Event Guide for FREE Events in Greater Dublin

A weekly car boot sale, one of less than a handful that is still reliably taking place, has up to 200 cars/sellers. The stadium is just a few minutes walk from the Red LUAS line stop and numerous bus stops. For traders the Car Boot Sale opens at 06:30 for buyers from 08:00. If you are interested in selling, check the details and register on their website.

The weekly Honest2goodness food market in Glasnevin has fresh meat, vegetables, fish, baked goods, and wines. It is open from 09:30-16:00. It is behind Lidl in the Industrial Estate just after the Glasnevin Cemetary coming from the City Centre.

Parkrun Ireland is organising free weekly runs in parks. It is a timed run over 5km and participation is completely free, but registration before your first parkrun is required.

The SuperNatural Food Market is taking place every Saturday from 09:30-15:30 in St. Andrews Resource Centre in Pearse Street, Dublin 2.

The Belgard Weekend Market is an indoor market with stalls with handcraft (incl. designer jewellery, aran jumpers and wool, christening robes and shawls, cards and cross stitch), household items, bric and brac, furniture, flowers, make-up, clothes, shoes, showers, upholstery, toys, kitchens, cafe, army memorabilia, collectors items, sweets, handbags books, blinds, party shop, tools and more.

It is open every Saturday and Sunday and is located in the Glen Abbey complex (opposite Jacobs) on Belgard Road.

Every weekend in December the courtyard at the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre will come alive with an craft village. Talented craftmakers will display their wares. Christmas gifts on sale will range from woodcrafted items, knitwear, table centres, candles, oils, to little ceramic cottages and small sculptures.

Santa will appear each Sunday from 13:00-17:00 to meet the children and Storytelling for children will take place in the 16th century tower house beside the courtyard each Sunday at 13:30 and 15:00. The shows are 08 Dec: The Snow Queen from the North / 15 Dec: Christmas in Dublin with a Musical Flavour / 22 Dec: Snow White.
And a choir will be singing Christmas carols and songs every Sunday from 14:00.

Admission is free and there is parking on site.

Christmas Time at Farmleigh is every year a full pre-Christmas programme for all the family. Instead of rewriting, I will just copy the whole programme for today here.

• Christmas Food Market – Farmyard – 10am to 5pm
• Festive Crib – Outdoors – 10am to 5pm
• Puppet Show: “Punch & Judy’s Christmas Cracker” – Cowshed Theatre – 12pm to 2.30pm, 1.45pm to 2.15pm, 3.30pm to 4pm
• Storytelling for Children with Erika Doolan – The Old Kitchen – 12.45pm to 1.30pm, 2.30pm to 3.15pm, 4.15pm-5pm
• Carol Singing with St. Mary’s Pro Cathedral Girls Choir – Ballroom – 1.30pm to 3.30pm
• Barbershop Melodies with The Mellowchords – Outdoors – 2pm to 4pm
• Victorian Christmas Experience – Courtyard – 12pm to 5pm

If you want to check the full programme for all weekends until Christmas, go to the website below or download this PDF brochure.

The GloHealth Christmas Wonderland (06 Dec – 12 Jan) is this year’s winter event programme (including ice skating rink) at the RDS. There are lots of activities and for the first time Funderland already starts in December. The most interesting part for me is the Continental Christmas Market and you don’t have to pay to get access to it.

So to summarise that: At the RDS there is Funderland (already!), Santa Christmas Circus, iSkate on Ice, Jingle Town (Grotto), Guy Barrett – Illusionist and Custard Pie (Puppet Theatre) and all these shows or activities require tickets and cost money.

The final component is the traditional continental Christmas Market and admission is free to it.

Jamestown Flea Market + Car Boot Sale takes place every Sat+Sun from 10:00-17:00. You can reach it from Tyrconnell Road and from Kylemore Road and it is within 3 min from Black Horse stop on the red Luas line. There is free parking.

The Merchants Market on East Wall Road is a relatively new weekly market on Saturdays and Sundays with more than 80 stalls. There is everything from furniture and antiques to paintings and mirrors, electronics and hot food to bicycles and buns. Sounds interesting and I will check it out over the coming weeks. It is just a few minutes walk away from the Point Theatre/O2 (walk in the direction of the Port Tunnel). www.facebook.com/merchantsindoormarket

An indoor market in Coolock with over 40 traders with a wide range of goods and a café on site as well.

The Temple Bar Markets (Food Market on Meeting House Square, Book Market on Temple Bar Square and the Designer Mart near Cow’s Lane) are taking place every Saturday from 10:00-16:30.

The film and TV festival “Made in Israel: Film and TV Week” will take place in Cineworld from 04-10 December. Admission to all events is free (but pre-booking is required for two events). At some screenings you will even get Pizza, drinks and various treats. The trailer for the event is here www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p-MqJmXViI

Some of the 18 screenings are followed by talks and discussions:

+ Fri 06 Dec – 10:30: Screening of “Adam Resurrected” followed by a talk by Auschwitz-Birkenau survivor, Mrs. Batsheva Dagan at 12.30 (Registration required via ambassador-sec@dublin.mfa.gov.il

+ Sun 08 Dec – 19:00: Screening of “Cupcakes” followed by a discussion with director Eytan Fox moderated by Zbyszek Zalinski (a must for all Eurovision lovers). Cupcakes and drinks will be provided.

+ Tues 10 Dec – 19:00: Screening of “Shalom Belfast” followed by a panel discussion about the comparisons between the conflict in Northern Ireland and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This discussion will be moderated by Sunday Independent journalist Carol Hunt and will feature the director of Shalom Belfast Eamonn Devlin and other special guests.

There will also be an opportunity to see watch the latest popular Israeli television shows and to vote for your favourite, which will then potentially be screened at a later date on TV3.

All information about the films and the schedule and also about the discussions, can be found in the brochure here (a PDF file) or via the Facebook Page below.

