Irish stand-up Keith Farnan has a lively stage presence and off-the-cuff style, with a congenial, raggedy appearance that is equal parts Bee Gee and Celtic Jesus.

Such up-beat charisma serves Farnan well for his wandering, socially-conscious monologues on the Irish financial crisis by way of economists (portrayed here as modern-day witches) and lawyers - or ‘bamboozlers’ as our comic would have it, and he should know: he’s a former solicitor.

Farnan mentions several times that he gave up the legal profession (ergo: financial security) for happiness (ergo: stand-up comedy) but that is not to imply any levity in his subject matter. His rants on the rise of Irish suicide rates and clinical stress since the economic breakdown are troubling and well-informed, and Farnan doesn’t spare himself: he details his own recent experience of related (or so his doctor suggests) panic attacks.

His commentary is not always amusing and it veers toward the clichéd at times - his generalisations on Europeans are a bit hackneyed - but as with his previous shows on sexual, racial and class inequality, Farnan’s ideas offer pause for thought, and he has some ingenious suggestions for bailing Ireland out. I still don’t know what Ice Cream Sadism is, though.

Underbelly, 0844 545 8252, until 28 Aug, 6.20pm, £9–£10.50 (£8–£9.50).

KEITH FARNAN: IRISH COMEDIAN