Humour and healing: Deirdre O’Kane on how laughter is the best medicine

The actress and comedian wanted to help boost the morale of some of Ireland's youngest patients, by finding Ireland's funniest joke

Deirdre O'Kane: "I walked away, and said 'I could do that'." Pic: Michael Chester

Like so much of the arts and live events sector at present, veteran stand-up comedienne and actress Deirdre O’Kane has been using the change of pace brought on by the ongoing Covid-19 crisis to try different things, bring perspective to upcoming projects, and interact in different ways with her audience across social media and other online platforms.

Earlier this month, she had a chance to touch base with fans in the best way she knows how: telling jokes. Deirdre is working with One4all to raise funds for the CMRF Giggle Fund – the main fundraising body for Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) at Crumlin. Deirdre has been on the hunt for the funniest joke in Ireland to give the young patients at CHI Crumlin a dose of the best medicine - a good giggle.