At the Blackrock Market in the centre of Blackrock, you’ll find 50 stalls selling collectibles, antiques, handmade goods, books, food & there’s free popcorn, ballons & facepainting for the kids.
Open on Saturdays and Bank Holidays: 11:00-17:30, and Sundays: 12:00-17:30.

A mini-Christmas Market will take place in Christ Church over three Saturdays (07+14+21 December). About 10 stalls will offer their products in the crypt of the church. The 12th century crypt is a wonderful space for such an atmospheric market. Admission is free.

This is the official line: “Each Saturday and Sunday the upper courtyard of Dublin Castle is transformed into a traditional Christmas Market. “

But in reality there were just 5 stalls there last week and it is not even CLOSE to a Christmas Market. Pity! The Courtyard of Dublin Castle would be a PERFECT place for a wonderful Christmas Market, but you have to do better than that to give it a grand name. Unless they have more this week, I can’t recommend going to Dublin Castle for the market.

Choirs will be performing under the tree from 13:30-15:30.

On 15 Dec a craft fair will take place from 10:00 in Bedford Hall.

The Christmas Festival in Dun Laoghaire runs from 30 Nov until 01 Jan. There will be a Christmas Market, a.k.a. “Enchanting Christmas Market” ;-) every Thurs-Sun from 11:00-18:00 and at the weekends other events will also take place.

Na Fianna in Glasnevin is a very active and well supported GAA club in Dublin and they have their own clubhouse and GAA grounds in Mobi Road. On these grounds, there will be a Christmas Market from 04-08 December. The market starts on Wed at 17:00 and continues on Thursday+Friday (17:00-22:30) and on Saturday (11:00-22:30) and Sunday (11:00-19:00).

In addition to the stalls in wooden huts with local traders, there will be a performance areas where the Corús choir, The Airport singers and an Abba Tribute band will perform. Admission is free. (Note: There is no parking in the grounds due to the market.)

Four times the “People’s Art 2013″ exhibition already took place this year and there is ONE more. It is a great event, but so badly advertised that only a fraction of the people know about it.

It is an art exhibition on the rails/fence of St. Stephen’s Green. (If you want to exhibit at one of the events in the future, check the website for cost and conditions.) Visiting the People’s Art Exhibition is free. Specific start and end times are not defined, but exhibition space has to be occupied by 11:00, so 11:00 is the latest start time. The event runs from Friday until Sunday, with Sat+Sun being the main days.

People’s Art Dublin is a voluntary, part time, non profit making group, brought together by Dublin City Council to promote the visual arts to the public of Dublin. A huge variety of art/paintings are displayed and if the weather is nice it is a great art-filled stroll around Stephen’s Green. Definitely recommended! You also can buy your Christmas presents there. ;-)

The Ferocious Mingle Marcade (Market and Arcade) is back in a new location. The Marcade is now in Camden Street next to Daintree Paper and opposite the Centra and off-license there. It takes place every Thurs-Sun and is a flea-market-type permanent market with stalls and “chalets” for traders.

Selected designs of the book “The Visual Time Traveller: 500 years of history art and science in 100 unique designs” by Alison Hackett are on show in the RHA for two days only.

“A graphically curated journey weaving fact and illustration, hero and event, personal and political. This is a visual feast of a journey through the ages. Over a 1000 facts feature in the 100 designs in the book and the exhibition features framed single edition prints of 26 of these beautiful designs. The author Alison is a passionate believer in the combination of original design and the written word to inspire life long learning.”

Admission is free.

BLOCK T, the creative incubator in Smithfield, is the location for the Craft & Design Christmas Pop-up Shop in Smithfield. You will find affordable and unique art, handmade crafts & jewellery, records, posters and many more. The BLOCK T Showroom is just off the Luas track at Smithfield station. It is around the corner from the Shutterbug Vintage Clothes Kilo Sale (on 08 Dec) and as well from the Christmas Cracker Market (13-15 Dec).

The Popo-Up Shop is open every Thursday to Sunday from 07-22 Dec (11:30-18:30 with late opening on Thursday until 20:00)

The National Gallery has an extensive programme of free talks, public tours and Art Documentary screenings focusing on highlights of the European and Irish Collection every day of the week. Check their website for details.

The Neptune Rowing Club in Islandbridge is inviting to a Christmas Fair on Saturday. Admission is free and there is an opportunity to win prizes.

The newest Science Gallery exhibition (25 Oct – 19 Jan) is called GROW YOUR OWN…. and is exploring synthetic biology and life after nature. How does the future of designed and artificially enhanced life look like? What possibilities are there.

This exhibition is very different from the previous ILLUSION exhibition. GROW YOUR OWN is a lot more scientific and very futuristic. Maybe you could call it “science and art fiction”? The exhibition is full of interesting ideas and concepts, but also contains eye-brow raising stuff like human cheese and self-diagnosing excr ement. Younger children will be lost in it, so it is more suitable for a slightly older audience (16+) in comparison to the previous exhibition.

As with all Science Gallery exhibitions, I definitely recommend visiting it, but this time you have to bring a bit more time to comprehend all 21 exhibits and you need to bring your curiosity for science. It is worth it, though! The great (and unique) thing about the Science Gallery is that there are always mediators there, helpers that explain every exhibit in simple terms.

The exhibition is open Tuesday-Sunday. (Weekdays: 12:00-20:00, Sat+Sun: 12:00-18:00) Admission is free.

The weekly Ha’penny Flea Market is an indoor market in the Grand Social Pub, which offers vintage Men and Women’s clothing, contemporary crafts, books, DVDs, vinyl records, vintage and handmade jewellery, vintage hair styles, art, photography and much more. Dux & Co will offer food and the Grand Social’s Bar and Gourmet Coffee options are available.

The next Music, CD & Record Fair takes place in Sweeney’s on Saturday. Admission is free.

