He has been praised by poet Linton Kwesi Johnson; folk singer Eliza Carthy called him her “spirit animal”, while The Daily Mail declared him “disgusting...deranged...sick and offensive.”
He is Martin Rowson, one of Britain’s most widely published political cartoonists and satirists, often described as a 'scourge of the political establishment' - and he is bringing his stand-up show to the 2026 Galway Cartoon Festival.
Martin Rowson Live! takes place tomorrow, Friday, October 2, at the LIV Vintage Studios, Fagan Court Offices on Lower Cross Street, with doors at 6.30pm for a 7pm show.
Rowson is best known for his cartoons in The Guardian, but his work has also been published in The Morning Star, Byline Times and elsewhere. He has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, and is also a graphic novelist, with adaptations of The Waste Land, Tristram Shandy and The Communist Manifesto. His memoir, Stuff, was long-listed for the Samuel Johnson Prize.
In this upcoming show at Galway Cartoon Festival, Rowson - who views himself as a ‘visual journalist’ - will dissect the vanity and venality of power in today’s world. As he told The Guardian: “President Trump shows why [cartoonists are] still needed, to enrage his cultists but comfort and empower the rest of us, the victims of his increasing, capricious madness.”
Galway audiences can expect the sharp wit, humour, and incisive commentary that has made Rowson a regular commentator on politics and culture on TV and radio, and seen him win Cartoonist of the Year from the British Press Awards and the Political Cartoon of the Year Award from the Political Cartoon Society.
Admission is free but early arrival is advised as places are limited.
