There were these three Paddys ...

Barry Glendenning (24) from Birr, Co Offaly, likes competitions. He first won one when Hot Press magazine were looking for a new journalist and the second one was last month when he won the Irish heat of the So You Think You're Funny competition to land a place in the semi-finals in Edinburgh this week. The only blip so far in his career is a failed attempt to be a male model (see photo). For a journalist who writes about comedy to get up on stage and do it, and so far quite successfully, is a bit strange in a poacher-turned-gamekeeper sort of way, isn't it now Barry?

"It all began at an editorial meeting at the magazine where I proposed that one of the journalists should write some material and get up and perform it and write about the experience later. I was thinking of somebody else but they were all thinking of me so late last year, after four pints of beer and after being physically sick with nerves for the previous two hours, I got up on stage at the International Bar and did a five minute slot," he explains.

He went down very well on the night and describes himself as "totally exhilarated" afterwards, so much so that once he had written his article, he found himself going back and doing more gigs purely for his own enjoyment.

"The local comics have been very supportive and encouraging of my efforts, there was no sense of them thinking `what's a comedy journalist doing comedy for?' and the material I use isn't drawn from my journalistic experiences - after all, you can't really say things like `have you ever noticed the way when you're interviewing Iggy Pop . . .' but that said, I do some material about local papers and headlines but the majority of my material about growing up in Birr and sports and stuff like that," Barry says.

As a self-confessed "comedy anorak" (that's "aficionado" to you), does his knowledge of material, timing, delivery and presentation enhance his own set? "I suppose by virtue of having reviewed so many comedy gigs and interviewed so many comedians I've learnt a lot from the mistakes of others, but that doesn't really help you when you're feeling particularly distraught before a gig," he says. And if things go well at Edinburgh, will be it bye bye Hot Press, hello The Comedy Store? "I don't have a contingency plan - after all, I've only done about six gigs in my whole life. I really don't expect to win anything at Edinburgh, I'm just going over to enjoy myself." That's what they all say, Barry.

To be eligible for the Perrier Award, comedians must perform in the second week of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which runs from Saturday. The shortlist for the award will be announced on August 20th. The winner of the award will be announced on August 23rd, at midnight.

The shortlisted and winning comedians will perform at the Perrier Pick Of The Fringe event at the Assembly Rooms on August 27th, 29th and 30th at 10 p.m.

Booking information for Edinburgh Fringe events is on 0044-131- 2265138.

Dublin comic Jason Byrne (26), left, is the most extravagantly talented performer to emerge from Ireland in recent years. He's been compared to Tommy Cooper and Spike Milligan which gives you some idea of his decidely off-kilter, unstructured set. A close runner-up to Tiernan in last year's SYTYF he's also had a good 12 months of it and has made many friends in British television comedy land.

"When I went to Edinburgh last year I had only been doing comedy for a few months so it was a bit of a shock to the system to do so well so quickly. If you look at the big names in comedy you'll find that they've all taken at least three Edinburghs to win the Perrier Award and because this is my first three-week run at the festival, I'll be using it to get to know the place better and find out how it all works, because it can be a bit complex with its own set of internal politics and all of that," says Jason.

Managed by the same manager as Ardal O'Hanlon and Tommy Tiernan, Jason has spent the last 12 months gigging around Ireland as part of the Carroll's Comedy Tour before successfully making the transition to the London circuit (although he still lives in Dublin). "Apart from the live gigs going really well in Britain, I'm pleased with how the television side of things is shaping up. I've done warm-up for the likes of Phil Kay, who is one of my comedy heroes, and I've had two long slots on the new Channel 4 programme, Gas. I also got a part in a soap opera called London Bridge which only goes out in the Carlton area and I've just got a part in the film about The General which is being made in Dublin. I wouldn't say all this is down to what I achieved at Edinburgh last year but certainly a large part of it is," he says.

Knowing what he knows from last year, there will be no rest for him over these three weeks. "You have to perform to the best of your ability every single night in Edinburgh for the simple reason that you never know who could be in the audience, whether that be producer, director or casting agent. We'll just have to wait and see what happens this year . . ."

Of all the 240 comics on the Fringe this year, arguably expectations run highest for Navan man Tommy Tiernan (28), left, who was the winner of the So You Think You're Funny Competition last year. Previous winners of the same award include Rhona Cameron, Dylan Moran and Phil Kay, all of whom have gone on to bigger, if not necessarily better things. Under pressure, young Tom? "Not in the slightest" he replies, "and the main reason for that is for the first time in my professional life I haven't taken a risk. I decided not to go back with a full one-hour, one-man show this year so I'm sharing a show with Jason Byrne where I'll be doing 30 minutes. The real assault on the Perrier will come next year."

Tommy's had a good 12 months since he was crowned champ last year. Immediately after the award ceremony, he was signed up by the same manager that Ardal O'Hanlon has, he then proceeded to work the London circuit to great acclaim before he got offered a film role alongside Dennis Leary in a flick called Matchmaker ("I play the village idiot," he volunteers) and then he went off on a 10-week tour of Australia and New Zealand.

"A lot of what happened to me was down to the award, so in that sense it was very important. I could now become a professional on the London circuit but I still choose to live in Galway so I'll be commuting across when necessary. In a sense I'm really apprehensive about this year's Edinburgh after doing so well last year - it really is the land of a thousand vultures and I hope to acquit myself well because I know more eyes will be on me than usual.

"Though I'm just doing straight stand-up this year, I'm already looking forward to next year when I'll be doing a full one-man show, which will be something along the lines of what Spalding Gray and Owen O'Neill are doing at the moment. I'm ambitious . . .".