Ryan Tubridy will be in Eason’s for a book signing.

This is a fundraiser for the St Agnes School Violin & Orchestra project. The Market will be opened at 12:00 by Miriam O’Callaghan. Admission is free. Santa Claus will arrive shortly after the opening and visiting Santa’s grotto is free. Murph the Magician will entertain you at 13:30. And there will be plenty of stalls.

Before the Market opens, there will be a fun run at 11:15 from the school to Crumlin viallage and back. Dress up as Santa, Mrs Santa, an elf or a reindeer and take part.

The first ever White Lady Art Gallery Christmas Market, with 14 stalls full of hand-made art, crafts and gifts all at affordable prices will take place over three weekends from Fri-Sun. The weekends are 06-08 Dec, 13-15 Dec, 20-22 Dec.

Admission is free.

A Christmas Market is being hosted by the Harbour Bar in Bray on 07+14+21 December. There will be crafts and gifts and mulled wine and food. Admission is free.

A Children’s magic show and storytelling will take place in the Castle Hall. The show will be repeated throughout the day. Admission is free, but on a first come, first served basis.

Archive at Lunchtime screenings take place Saturdays (Double Bill), Mondays and Wednesdays. The programme is changing weekly now (instead of monthly as in the past). To find out what film(s) will be screened go to www.ifi.ie/whatson/now-showing-coming-soon/ and look for “Archive at Lunchtime” on the right. Admission is free.

Mary Kenny will be for a book signing in Eason’s.

Cornucopia Café & Restaurant host live music three evenings a week (Thurs, Fri and Sat). The restaurant is a Wholefood & Vegetarian Restaurant and is open until 22:15.
+ Every second Thursday N.C Lawlor, a songwriter, session player and troubadour plays a mix of country, bluegrass & blues from 19:30-21:30.
+ Every Friday (19:30-21:30) Junshi Murakami plays Irish Harp.
+ Every Saturday (19:30-21:30) Nollaig Mann plays a collection of popular and jazz classics.

This is a weekly Saturday night jazz event in the basement Wine Cave of KC Peaches wholefood restaurant/café. Food will be served until 22:00 and wine, minerals & music will be available until later. Admission is free and a donation into a hat at the end of the evening is appreciated.

The Stillorgan Orchard provides regular live music. The upcoming gigs are listed on the website below.

Every weekend in December the courtyard at the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre will come alive with an craft village. Talented craftmakers will display their wares. Christmas gifts on sale will range from woodcrafted items, knitwear, table centres, candles, oils, to little ceramic cottages and small sculptures.

Santa will appear each Sunday from 13:00-17:00 to meet the children and Storytelling for children will take place in the 16th century tower house beside the courtyard each Sunday at 13:30 and 15:00. The shows are 08 Dec: The Snow Queen from the North / 15 Dec: Christmas in Dublin with a Musical Flavour / 22 Dec: Snow White.
And a choir will be singing Christmas carols and songs every Sunday from 14:00.

Admission is free and there is parking on site.

Christmas Time at Farmleigh is every year a full pre-Christmas programme for all the family. Instead of rewriting, I will just copy the whole programme for today here.

• Christmas Food Market – Farmyard – 10am to 5pm
• Festive Crib – Outdoors – 10am to 5pm
• Magic Show – Cowshed Theatre – 12pm to 12.35pm, 1.45pm to 2.20pm, 3.30pm to 4.05pm
• Barbershop Melodies with The Mellowchords – Outdoors – 12pm to 4pm
• Storytelling for Children with Erika Doolan – The Old Kitchen – 12.45pm to 1.30pm, 2.30pm to 3.15pm, 4.15pm to 5pm
• Horse & Carriage Rides – Experience Farmleigh Estate in Style – Outdoors – 1pm to 4pm
• Carol Singing with CanBelto Ladies Choir – Ballroom – 1.30pm to 3.30pm
• Victorian Christmas Experience – Courtyard – 11am to 5pm

If you want to check the full programme for all weekends until Christmas, go to the website below or download this PDF brochure.

The GloHealth Christmas Wonderland (06 Dec – 12 Jan) is this year’s winter event programme (including ice skating rink) at the RDS. There are lots of activities and for the first time Funderland already starts in December. The most interesting part for me is the Continental Christmas Market and you don’t have to pay to get access to it.

So to summarise that: At the RDS there is Funderland (already!), Santa Christmas Circus, iSkate on Ice, Jingle Town (Grotto), Guy Barrett – Illusionist and Custard Pie (Puppet Theatre) and all these shows or activities require tickets and cost money.

The final component is the traditional continental Christmas Market and admission is free to it.

Jamestown Flea Market + Car Boot Sale takes place every Sat+Sun from 10:00-17:00. You can reach it from Tyrconnell Road and from Kylemore Road and it is within 3 min from Black Horse stop on the red Luas line. There is free parking.

The Merchants Market on East Wall Road is a relatively new weekly market on Saturdays and Sundays with more than 80 stalls. There is everything from furniture and antiques to paintings and mirrors, electronics and hot food to bicycles and buns. Sounds interesting and I will check it out over the coming weeks. It is just a few minutes walk away from the Point Theatre/O2 (walk in the direction of the Port Tunnel). www.facebook.com/merchantsindoormarket

Every Sunday, the Merrion Square Open Air Art Gallery takes place. Up to 200 artists exhibit their paintings on the railings on three sides (West, North and East) of Merrion Square and you can just enjoy the exhibition or even buy.

The Children’s Art Cart Workshops will be held again in the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre (01-6770095) every Sunday from 24 March to 22 December 2013. Currently the workshop is still free, but there is a possibility that a fee will be introduced at some point. Children must be over 6 years of age and must be supervised by an adult.
You can’t pre-book, so early arrival is required because there are only 20 places per session.

