Tommy Tiernan announces Dingle gig

Controversial comic sets Dingle date

Tommy Tiernan to perform at Malawi charity ball in Dingle this March

Internationally acclaimed comedian Tommy Tiernan is Dingle bound again this Spring as he returns to West Kerry on March 7th in an effort to raise funds for a medical clinic in Malawi. Tiernan is set to entertain the guests attending the Annual Charity Fundraising Ball hosted in the Dingle Skellig Hotel in aid of the Billy Riordan Memorial Trust, which was founded by local woman Mags Riordan (pictured above far left). Mags founded the trust following the untimely death of her son Billy at the age of 25 in Cape Maclear, Malawi in 1999.His death was the third family tragedy Mags and her family endured; while she was pregnant with Billy she lost her first child, a four month old baby girl, when the family car plunged off Dingle pier. Another infant death occurred within two years when a second son, Luke, was a victim of sudden cot death.Mags had rebuilt her family life in Dingle with her two daughters Emma and Jennifer when Billy died. She travelled to Malawi to erect a memorial in Billy's honour but was struck by the desolate poverty in the area and the warmth of its people. She decided to commemorate her son's life by establishing an aid programme in his name.Through the Billy Riordan Memorial Trust, more than € 100,000 was raised to build a health clinic which opened in August 2004. Providing medical care for a local population of 14,000, "the Billy Clinic" has treated thousands.It has also provided a primary health care clinic include a feeding programme to tackle severe malnutrition among children under the age of five, an emergency feeding programme for primary school children, a vegetable growing scheme to expand the health properties of the local diet and a treatment centre for those with AIDS/HIV. Tommy Tiernan, who encountered Mags at an awards ceremony in Dublin, offered to come on board to help raise funds and performed at last years charity event in Dingle, which sold out almost immediately.

Tickets for this year's ball are now available at the Old Forge Internet Café in Dingle, contact 087-1214151 for more information.