Northern Ireland's stand-up runs from a Tuesday comedy club at the Belfast Empire Music Hall on Botanic Avenue, making people laugh since 1992, to Saturday-afternoon shows and an open mic at the Black Box on Hill Street, touring headliners at the Ulster Hall, the Waterfront Hall and the Limelight, and Uppa Walls, a new monthly comedy club in the Studio of Derry~Londonderry's Millennium Forum. Promoters take comedy on the road to towns from Portrush and Strabane to Downpatrick and Portaferry; in September 2026 The Cat Laughs Comedy Festival played Belfast and Derry~Londonderry, and in January the Out To Lunch festival brings stand-up to the Black Box.
The short answer
D.O.C. lists 6 comedy rooms and nights in Northern Ireland, in 2 cities — Belfast (5) and Derry~Londonderry — each with a dated show on its own listings when read on 6 October 2026. Below: each room's nights, its open mic and how comics get on, tickets and the age rule; the comedy on the road; the festivals; and the 1 comedian SUCDb holds who came up in Northern Ireland.
Part of D.O.C.'s International section: the rooms, the nights and the festivals in Northern Ireland, each from its own website, with the comedian SUCDb holds who came up in Northern Ireland.
Stand-up comedy in Belfast
Belfast's stand-up runs from the Empire on Botanic Avenue and the Limelight on Ormeau Avenue to the Black Box on Hill Street, the Ulster Hall on Bedford Street and the Waterfront Hall at Lanyon Place.
Belfast Empire Music Hall, 42 Botanic Avenue, Belfast BT7 1JQ
ShowsStand-up every Tuesday in the Empire Music Hall, making people laugh since 1992 — in its own words, Belfast's longest-running comedy club. source ↗
ListedThe Empire Laughs Back — Tuesday 13 October 2026, 9pm, on its own listings when read on 6 October 2026 source ↗
Open micNot advertised on its site
Getting bookedIts site publishes no submission route; ask the club in person.
Tickets£12 plus a 30p service fee, with a student discount, and a free pint of Harp for the first 50 in; seats unreserved, doors at 7.30pm, the show running to about 10.45pm. source ↗
Age18 and over; photo ID may be asked for. source ↗
AlsoAfter the comedy, the Comedy Club Afterclub has live music downstairs until late, free in. source ↗
The Black Box & Green Room Bar, 18-22 Hill Street, Belfast BT1 2LA
ShowsComedy in the Black Box and its Green Room bar: Saturday-afternoon shows such as Afternoon Delight and the Coven Comedy Club, and touring stand-up such as Mark Thomas: 40 In Stand-Up Years on 18 October 2026. source ↗
ListedAfternoon Delight Saturday Comedy, in the Green Room — Saturday 10 October 2026, 3pm, on its own listings when read on 6 October 2026 source ↗
Open micThe Black Box Open Mic, a (mostly) monthly night for musicians, poets and comedians, new and old, with regular host Jessie Fletcher: free, on Wednesday 21 October 2026 at 8pm. source ↗
Getting bookedIts site publishes no submission route; ask the promoter in person.
Tickets£5 plus a booking fee for Afternoon Delight; doors at 2.30pm. source ↗
AlsoAfternoon Delight is a relaxed Saturday-afternoon show of established and up-and-coming comedians from Northern Ireland, billed as the perfect way to start the weekend. source ↗
ShowsTouring stand-up among its concerts: Alan Davies on 13 October, Fin Taylor on 20 October, Gary Meikle on 31 October and Jason Byrne on 7 November 2026; Emma Doran's show on 18 October had sold out when read. source ↗
ListedStand-Up for Integrated Education, compèred by Colin Murphy, with Tim McGarry, Emer Maguire and Dave Elliott — Thursday 8 October 2026, on its own listings when read on 6 October 2026 source ↗
Open micNot advertised on its site
Getting bookedIts site publishes no submission route; ask the venue in person.
Tickets£27.50 plus a £3.25 fee for Stand-Up for Integrated Education. source ↗
Age16 and over for Stand-Up for Integrated Education. source ↗
AlsoStand-Up for Integrated Education is an annual comedy fundraiser for the Integrated Education Fund, bringing together some of Northern Ireland's finest comedians. source ↗
ShowsTouring stand-up in the Waterfront Hall: Aaron McCann's Momentum on 20 November and Simon Brodkin's Unleashed on 27 November 2026; Emer Maguire's Perfectly Chaotic on 28 November had sold out when read. source ↗
ListedIgnacio Lopez: Nada, in the Waterfront Studio — Friday 30 October 2026, 6.30pm, on its own listings when read on 6 October 2026 source ↗
Open micNot advertised on its site
Getting bookedIts site publishes no submission route; ask the venue in person.
Tickets£22 plus a £3.25 fee for Ignacio Lopez. source ↗
Age13 and over for Ignacio Lopez; under-14s with an adult. source ↗
AlsoIgnacio Lopez makes a brand-new stand-up show from nothing in front of the audience, from their suggestions and his upbringing in Mallorca and South Wales. source ↗
ShowsTouring stand-up in Limelight 1 and Limelight 2 among its gigs and club nights: Finlay Christie on 15 October, Mark Simmons on 17 October and William Thompson on 30 October 2026. source ↗
ListedBernard O'Shea, in Limelight 2 — Thursday 8 October 2026, on its own listings when read on 6 October 2026 source ↗
Open micNot advertised on its site
Getting bookedIts site publishes no submission route; ask the club in person.