The themes are:
01 Dec: Make Christmas cards
08 Dec: Christmas decorations
15 Dec: Christmas Card for Teacher
22 Dec: Make a Surprise

The film and TV festival “Made in Israel: Film and TV Week” will take place in Cineworld from 04-10 December. Admission to all events is free (but pre-booking is required for two events). At some screenings you will even get Pizza, drinks and various treats. The trailer for the event is here www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p-MqJmXViI

Some of the 18 screenings are followed by talks and discussions:

+ Fri 06 Dec – 10:30: Screening of “Adam Resurrected” followed by a talk by Auschwitz-Birkenau survivor, Mrs. Batsheva Dagan at 12.30 (Registration required via ambassador-sec@dublin.mfa.gov.il

+ Sun 08 Dec – 19:00: Screening of “Cupcakes” followed by a discussion with director Eytan Fox moderated by Zbyszek Zalinski (a must for all Eurovision lovers). Cupcakes and drinks will be provided.

+ Tues 10 Dec – 19:00: Screening of “Shalom Belfast” followed by a panel discussion about the comparisons between the conflict in Northern Ireland and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This discussion will be moderated by Sunday Independent journalist Carol Hunt and will feature the director of Shalom Belfast Eamonn Devlin and other special guests.

There will also be an opportunity to see watch the latest popular Israeli television shows and to vote for your favourite, which will then potentially be screened at a later date on TV3.

All information about the films and the schedule and also about the discussions, can be found in the brochure here (a PDF file) or via the Facebook Page below.

This is the official line: “Each Saturday and Sunday the upper courtyard of Dublin Castle is transformed into a traditional Christmas Market. “

But in reality there were just 5 stalls there last week and it is not even CLOSE to a Christmas Market. Pity! The Courtyard of Dublin Castle would be a PERFECT place for a wonderful Christmas Market, but you have to do better than that to give it a grand name. Unless they have more this week, I can’t recommend going to Dublin Castle for the market.

Choirs will be performing under the tree from 13:30-15:30.

On 15 Dec a craft fair will take place from 10:00 in Bedford Hall.

The Christmas Festival in Dun Laoghaire runs from 30 Nov until 01 Jan. There will be a Christmas Market, a.k.a. “Enchanting Christmas Market” ;-) every Thurs-Sun from 11:00-18:00 and at the weekends other events will also take place.

A weekly market with lots of food, but also many other products (art & crafts, books, etc) takes place every Sunday in the beautiful People’s Park in Dun Laoghaire. It is a very popular market and with around 50 vendors also one of the bigger markets.

The next Fusion Sundays Market will take place this Sunday in the Dublin Food Co-op and is Christmas-themed. It gives an insight into how other cultures celebrate Christmas and will have a festive atmosphere. Over 40 stalls will be offering local craft as well as Christmassy food and everything is handmade. Fusion Sundays – World Christmas Market is more than just any Christmas market, as there are also lots of activities going on throughout the day for the whole family to join in. International Workshops, such as free kids Yoga or African Dance, and Live Music and Performances will make this a special event. Admission is free.

There seem to be TWO weekly markets on Long Mile Road and both are very close to each other. One is behind Wigoders on Long Mile Road (across the road from Aldi). It hosts more than 50 stalls and there is also a Cafe on site. www.facebook.com/WigodersLongmileMarket And the other one is just on the other side of the road, next to Aldi. www.facebook.com/TheLongMileRdMarket

The well known Palestrina Choir sing every Sunday at the mass in St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral. They sing complete masterworks by Mozart, Haydn, Dvorak, Palestrina, de Victoria, usually accompanied by Prof. Gerard Gillen on the organ, who often also plays a solo piece.

Four times the “People’s Art 2013″ exhibition already took place this year and there is ONE more. It is a great event, but so badly advertised that only a fraction of the people know about it.

It is an art exhibition on the rails/fence of St. Stephen’s Green. (If you want to exhibit at one of the events in the future, check the website for cost and conditions.) Visiting the People’s Art Exhibition is free. Specific start and end times are not defined, but exhibition space has to be occupied by 11:00, so 11:00 is the latest start time. The event runs from Friday until Sunday, with Sat+Sun being the main days.

People’s Art Dublin is a voluntary, part time, non profit making group, brought together by Dublin City Council to promote the visual arts to the public of Dublin. A huge variety of art/paintings are displayed and if the weather is nice it is a great art-filled stroll around Stephen’s Green. Definitely recommended! You also can buy your Christmas presents there. ;-)

The Ferocious Mingle Marcade (Market and Arcade) is back in a new location. The Marcade is now in Camden Street next to Daintree Paper and opposite the Centra and off-license there. It takes place every Thurs-Sun and is a flea-market-type permanent market with stalls and “chalets” for traders.

BLOCK T, the creative incubator in Smithfield, is the location for the Craft & Design Christmas Pop-up Shop in Smithfield. You will find affordable and unique art, handmade crafts & jewellery, records, posters and many more. The BLOCK T Showroom is just off the Luas track at Smithfield station. It is around the corner from the Shutterbug Vintage Clothes Kilo Sale (on 08 Dec) and as well from the Christmas Cracker Market (13-15 Dec).

The Popo-Up Shop is open every Thursday to Sunday from 07-22 Dec (11:30-18:30 with late opening on Thursday until 20:00)

The National Gallery has an extensive programme of free talks, public tours and Art Documentary screenings focusing on highlights of the European and Irish Collection every day of the week. Check their website for details.

At the Blackrock Market in the centre of Blackrock, you’ll find 50 stalls selling collectibles, antiques, handmade goods, books, food & there’s free popcorn, ballons & facepainting for the kids.
Open on Sundays: 12:00-17:30. Open on Saturdays and Bank Holidays: 11:00-17:30.

The newest Science Gallery exhibition (25 Oct – 19 Jan) is called GROW YOUR OWN…. and is exploring synthetic biology and life after nature. How does the future of designed and artificially enhanced life look like? What possibilities are there.

