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box, the audience is going to clearly be able to see my mouth, my nose, everything. I’ll have no breathing equipment and in essence, I’m going to be drowning in front of a thousand odd people while I try to escape from this series of locks and a straitjacket!”
The terifying water stunt takes on an altogether more frightening feel when Keith reveals that if something does go wrong on the night, there is currently no safety net to help him escape the potentially deadly situation.
“Right now, there really is no Plan B. I mean, if one of those locks jams on me or if I’m not able to get them all open in time. My team is going to have to saw that box open or hammer the lock off, so if I pass out in this thing, let’s just say that it’s going to be a big, big problem,” he admits, his tone taking a serious turn.
“The box was supposed to arrived a month ago, but there was a mishap with Fed Ex, who were in charge of delivering it. It fell off the back of one of their trucks, don’t ask me how, but it smashed and so that is the reason why I haven’t had the chance to rehearse for the show properly. So, if something does go wrong, you can all blame Fed Ex,” he jokes.
On the rest of the show, Keith says that all regular visitors to his shows will know that as with all of his shows, there will be plenty of audience participation on the night to keep everyone entertained.
“As with all Keith Barry shows, there will be full audience participation; I haven’t counted it properly, but I reckon that over the course of the night, I will have about 30 people up on the stage with me. To allay some fears though, people don’t need to worry about being forced on stage - it’ll be completely up to them if they want to come up,” he said.
“Very often, it’s the case that people don’t come to my shows because they’re afraid that they’ll be made to act like this or do that in front of hundreds of people - that’s certainly not the case; I won’t bring anyone up that doesn’t want to - you’ll be completely safe!” he finished.
Asked if he can make a quick prediction on how Kerry will fare in next years All - Ireland, Keith quickly shuts down this with a laugh.
“F**k that! I used to make all of these predictions and for a while I was getting them right. Suddenly though, you get one match wrong and you’re getting death threats coming in your letter box saying that I cost them this much money or a bet with their friends,” he chuckled.
“So yeah, no more predictions for me. Well, I’ve got one I’m from Waterford, we won’t be challenging ye in the football for a while, that’s for sure,” he laughed.
Tickets for Keith’s Magic Madhouse show in the INEC on Saturday December 30 are currently on sale from Ticketmaster or the INEC box office and are set to cost just €30; the show will start from 8pm sharp.
1. CHRISTMAS DAY SET FOR NUMBER OF SWIMS
CHRISTMAS Day is fast approaching and that means that it’s time to hop into the ocean for the traditional Christmas Day swims.
Portmagee (Cnuicin Pier - 11am) Fenit (Fenit Beach - 12noon) and Ballinskelligs (Ballinskelligs Beach, 12:45pm) are just some of the swims taking place.
2. FARRANFORE 5KM STEPHEN’S DAY RUN
SWEAT off the Christmas indulgences by taking part in the St Stephens Day 5k Road Racew/ Fun Run in Farranfore on Tuesday, December 26.
Hosted by the Farranfore Maine Valley Athletics Club, the run, which is one of the oldest road races in will start at 12noon from the entrance to the Kerry Group Mill on the Farranfore to Firies Road.
Registration takes places from 10:45am and will cost €10 for adults and €5 for U16’s.
3. BEALE GAA SET FOR ‘STRICTLY COME DANCING’
BEALE GAA is getting ready for a great night of fun later this month as it preps for its night of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
Taking place on the night of Friday December 29 in the Ballybunion Community Centre, tickets are currently on sale at €20 each; doors open at 7:30pm with the start time at 8pm.
This is a strictly over 18’s event.
4. WALK OFF THE CHRISTMAS DINNER IN FOSSA
SHAKE off that post-Christmas slump this year by heading over to Fossa on Thursday December 28 and taking part in the 5th annual Fossa Christmas Walk, all of which will be in aid of the Kerry/Cork Health Link Bus.
The Walk will be departing from the Innisfallen Hotel in Fossa at 2pm; registration is from 1pm onwards and a donation of your choice can be given to the charity on the day.
5. DUAGH TABLE QUIZ
WHAT better way to exercise your brain before the festive period than at a table quiz?
O’Brien’s Bar, Duagh will host a table quiz in aid of Karla Stack – the Height – on Saturday, December 23. So come along and put your grey matter to good use. Tables of four cost €40 and the event gets underway at 8.30pm. A meal voucher worth €100 sponsored by O’Brien’s Bar is amongst the prizes to be won. All support greatly welcomed and appreciated.
6. KILLARNEY COLLEGE PRESENTS RAPUNZEL
KILLARNEY Community College will tonight present the final show showing of their ‘Rapunzel’ production.
Taking place at 7pm in the Community College, ticjets are set to cost €10 for adults and for students and children.
Tickets are currently on sale from the school office for what is set to be a great night of entertainment for all.
7. CHRISTMAS PANTOMIME IN THE INEC
TICKETS are currently on sale for the upcoming ‘Beauty and the Beast’ pantomime in the INEC in Killarney.
Starring Karl Spain, Re Rock’s Adam Weafer and Clara Murray, this colurful and exciting panto will run in the venue from January 2 to January inclusive, with two shows taking place daily.
Tickets are set to cost €25 for the shows and are available to buy from he INEC box office.
8. KILLARNEY ON ICE IS BACK THIS MONTH
THE hugely popular ‘Killarney On Ice’ is back this month and organisers are looking forward to getting back on the ice.
The ice skating rink, which is located at the Beech Road car park, will run on selected dates from December 1 until January 7 with online bookings and opening times available from www.killarneyonice.com
9. GET DANCING IN TRALEE IN AID OF CHARITY
THE Chernobyl Children’s Fund inTralee will host their weekly social night dances in the Grand Hotel in Tralee this month.
The dances start at 9pm every Wednesday night with the dances set to cost €8. The lineup for the months of November and December are as follows: Best of Friends (December 20).
10. GET EXERCISING THIS WEEKEND WITH PARKRUN
“The INEC, I’m not just saying it because I’m down here, I’ll say it in any newspaper – my number one favourite venue to perform in is always the INEC, followed then by the Olympia. It’s simply a brilliant place.”
WHY not try to head down to take part in one of the many parkruns taking place around Kerry at the weekends?
There are four parkruns in Kerry: Tralee, Killarney, Listowel and the Tralee Junior parkrun.
These free 5km events are run every weekend by volunteers and they have been proven to be extremely popular in improving both physical and mental health.
The Tralee. Listowel and Killarney parkruns are held every Saturday morning from 9:30am onwards while the Tralee Junior parkrun takes place on Sunday at 9:30am - these 2km events are aged for children from 4-14 years old. People can register and print off their barcode at parkrun.ie.
Make sure that you don’t miss out on this great mornings exercise taking place all around Kerry.