City’s reaction fails to amuse Bishop

DES BISHOP, who last night on RTÉ brought his comedy workshop to Southill, was not amused at the reaction of his visit to Limerick by the city’s ‘good news’ department at the Limerick Co-Ordination Office.

Mr Bishop lived in a council house on the estate when making the programme.

He searches for budding comedians among the country’s most deprived communities in the series of programmes.

Mr Bishop rejected an invitation from the co-ordination office to visit ‘the real Limerick’, saying that many people in Southill were excluded from the co-ordination office’s ‘real Limerick’.

The Limerick Co-Ordination office is funded by private and public bodies to promote a positive image of the city.

He said he found the invitation to the ‘real Limerick’ insulting.

New York-born Mr Bishop said: “More people in Southill told me they have to lie about their address to get a job. Many in Southill can’t go for a drink in the ‘real Limerick’ because bouncers in the town won’t let them into pubs.”

Known for his hard-hitting social commentaries and irreverent humour, he has been barraged with criticism since the show began on RTÉ.