This exhibition is very different from the previous ILLUSION exhibition. GROW YOUR OWN is a lot more scientific and very futuristic. Maybe you could call it “science and art fiction”? The exhibition is full of interesting ideas and concepts, but also contains eye-brow raising stuff like human cheese and self-diagnosing excr ement. Younger children will be lost in it, so it is more suitable for a slightly older audience (16+) in comparison to the previous exhibition.

As with all Science Gallery exhibitions, I definitely recommend visiting it, but this time you have to bring a bit more time to comprehend all 21 exhibits and you need to bring your curiosity for science. It is worth it, though! The great (and unique) thing about the Science Gallery is that there are always mediators there, helpers that explain every exhibit in simple terms.

The exhibition is open Tuesday-Sunday. (Weekdays: 12:00-20:00, Sat+Sun: 12:00-18:00) Admission is free.

An indoor market in Coolock with over 40 traders with a wide range of goods and a café on site as well.

A pre-Christmas Shutterbug Vintage Clothes Kilo Sale takes place in Smithfield and again a Kilo of clothes is just EUR 20. In addtion to the Kilo Sale, there are some other Pop-Up shops waiting for you: Folkster with new clothes (Sister Jane, Miista, UNIF, Folkster Edit and Jeffrey Campbell Shoes), Gild & Cage interiors store with gifts and homeware, Damn Fine Print hand screenprinted poster shop and DJ Conor Behan will be playing pop and r’n'b.

Great event for all vintage clothes enthusiasts! But there is a “but”! The “but” is, that at the time of writing on Friday morning already 3214 people have indicated on Facebook that they will attend. And with that in mind, the organisers of the sale have devised a queueing system with different zones that could remind you of XFactor auditions. At the last Kilo Sale some people had to wait for 2-3 hours and the smart aspect of the queueing system is that you get a ticket for your zone when you arrive (from 08:00) and can then leave again until around 11:30.

Check out the facebook event page, it explains everything.
Admission is free.

The Sundays at Noon Concert Series continues in the Sculpture Gallery at the Hugh Lane Gallery. This series of free (mainly classical) concerts continues to present the best of Irish and International music and musicians. Concerts run from September to June. The next concert will be “The Complete Haydn Piano Sonatas Concert XI” with Peter Tuite, piano

The first ever White Lady Art Gallery Christmas Market, with 14 stalls full of hand-made art, crafts and gifts all at affordable prices will take place over three weekends from Fri-Sun. The weekends are 06-08 Dec, 13-15 Dec, 20-22 Dec.

Admission is free.

A Children’s magic show and storytelling will take place in the Castle Hall. The show will be repeated throughout the day. Admission is free, but on a first come, first served basis.

Selected designs of the book “The Visual Time Traveller: 500 years of history art and science in 100 unique designs” by Alison Hackett are on show in the RHA for two days only (Sat+Sun).

“A graphically curated journey weaving fact and illustration, hero and event, personal and political. This is a visual feast of a journey through the ages. Over a 1000 facts feature in the 100 designs in the book and the exhibition features framed single edition prints of 26 of these beautiful designs. The author Alison is a passionate believer in the combination of original design and the written word to inspire life long learning.”

Admission is free.

An Intercultural Tour in Japanese with Community Ambassador Hiromi Anzai who will introduce the collections in Japanese, willt ake place on Sunday. Admission is free and no booking required.

Drop-in and make your own Christmas wreath of paper to take home. Suitable for age 6+. Admission is free.

The “Dublin Sketchers” is an informal group of typically hobby artists who go somewhere different in Dublin every Sunday (e.g. National Museum, Maritime Museum, Dublin Flea Market, Farmleigh, Botanic Gardens, Dublin Castle), sketch for one to two hours and then meet up for coffee afterwards and discuss their sketches. There are some hugely talented people among them and it is a great idea to meet up with others who have the same hobby. Find out on their website where they will meet and join them if you do some sketching/drawing yourself. I know that the Dublin Sketchers often use the Dublin Event Guide to find interesting free events and I am delighted to be able to help!

Experience the magical tastes, smells and sights of a Medieval Christmas with Irish Arms. Meet a candle-maker and scriptor monk. Have a go at a medieval game. Try a warrior‘s helmet and armour on for size. Taste Hypocras spiced wine, Grete Pye and other by-gone Christmas fare and treat your ears to Medieval music played on authentic reproduction instruments; the lute, vielle á rue and a gemshorn. Admission is free and no booking required.

The Christmas in the Village event in Shankill will feature

Festive Market Stalls
Santa arrives at 15:30
Puppet Show Performances at 14:30, 15:30 and 16:15 in Credit Union
Live Music with Big Kahuna
Irish Dancers
Kids Zone

Admission is free.

Afternoon Jazz in Café en Seine. The Stella Bass Jazz Trio play every Sunday from 14:00-16:00 in Café en Seine in Dawson Street. Admission is free. A video is here www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8aKqtOB5S8

Come to the Family Drawing Sundays in the RHA. All children are welcome to use the RHA Art Cart, in the RHA Atrium. Admission is free. For further information, contact Ruth Carroll on 01 6612558 or via ruth@rhagallery.ie

From holly and fir trees to paper decorations and plastic trees, Mary Greene will talk about how celebrations for Christmas have changed from the 17th century to present day. No booking required, places will be allocated on a first come basis one hour before event begins. Suitable for Families with children aged 6+.

Nessa O’Connor, Assistant Keeper in the Antiquities Division, NMI, will talk about an important mid-15th century altar cross from County Waterford. The copper alloy cross was donated to the Museum earlier this year and is one of only half a dozen later medieval altar crosses known from Ireland. The talk will take place on the first floor where the altar cross is displayed and will include a look at other crosses in the Museum’s Medieval Exhibition. Meet at reception. Suitable from Age 14+. Admission is free.

