Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis is to speak at the Kilkenomics economics festival, which is taking place in Kilkenny this week.

The annual festival, which is now in its sixth year, brings together some of the world’s leading economists, financial analysts and media commentators – and standup comedians, of course – for economics with a comic twist.

Mr Varoufakis will give an insider account of how he came to be at the helm of Greece’s economy, what happened in those six tempestuous months, what the ECB did to Greece, how the Germans actually behaved and what’s in store for the next small EU country that gets into trouble.

His talk will be hosted by economist David McWilliams in Kilkenny’s St Canice’s Cathedral on Thursday.

The controversial Varoufakis broke with Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras over EU austerity demands and did not stand in Greece's recent election. He has been replaced as finance minister by Euclid Tsakalotos.

Other contributors coming to Kilkenny for the festival include Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator of the Financial Times, and Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan and distinguished professor of risk engineering at New York University. Ogilvy UK advertising creative director Rory Sutherland will also speak.

Writer Gerard Stembridge will oversee a discussion on Economics of Radical Politics: From Kanye to Corbyn and Trump to Le Pen. What will happen if Britain leaves the EU will be debated in Britain's Difficulty, Ireland's Opportunity.

What happens when the 100,000 Irish who have emigrated to Australia return home will be addressed in What's Up Down Under: The Future of Australia, while McWilliams, Cormac Lucey and Ronan Lyons will take part in a debate entitled 1916: The Biggest Economic Disaster to Ever Happen Ireland.