It is good to laugh!

I had the extremely entertaining privilege of witnessing two witty beyond belief young men on Saturday night in Queens at the ILIR top class event of the one and only Des Bishop and his supporting star Carl Spain. They were absolutely fabulous and performed to an over packed crowd in the Breffini Bar in Sunnyside Queens. The sheer size of the crowd spoke volumes about the necessity of this campaign to the community and it was reflected in the massive support again for the legalize the Irish crew.

Wise men say there is great healing in laughter well if that is the case Carl and Des were like two Doctors dispensing medicine to the undocumented Irish immigrants. I laughed and laughed and it felt so good. Right from the very start it was a tirade of wit and quips all around the colourful experiences of the Irish in America and the subtle cultural differences between Ireland and the States told with such hilarity. It was fun to laugh at ourselves like when the guy in the front row was asked when did he last go to Ireland to visit his home town of Dublin, when he said a couple of months ago "ahh" says Spain "that was just my way of finding out if you where legal or not." I laughed because if he had asked me I would have said five years and it would have been all so obvious. He then continued to do the drum roll and introduce the main event the one and only Des Bishop the American man living in Ireland who Spain described as sticking out like a tomato on an Irish breakfast back home and then the hits just kept on coming.

Bishop was on fire on his home turf in Queens and like the Mets this year he was winning all the way. He had me in stitches as he walked us through stories from Irish showers, to being treated for testicular cancer in an Irish hospital to trying to stay sober in a country he described as Disneyland for alcoholics. He time and time again pledged his support for the ILIR and said it was a priviege to perform one on the house for such a worthy cause. Bishop described his own childhood in Queens growing up in an Irish neighborhood that is now under siege because there are no greencards for the Irish. The real fun was for me that for a night the undocumented Irish could laugh out loud and forget about the pressure they are under every day and have a laugh at themselves. Well done Des, the ILIR, the Irish Aisling centre and the huge crowd that turned up to support the very worthy movement.