Unlike the three branches of the National Museum, the National Print Museum is normally not free, but every Sunday there is a free public tour for the next few weeks. Every visit begins with a short audio-visual presentation where the audience can observe active retired printers providing practical demonstrations of machines from the Museum’s collection.

The next Sunday Sketching for 7+ Year olds has the title “City & Country”. No booking necessary. Admission is free and early arrival is recommended.

The lecture “When Art was Political: How the Lockout changed the lives of Constance & Casimir Markievicz & Hugh Lane” with Patrick Quigley, Author will take place. This event is free and open to the public. Early arrival is recommended, places are limited.

Come to the DTI studio for an informal showcase of short works in-progress by up and coming dancers and choreographers Ann-Marie Brennan & Mahmuod Pharaon, Nick Bryson, Kat Doherty, Karen Gleeson, Aliina Lindroos, Catherine O’Reilly, and Aisling Riannon.

The afternoon will feature a wide variety of short works, from aerial acrobatics and traditional Egyptian dance, to contemporary, classical, and vocal pieces. The performances will be followed by a short Q&A session between the choreographers and audience members.

Admission is free (donations are welcome), but booking is required via 01-280 3455

La Cat Explore invites you to V*A*P*I*D, a special Sunday salon of Video Artistic Photographic Imagery Displays; where the videos are anything but vapid. There will be Visual Animated Panoramic Imaginative Diversity and Virtual Alternative Pixellated Innovative Dreams. :-)

Featuring 3D audiovisual-mapping sculptures and kinetic, interactive video installations from media master Jeff O’Riordan, live VJ video-mixing by Marco Gutierrez and a full line-up of film and animation from local and international filmmaking talent.

Admission is free, so you can drop in after your shopping, tune in and chill out for an alternative Christmas vibe. Featuring a fully stocked cafe, La Cat Explore is part of the inhouse-curated programme of the Back Loft in La Catedral Studios.

The wedding and party band The LJJ Band play every Sunday evening in Café en Seine. Admission is free.

Saucy Sundays is a weekly free live music afternoon and evening in the Grand Social. The line-up and links to all bands/performers are available via the Saucy Sundays Facebook Page (see link below). In brief: Silent Noise Parade, CUA, Johnny Stewart, Trampolin Scene, Stephanie Rainey.

The Dublin Blues Cartel will perform in the Live From The Window slot in Whelan’s. Admission is free.

The Gardiner Street Gospel Choir Mass invites to a Mass in St. Francis Xavier Church at the top of Gardiner Street near the junction with Dorset Street every Sunday at 19:30. The Gardiner Street Gospel Choir, one of the best known choirs in Ireland will sing during the mass and everybody is welcome independent from your level of religiousness.

The weekly Sunday Roast is a free event in the Mercantile where live music is combined with free roast potatoes. The line-up for the upcoming Sunday Roast is available via the Sunday Roast Facebook Page (see link below). In brief: The Black Overtones, Sue Callaghan and the Hostages, The Shades, This Place is Death, Tandem Shy,

Every Sunday this singer-songwriter night takes place in the Bleeding Horse in Camden St. from 8.30pm. It is an Open mic night and performers can just turn up and put their name on the list for that night.

The Comedy Crunch is a free Stand Up comedy downstairs in Stag’s Head, Dame Lane from 21:00 every week on Sun+Mon. Every week different comedians entertain and on top of that there is some free ice cream. The line-up can be found via the Comedy Crunch Facebook Page (see link below).

Rogério from the Brazilian dance project “Forró de Lampião” in Dublin tells me: Forró de Lampião is Brazilian music that has the same roots as Samba and there is a whole culture that has developed around “forro”. Every Sunday, free dance classes take place in the Grand Social (new loation!) and if you are interested, just turn up one Sunday.

“Rhythm Rocker at The Globe” is a weekly event on Sunday night in The Globe in Sth Great Georges Street, Dublin 2. It is a Rockabilly, R’n'R, Roots night with alternating (week by week) live bands Pavement Kings, Donna & The Sazzy Catz, The Mosquitoes and The Pacifics from 21:00 and with DJs from 23:00-01:30. Admission is free.

Billy Treacy & The Ha’Penny Heads are playing Ballads, Folk, Trad and Classic Country every Sunday. Featuring Guitar, Mandolin, Fiddle and Banjo.

Every Sunday (except at Bank Holiday weekends), the Ragtime, Roots and Country Blues Band “Cool Hand Dukes” play in the Porterhouse near Grafton Street.

The GloHealth Christmas Wonderland (06 Dec – 12 Jan) is this year’s winter event programme (including ice skating rink) at the RDS. There are lots of activities and for the first time Funderland already starts in December. The most interesting part for me is the Continental Christmas Market and you don’t have to pay to get access to it.

So to summarise that: At the RDS there is Funderland (already!), Santa Christmas Circus, iSkate on Ice, Jingle Town (Grotto), Guy Barrett – Illusionist and Custard Pie (Puppet Theatre) and all these shows or activities require tickets and cost money.

The final component is the traditional continental Christmas Market and admission is free to it.

The film and TV festival “Made in Israel: Film and TV Week” will take place in Cineworld from 04-10 December. Admission to all events is free (but pre-booking is required for two events). At some screenings you will even get Pizza, drinks and various treats. The trailer for the event is here www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p-MqJmXViI

Some of the 18 screenings are followed by talks and discussions:

+ Fri 06 Dec – 10:30: Screening of “Adam Resurrected” followed by a talk by Auschwitz-Birkenau survivor, Mrs. Batsheva Dagan at 12.30 (Registration required via ambassador-sec@dublin.mfa.gov.il

+ Sun 08 Dec – 19:00: Screening of “Cupcakes” followed by a discussion with director Eytan Fox moderated by Zbyszek Zalinski (a must for all Eurovision lovers). Cupcakes and drinks will be provided.

