No joke: Tickets for Billy sell out

FANS of Scottish funnyman Billy Connolly yesterday besieged box offices nationwide and bought every single ticket for his national tour, Too Old To Die Young.

Punters started queuing as early as 6am to get their hands on €45 and €55 tickets at venues, including Dublin, Cork, Castlebar, Killarney and Limerick.

In Cork, fans snapped up almost 3,000 tickets in two hours alone, putting the online and phone booking system under “huge duress”.

Promoter Brian Hand, of Pat Egan Promotions, said: “Billy has always been a big draw for audiences in Ireland and he has not been here for four to five years.

“He has loved Ireland since his early days as a folk musician and now he is a phenomenon here.”

Such was the demand for tickets that the promoters added five extra dates at Dublin’s National Concert Hall between July 5 and July 9.

The Big Yin, as the 6ft-plus comic is affectionately known, is touring Ireland over the summer with dates nationwide at seven venues, including Derry and Belfast.

Fans in Cork started queuing at 6am in lashing rain outside the Opera House. By the time the doors opened at 10am staff said 500 people were waiting for tickets in a queue stretching around the block.

“We could have easily sold out 10 performances,” said venue spokeswoman Jamie Monagan last night.

The demand for tickets overwhelmed the Opera House’s online and phone booking system, but 1,600 seats were sold on the internet and telephone.