After weeks of waiting, we finally have a winner: Bray man Sean Nolan took top honous in the RTE Two New Comedy Awards last night and you can watch his winning set down below.
The wildcard choice took victory in the finale of the six-part series, which aired last night on RTE Two, nabbing the glory and a cheque for €5000 while he was at it. "I'm genuinely surprised and shocked to have won the competition; it was full of great acts" the stunned comedian said.
Nolan's only been doing stand-up for about a year-and-a-half, so the gig certainly gave him a taste of what's yet to come. "It was a brilliant experience performing in front of a big crowd, expert judges and, of course, the cameras, all of which encourages you to raise your game", he explained. "In terms of what comes next, I'll just keep working away, writing jokes like I've been doing. I'm in the Laughter Lounge later this week and then I'm over to London on 22 June to do a gig with Sara Pascoe, Abandoman and Brendan Dempsey which I'm very excited about."
Bill Malone, Channel Controller for RTÉ Two said that the judges had a tough time trying to pick a winner from the bunch: "On the night the judges were torn between three possible winners, with Seán Nolan's distinct, brave, original style ultimately winning out. The sheer volume and quality of material and gags performed and written by Seán set him apart from the other competitors."
"Ireland punches well above its weight internationally when it comes to comedy. Breaking and supporting new talent and new comedy is a vital public service role of RTÉ Two and down through the years featured then unknowns such as Jason Byrne, Dara O Briain, PJ Gallagher and Des Bishop. I look forward to adding the name Seán Nolan to that list."
You're right there Bill, sure aren't we just hilarious here on the Emerald Isle?