+ Tues 10 Dec – 19:00: Screening of “Shalom Belfast” followed by a panel discussion about the comparisons between the conflict in Northern Ireland and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This discussion will be moderated by Sunday Independent journalist Carol Hunt and will feature the director of Shalom Belfast Eamonn Devlin and other special guests.

There will also be an opportunity to see watch the latest popular Israeli television shows and to vote for your favourite, which will then potentially be screened at a later date on TV3.

All information about the films and the schedule and also about the discussions, can be found in the brochure here (a PDF file) or via the Facebook Page below.

The National Gallery has an extensive programme of free talks, public tours and Art Documentary screenings focusing on highlights of the European and Irish Collection every day of the week. Check their website for details.

Archive at Lunchtime screenings take place Saturdays (Double Bill), Mondays and Wednesdays. The programme is changing weekly now (instead of monthly as in the past). To find out what film(s) will be screened go to www.ifi.ie/whatson/now-showing-coming-soon/ and look for “Archive at Lunchtime” on the right. Admission is free.

You are invited to the Dublin Cycling Campaign Christmas Party with festive drinks, nibbles and raffle to celebrate the end of another year of campaigning on behalf on all cyclists in the city. Admission is free and all are welcome.

To enter the Dublin Cycling Campaign Photo competition send a picture of your favourite cycling moment of 2013 to info@dublincycling.ie and the winner will be announced on Monday.

showbizgeek.com are screening the 90s teen TV series sensation ‘My So Called Life’ on Monday (featuring Clare Danes and Jared Leto). Admission is free, but you can reserve your place via rory@showbizgeek.com

Song Cycle is a weekly Singer/Songriter showcase. The line-up is not always easily findable on the Whelan’s website, but admission is always free.

The Monday Echo is a weekly songwriter and poetry live showcase held on Mondays in the basement of The International Bar. Usually, the show has 3 songwriters and 3 poets who perform for roughly 20 minutes each. Admission is free.
The weekly line-up can be found via the Facebook Page below.

The Comedy Crunch is a free Stand Up comedy event every Sunday and Monday. Every week different comedians entertain and on top of good comedy you will get free ice cream. Admission is free. The line-up can be found via the Comedy Crunch Facebook Page (see link below).

The 4-piece band Loose Trad are performing every Monday in Mother Reilly’s. www.loosetrad.com/ Admission is free.

The GloHealth Christmas Wonderland (06 Dec – 12 Jan) is this year’s winter event programme (including ice skating rink) at the RDS. There are lots of activities and for the first time Funderland already starts in December. The most interesting part for me is the Continental Christmas Market and you don’t have to pay to get access to it.

So to summarise that: At the RDS there is Funderland (already!), Santa Christmas Circus, iSkate on Ice, Jingle Town (Grotto), Guy Barrett – Illusionist and Custard Pie (Puppet Theatre) and all these shows or activities require tickets and cost money.

The final component is the traditional continental Christmas Market and admission is free to it.

The film and TV festival “Made in Israel: Film and TV Week” will take place in Cineworld from 04-10 December. Admission to all events is free (but pre-booking is required for two events). At some screenings you will even get Pizza, drinks and various treats. The trailer for the event is here www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p-MqJmXViI

Some of the 18 screenings are followed by talks and discussions:

+ Fri 06 Dec – 10:30: Screening of “Adam Resurrected” followed by a talk by Auschwitz-Birkenau survivor, Mrs. Batsheva Dagan at 12.30 (Registration required via ambassador-sec@dublin.mfa.gov.il

+ Sun 08 Dec – 19:00: Screening of “Cupcakes” followed by a discussion with director Eytan Fox moderated by Zbyszek Zalinski (a must for all Eurovision lovers). Cupcakes and drinks will be provided.

+ Tues 10 Dec – 19:00: Screening of “Shalom Belfast” followed by a panel discussion about the comparisons between the conflict in Northern Ireland and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This discussion will be moderated by Sunday Independent journalist Carol Hunt and will feature the director of Shalom Belfast Eamonn Devlin and other special guests.

There will also be an opportunity to see watch the latest popular Israeli television shows and to vote for your favourite, which will then potentially be screened at a later date on TV3.

All information about the films and the schedule and also about the discussions, can be found in the brochure here (a PDF file) or via the Facebook Page below.

“These Are a Few of My Favourite Things” is the title of a Walking Tour that Emily Gallagher will on Tuesday now as well. It will be an Alternative Arts and Culture Trail and she will bring you to “Dublin’s Best Cafes, Bars, Markets, Unusual Stores, Galleries, Theatres, Arts Spaces, and more! And hear some tales you’ve never heard before!”

Meeting point is at the Spire. The tours are free but donations are welcome and booking is required via egaldog@gmail.com or 085-2725095

The National Gallery has an extensive programme of free talks, public tours and Art Documentary screenings focusing on highlights of the European and Irish Collection every day of the week. Check their website for details.

The final talk in the Milestones of Medieval Dublin series, organised by the Friends of Medieval Dublin is ’1534: Silken Thomas and the siege of Dublin’ with Professor Steven Ellis. Admission is free and everyone is welcome.

Milk and Cookie Stories is a story telling event for for anyone who has a story to tell, or wants to hear a tale told well, in a relaxed, friendly environment – a place with tea, cushions, cookies and friends. Admission is free, everyone is welcome and stories of all kinds are welcome. If you would like to tell a story, just come along and sign up on the night, or “if you feel inspired to share your own home-baked goods with Dublin’s friendliest audience, we’ll also be having our awesome Bake-Off.” At the December event the theme is “Letters to Santa”. www.facebook.com/events/665055823526137/

The Workmans Den Cinema Club invite to a film screening of “Bad Santa”. Admission is free.

