| abstract | - The Dublin University Comedy Society (DU Comedy) is the student-run Comedy Society of Trinity College Dublin. It is the largest Comedy Society in Ireland. The society's aim is to foster an appreciation for all things comedy-related. This is achieved through high profile gigs with Ireland's top performers and innovative workshops offering members the opportunity to develop their own skills in comedy performance and organisation. The society also produces the satirical magazine "Goldfish". DU Comedy Society regularly sells out gigs in the largest capacity theatre in Trinity College, the Edmund Burke Theatre. Previous artists to perform for the society include Jason Byrne, David O’Doherty, Andrew Maxwell, Damien Clarke, Andrew Stanley, Neil Delamare, Jarlath Regan and Colin Murphy. The society was established in the 1980s under the banner of 'The Dead Parrot Society', in reference to a famous Monty Python sketch. The society came to be referred to officially as the Comedy Society in the mid 1990s. In its earliest inception, the society struggled to make a significant impact, with its membership peaking in 1996 with over 400 members. However, after the 1998/99 academic year, the society fell dormant. The society was revived in the 2005/06 academic year by Shane O'Brien, an activist in TCD Students' Union. However, it once again failed to make the impact it had promised, just as it did in the following academic year. In 2007/08, once again the society experienced a massive push for revival, having been taken over by another group of former TCD Students' Union activists. As a result, the 07/08 year was a highly successful one, with the society signing up over 1,000 new members and running many highly successful events and classes. The 2008/09 committee were elected at the society's AGM on April 14th, 2008, in the packed Elizabethan Rooms of Trinity College's House 6. Activities promised for the upcoming academic year include more high profile events, more workshops and Trinity's first Comedy Day.
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