The Guardian: Irish satirist mines Brit ignorance in comedy podcast
By Rory Carroll, Guardian Ireland Correspondent
When Oliver Cromwell’s forces sacked the Irish town of Drogheda in 1649 and massacred its inhabitants the comedy potential seemed limited. Thousands perished and that was just the start of a military campaign that wiped out much of Ireland’s population before Cromwell returned to England.
Four centuries later, however, those dark events and other landmarks of Irish history have been mined for humour – and the joke is on the British.
Oliver Callan, an Irish satirist, has questioned British comedians about their knowledge of Ireland and uncovered an apparently deep well of ignorance. For Killing Leprechauns, a six-part BBC podcast that launches on Saturday, Callan asked a dozen young comics about Irish stereotypes, history and current affairs. The general response: obliviousness.
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