Comedian overjoyed at his comeback gig in Vicar Street

COMEDIAN Al Porter has shared his joy at being back on stage, after making a triumphant return to Vicar Street with a sold-out show on Sunday night.

This follows from his tentative first steps back to the stage almost 12 months ago, when he performed at a charity gig in the Dragon Inn in his native Tallaght.

Last weekend’s Vicar Street gig marked a highpoint in Al’s renewed comedy career, and the crowd lapped it up and gave him a standing ovation both at the beginning and end of his set.

“It’s somewhat surreal,” Springfield man Al told The Echo. “There was an overwhelming element to it, because the year [since he performed in the Dragon] has flown in.

“Twelve months ago, when I was in the Dragon, I was so nervous. I overthought everything.

“To go from that, to then arriving at Vicar Street on Sunday and seeing them setting up the big curtain and the lights and the Al Porter sign, it was really special.

“It felt like a milestone in my life, and in my sobriety. I don’t think that gig would’ve happened if I didn’t give up the drink and everything that came with it three years ago.”

This follows on from a quiet few years where Al stepped out of the spotlight at the height of his fame, when he had long runs of comedy gigs and regular TV and radio appearances on his calendar.

He made the decision to step away after a series of allegations were made against him in 2017 on Twitter.

In a statement released in July last year, Al wrote: “In November 2017, a series of tweets making allegations against me snowballed into newspaper articles, and eventually more.

“I took these issues in my personal life very seriously and I decided to walk away from all my work commitments as I couldn’t possibly keep working and deal with everything else too.”

An allegation of sexual assault was made against him to gardaí and was later withdrawn, with all charges dropped in November 2019.

Al’s new show, called ‘Al Porter Now’ addresses what he refers to as “the elephant in the room” and it seemed to be a cathartic experience for him to perform it last week.

“When I walked out onto the stage at Vicar Street, it was really emotional,” recalled Al.

“The minute I walked out, I was hit with the emotion of what it meant for 1,000 people to come and see my show.

“The big ambition, now, is that I’d love as many people as possible to see this particular show, because it does set out my stall, it addresses the elephant in the room.

“It’s a show that I don’t think I’ll be able to repeat.”

Such was the success of the show, The Echo can exclusively reveal that Al will perform the show for a third time in Vicar Street next year, with tickets expected to go on sale before Christmas.

In the more immediate future, however, Al is focused on hosting the Tallaght Person of the Year Awards in the Civic Theatre this Sunday, November 12.

“Every year when you go to the Tallaght Person of the Year Awards, it’s the most beautiful and inspirational night,” added Al.

“When you sit there and you see all these great people around you, you just think, ‘I want to be more involved, I want to be more like them’.

“These are people who have lives that are just as busy as everyone else’s, but they do things day-in, day-out for the community with dedication and commitment.”