Age18 and over for its stand-up shows in October 2026; doors at 7pm for Bernard O'Shea. source ↗
AlsoLimelight 2 first opened in 1984 and has hosted a who's who of live acts, among them The Strokes, Manic Street Preachers and Blur. source ↗
ShowsUppa Walls Comedy Club in the Forum's Studio — Derry's newest comedy club, in its own words — on a Saturday a month: 17 October, 21 November and 19 December 2026. source ↗
ListedUppa Walls Comedy Club, in the Studio — Saturday 17 October 2026, 7.30pm, on its own listings when read on 6 October 2026 source ↗
Open micNot advertised on its site
Getting bookedIts site publishes no submission route; ask the venue in person.
Tickets£15 for Uppa Walls Comedy Club, including a £1.50 development fee. source ↗
Age16 and over, strictly, for Uppa Walls Comedy Club. source ↗
AlsoAaron McCann: Momentum on Thursday 5 November 2026 at 8pm, £21.50 — after more than a decade on the Northern Irish comedy scene he moved to New York, and the show asks where his momentum is taking him. source ↗
Shine, a Belfast promoter whose comedy listings run from the Limelight, the Black Box and the Waterfront Hall to the Millennium Forum, takes stand-up to towns across Northern Ireland. Its dates ahead beyond Belfast, from its own listings: source ↗
Thursday 8 October 2026 — William Thompson: Touch Grass, The Playhouse, Derry~Londonderry
Friday 9 October 2026 — William Thompson: Touch Grass, The Court House, Bangor
Saturday 10 October 2026 — William Thompson: Touch Grass, The Playhouse, Portrush
Saturday 17 October 2026 — William Thompson: Touch Grass, Portico Theatre, Portaferry
Thursday 22 October 2026 — Emer Maguire: Perfectly Chaotic, Down Arts Centre, Downpatrick
Thursday 29 October 2026 — Emer Maguire: Perfectly Chaotic, Roe Valley, Limavady
Saturday 7 November 2026 — Emer Maguire: Notions, St. Patrick's Hall, Strabane (sold out)
Saturday 14 November 2026 — William Thompson: Touch Grass, Daly's, Omagh
Saturday 28 November 2026 — Gearóid Farrelly: No Pressure, The Playhouse, Derry~Londonderry
Friday 4 December 2026 — Emer Maguire: Perfectly Chaotic, The Playhouse, Portrush
Sunday 6 December 2026 — Emer Maguire: Perfectly Chaotic, St. Patrick's Hall, Strabane
Saturday 6 March 2027 — Neil Delamere: Neil's On Wheels, Diamond Hall, Coleraine
These nights have gone by; its own site has what is next.
The Cat Laughs on two nights at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast and the Millennium Forum in Derry~Londonderry, with bills including Colin Murphy, Colin Geddis, Paddy McDonnell, Paddy Raff, Diona Doherty, Emer Maguire, Chris Kent, Andrew Ryan, Mike Rice and Susie McCabe. source ↗
The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival's annual January festival of music, comedy, theatre, art and literature, based at the Black Box; its 2026 stand-up included Hal Cruttenden, Rachel Parris, Robin Ince and Connor Burns. source ↗
For comics: getting on stage in Northern Ireland
The routes to the stage the rooms and festivals publish themselves.
A (mostly) monthly open mic for musicians, poets and comedians, new and old, with regular host Jessie Fletcher in the Black Box's Green Room: free, next on Wednesday 21 October 2026 at 8pm. source ↗
A relaxed and inclusive Saturday-afternoon show of up-and-coming talent alongside familiar favourites of the Northern Ireland comedy scene, in the Green Room: Saturday 24 October 2026 at 3pm, £5 plus a booking fee. source ↗
Each room's line above says whether it runs an open mic and how it books. At home in the United States,
Stage Time has open mics by night and the Gig Board has calls for comics.
Northern Irish comedians in SUCDb
The comedians SUCDb holds who came up in Northern Ireland, each with their record — and their next date when the Comedy Calendar has one.
From Omagh, he started on the Irish comedy scene in 2012 before moving to New York, where he plays the New York Comedy Club; he has opened for Shane Gillis and Daniel Sloss, and since 2023 has co-hosted The Bomb Squad Pod with Colin Geddis, taking it on the road across Ireland and the UK.
Questions about stand-up comedy in Northern Ireland
Where can I see stand-up comedy in Northern Ireland?
In Belfast, The Empire Laughs Back, The Black Box, Ulster Hall, Waterfront Hall and The Limelight; in Derry~Londonderry, Millennium Forum. Each had a dated show on its own listings when read on 6 October 2026; its line above has the address, the nights and the age rule.
Are comedy clubs in Northern Ireland 18 and over?
2 of the 6 rooms listed here say 18 and over for their evening comedy, but the rule is each room's own:
The Empire Laughs Back: 18 and over; photo ID may be asked for
Ulster Hall: 16 and over for Stand-Up for Integrated Education
Waterfront Hall: 13 and over for Ignacio Lopez; under-14s with an adult
The Limelight: 18 and over for its stand-up shows in October 2026; doors at 7pm for Bernard O'Shea
Millennium Forum: 16 and over, strictly, for Uppa Walls Comedy Club
How do new comedians get on stage in Northern Ireland?
Black Box Open Mic, Belfast — A (mostly) monthly open mic for musicians, poets and comedians, new and old, with regular host Jessie Fletcher in the Black Box's Green Room: free, next on Wednesday 21 October 2026 at 8pm. Coven Comedy Club at the Black Box — A relaxed and inclusive Saturday-afternoon show of up-and-coming talent alongside familiar favourites of the Northern Ireland comedy scene, in the Green Room: Saturday 24 October 2026 at 3pm, £5 plus a booking fee.
Which Northern Irish comedians are in SUCDb?
Aaron McCann — each with a record of their career and its sources.
Sources
Each fact on this page is from the room's, festival's or award's own website, read on 6 October 2026; the
comedians' lines are from their SUCDb records, which carry their own sources. 10 sites, 25 pages:
