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Irish Independent
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Belfast comedian wins funniest one-liner at Edinburgh Fringe
Andy Gleeks won the (some guy called) Dave Joke of the Fringe 2025 with a gag about his 'boomer' dad. His joke, 'I had to visit the trauma unit last weekend. He prefers the term dad,' was dubbed the funniest line of the festival. Crowned the winner, he walked away with the title, a trophy, and £250 in prize money. Speaking about his inspiration for the joke, he said: 'It was one of those rare ones that came to me straight away. 'We live in an age where people are more aware of the effect of parenting on children and parenting is something boomer dads aren't really good at. 'I heard the word trauma unit and obviously the word trauma gets bandied about a lot nowadays with more people going to therapy and things so it just sort of clicked as a joke then.' He added: 'It's not particularly about my dad, just all boomer dads.' He said that after finding out he won, he rang his dad to explain the joke. 'He said he doesn't mind and if it gets me a step up in the industry then it's good but I think, in true boomer fashion, if it did annoy him he probably wouldn't say,' Gleeks said. ADVERTISEMENT This was Gleek's third appearance at the festival, having started his stand-up career in 2012. 'I lived in Belfast with my parents until I was 25, then I moved over to England and did a PGCE and taught over here for a number of years,' he said. 'Then I got married in 2012, I'm divorced now but my then wife bought me comedy classes as a wedding present. 'After doing that course I just tried different open mics and went from there.' Andy said he is proud to see how the local comedy scene is growing. 'I'm not doing stand-up in Northern Ireland, I'm over here in England but I just think it's a very vibrant time for comedy in Northern Ireland,' he explained. 'With the likes of Shane Todd, Aaron Bulter, William Thompson and so many more that I haven't said, doing so well and really bringing a light to comedy in Northern Ireland. 'It's so good to see we are getting the recognition because it's a place of great humour.' The competition invited comedians performing at the Edinburgh Fringe to submit their best jokes. Andy's joke was one of several selected by a panel of comics including Gary Delaney, of Mock the Week fame, and former competition winners Mark Simmons and Darren Walsh. The shortlist was then taken to Edinburgh's Cowgate, where Will Mars, the competition's founder, wandered the streets looking for 'some guy called Dave' and found Fringe-goer Dave Humphrys, who selected the winner. Another of Andy's jokes made the top ten: 'I used to not like darts but now I have done a 180.'
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The ‘funniest' one-liner from Edinburgh Fringe
A comedian has said his father was blissfully unaware of a one-liner at his expense that has now been crowned the funniest of the Edinburgh Fringe. Andy Gleeks, from Antrim, Northern Ireland, has won the (some guy called) Dave Joke of the Fringe 2025, for which 10 were shortlisted. He won with the joke: 'I had to visit the trauma unit last weekend. He prefers the term dad.' The comedian, who takes home the title, a trophy and a £250 cash prize, said: 'The first thing I've had to do today is message my father to tell him about the joke I wrote about him. 'He never knew I wrote it and was telling it to thousands of strangers up and down the country.' The competition invited comedians performing at the Fringe to submit their best jokes. A longlist was then selected by a panel of comics including Gary Delaney, of Mock the Week fame, and former winners Mark Simmons and Darren Walsh. The shortlist was then taken to Edinburgh's Cowgate, where Will Mars, the competition's founder, wandered the streets looking for 'some guy called Dave' and found Fringe-goer Dave Humphrys. Mr Humphrys judged the shortlist with his family over a pre-show drink and said of his choice: 'I absolutely love dad jokes, puns, and one-liners and this list has really given us a good giggle.' The (some guy called) Dave competition was relaunched this year by Mr Mars after UKTV's Dave announced they would put their long-running Joke of the Fringe competition on hold this year. Mr Mars had previously run the alternative competition in 2021, during the partial post-pandemic Fringe, when UKTV also pulled out. He said: 'I had to bring the (some guy called) Dave competition back. It's important to comedians, it gives their work a little more recognition and placing on the list gives performers a lift just when they need it, when the fringe starts to get tiring and tough. 'It's little lifts like these that help us all get through the fringe experience and I wanted to help continue lifting those comics up when they need it most. It's also a great chance to get some more jokes to tell you pals in the pub or at work.' The last winner of the (some guy called) Dave competition in 2021 was Masai Graham with the joke: 'I thought the word 'Caesarean' began with the letter 'S' but when I looked in the dictionary, it was in the 'C' section.' Gleeks has been performing his show Fragments daily at 12.30pm in the Boston Bar.
