedy gig in aid of Louth woman Brenda Finegan

A comedy gig in memory of journalist and comedian Brenda Woods Finegan will be held on St Brigid’s Day in the Imperial Hotel, Dundalk at 8pm.

Brenda was a talented teacher, journalist and comedian. The mother-of-two, who passed away in May 2025, founded The Write Space – a creative writing school for children and adults that organised fundraising publications for charities including PAWS and Louth SPCA. Brenda was also a great advocate for women in comedy.

Father Ted star and Louth native Patrick McDonnell will headline the night, along with Show Me The Funny winner Ashlee Bentley.

Patrick, best known for his role as Eoin McLove in Father Ted, is currently starring in RTE show The Unreal while Ashlee featured in Virgin Media’s The Craic Den Comedy Club TV show.

Support acts include Dundalk residents Elizabeth Redmond and Shinanne Higgins, as well as Louise O’Toole, Diane O’Connor and Angela Mullin. MC Ciaran McMahon will host the night.

The gig is organised by legendary comedy booker Anthony Ferns, who ran Dublin’s famous Battle of the Axe comedy night, where comics including Fred Cooke and Allison Spittle took to the mic for the first time.

Anthony, speaking about Brenda, said: “She was a true friend to our club, performing herself, and always a welcoming, warm presence to both new acts and seasoned performers.

“She was always helping out in the background with admin and promotion. Offstage, she spoke with such pride for her family. Brenda is a huge loss.”

All profits from the night will be donated to local charities by her family.

Performing on the night will be:

Ciaran McMahon: Stalwart of the stage, Ciaran is a comedian, improviser and workshop facilitator and runs the popular You Talk Funny stand-up comedy workshop. Ciaran has brought hundreds of people through his courses for over 15 years.

Ashlee Bentley’s accolades include winning Show Me The Funny and the Ireland Regional Final of Funny Women. The Dublin comic was recently seen on small screen on The Craic Den Comedy Club’s Virgin Media TV show and performed at Iveagh Gardens Comedy Festival.

Diane O’Connor is an artist, activist and environmentalist, social entrepreneur and founder of @thesustainablelifeschool. She performed her show The Accidental Activist at Electric Picnic in 2024.

Shinanne Higgins runs the successful Louth Laughs night in Dundalk and recently took her sell out show ’10 Things they Hate About Me’ to the Edinburgh Fringe.

Elizabeth Redmond is a comic and author from Houston, Texas, who now calls Dundalk home. She runs the El Paso Comedy night in Toale’s Bar.

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Louise O’Toole: Recently returned from a smashing run of her solo show Auntie-Hero at the Edinburgh Fringe, Louise is a regular on the Dublin comedy circuit and has graced the stages of festivals around the country including All Together Now and Electric Picnic.

Angela Mullin: Since making her comedy debut in 2018, Dundalk native Angela Mullin has performed on comedy stages around Dublin, including Anseo, Sin É, The Workman's Club and Whelan's, and at K Fest in Kerry in 2023. Her comedy covers growing up in the town, her former life in journalism and parenting woes.

Tickets on sale on Eventbrite: Special Comedy /Charity Night: In loving memory of Brenda Woods Finegan.

Tickets, Sunday, February 1, 2026 at 8:00 PM | Eventbrite