9 May 2012 Last updated at 11:14 ET By Shane Harrison BBC News <\/p>\n
Do we need to laugh more during a recession? <\/p>\n
It seems the people in the Republic do, with reports claiming satire there is making a comeback both in comedy clubs and on radio. <\/p>\n
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It's fairly common now for people in the Republic meeting on a Saturday afternoon to ask each other whether they had heard the latest episode of Green Tea or its replacement on RTE Radio One, The Second Republic. <\/p>\n
Jokes are remembered and sketches laughed at; nothing is sacred. <\/p>\n
Green Tea in recent times has parodied the Ulster rugby fans' recent visit to the city with both a reporter and the fans - Billy, Ivan and Jeffrey - embarrassed that there was a Padraig in their midst. <\/p>\n
Times are changing and not just in Ulster rugby; humour and satire have returned to the Irish air waves. <\/p>\n
In the pilot show for The Second Republic the host, Neil Delamere, jokes about reporters annoying Martin McGuinness during his visit to the ploughing championships saying: \"Personally, I wouldn't have annoyed any Sinn Feiner when he had that much access to fertiliser.\" <\/p>\n
While comedy and satire are thriving now many have wondered why there was so little of either during the Celtic Tiger bubble years. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Laughter best medicine for recession<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 9 May 2012 Last updated at 11:14 ET By Shane Harrison BBC News Do we need to laugh more during a recession? Continue reading