Patch Adams to visit Cork for city’s comedy festival

RENOWNED American doctor Patch Adams, whose ‘laughter-is-the-best-medicine’ philosophy inspired a Hollywood blockbuster, will address a major humour conference for medical workers in Cork next month.

It is hoped his key role in the two-day event could revolutionise the Irish healthcare system by encouraging doctors to bring humour into Irish hospitals.

The Healing Through Humour conference will be the main event on the educational programme of the city’s first comedy festival. Organiser Dave Dineen, a comedian and humour consultant, described the conference as a “ground-breaking” event. “Hopefully it will open doors to allow humour into our healthcare context,” he said.