Every Tuesday an informal sing along with Ukulele and Toy Musical Instruments takes place in the Stag’s Head. Just bring your instrument and come along. Beginners are welcome. Admission is free and further details (and a big book of songs) are available on the Facebook Page below. The get-together meets in the “snug” in Stag’s Head.

Ben Prevo & friends play saucy Blues & soul every Tuesday

The weekly “Folk Club” in the Mercantile will feature Trad, Ballads, Americana, Folk, World Music & More. This Tuesday, the line-up is: Tania Notaro Band (jazz / rock / folk). Admission is free.

A Jazz Jam Session at which YOU can participate, will take place on Tuesday. There will be instruments available: drums (no cymbals), double bass, guitar amp, bass amp, keyboard and PA system. If you want to participate let the organiser (Marco Santaroni) know via the Facebook page. Ideas and themes for the session will be proposed to and discussed with the musicians who join the event on facebook.

Admission is free.

The GloHealth Christmas Wonderland (06 Dec – 12 Jan) is this year’s winter event programme (including ice skating rink) at the RDS. There are lots of activities and for the first time Funderland already starts in December. The most interesting part for me is the Continental Christmas Market and you don’t have to pay to get access to it.

So to summarise that: At the RDS there is Funderland (already!), Santa Christmas Circus, iSkate on Ice, Jingle Town (Grotto), Guy Barrett – Illusionist and Custard Pie (Puppet Theatre) and all these shows or activities require tickets and cost money.

The final component is the traditional continental Christmas Market and admission is free to it.

The National Gallery has an extensive programme of free talks, public tours and Art Documentary screenings focusing on highlights of the European and Irish Collection every day of the week. Check their website for details.

The Little Museum of Dublin secured sponsorship from Johnston, Mooney & O’Brien until October 2014 and will therefore be able to continue the Big J Wednesday: Every Wednesday from 12:00-17:00 admission into the museum is free thanks to the bread company. There are free guided tours every hour.

Archive at Lunchtime screenings take place Saturdays (Double Bill), Mondays and Wednesdays. The programme is changing weekly now (instead of monthly as in the past). To find out what film(s) will be screened go to www.ifi.ie/whatson/now-showing-coming-soon/ and look for “Archive at Lunchtime” on the right. Admission is free.

The talk “Lady Arabella Denny and her Connection to the Phoenix Park” with Margaret McGuirk, Head Guide will take place. Admission is free.

The next lecture in the birds and the bees lecture series is called “Honeybees – pollen and honey” with Eamon McGee.
Join well-known beekeeper Eamon McGee as he discusses bees and the role they play in pollination. Hear a brief history of beekeeping, and how to practice the ancient craft of beekeeping.

The “Havana International Language Exchange” is taking place every Wed from 16:30-19:30 in Havana Tapas Bar in George’s Street. There are many Spanish speakers and English-speakers are explicitly invited, but everyone else is certainly very welcome too, to meet for a chat to improve your Spanish or English.

“Eight Easy Pieces: An Evening of Short Talks by Science Gallery Mediators” is a very promising event in the Science Gallery.
If you’ve ever visited a Science Gallery exhibition, then you’ll probably have spoken to the amazing mediators there. The mediators are a team of science fans and students who are knowledgable, patient and love telling you all the details about the exhibition that is running. And this week -for the first time ever – the mediators will present a series of short talks. They will not talk about the current exhibition, but about the science they like to read about and do in their spare time. It’s one hour of fast-paced talks… prepare to learn stuff!

Admission is free, but booking is required via the website below.

The “Seven Deadly Sins” series of business talks will teach you to survive and thrive in the modern business environment. The topic this week is “Presentation Skills”.

And speakers are Rosemary McCabe (journalist and stylist), Rowan Manahan (the Presenter Mentor).

Admission is free, but registration via the website below is required and this series of talks is popular, so don’t wait and register immediately.

This year’s Christmas Concert of the Alliance Francaise Choir will include Christmas Carols in French, Hungarian, Russian and Latin. (Conducted by Lucie O’Flynn.) Admission is free, but booking before 09 Dec is required. Send a mail to rsvp@alliance-francaise.ie with subject “RSVP Choir”.

A series of four concerts of songs based on the child ballad collection will take place. Man, Woman and Child is a research and performance project devised and co-ordinated by Michael Fortune featuring traditional singers. The project is based on The Child Ballad Collection: a collection of traditional songs gathered by the American collector Francis J Child in England and Scotland between 1882 and 1898. Many of the songs, or variants of them, are sung in the Irish tradition. Approximately fifty songs will be performed over four nights along with a comprehensive talk on Child Ballads in Ireland by singer Jerry O’Reilly.

Hear two different singers perform each Wednesday (19:00) evening:
27 Nov: Luke Cheevers and Niamh Parsons.
04 Dec: John and Brigid Tunney
11 Dec: Mick Fowler and Rosie Stewart
18 Dec: Tim Lyons and Aileen Lambert

Thurs 19 Dec at 13:00: Jerry O’Reilly will give a talk on ‘The Early Classic Ballads in the Irish Song tradition’ including archival presentation and songs from the singers who performed at the concerts.

Free. All welcome. No booking required but come early to secure a seat.

Ron Winkler from Berlin and Aifric Mac Aodha from Dublin, both poets, are this year’s participants in the Literary Tandem organised by the Foundation Brandenburg Gate which grants both authors a two-month residency in their respective partner city.

On 11 December Aifric Mac Aodha and Ron Winkler will read from latest works in the “Christmas Chamber” of the Goethe-Institut.

Admission is free.

The King Kong Club is a weekly music game-show in the Mercantile. Each week 6-7 bands/solo artists play three songs each. At the end of all the performances a clap-off with the King Kong Club Clap-o-Meter takes place and the winner goes through to a semi-final and it all culminates after six months of competition with The Grand Final, held in front of a panel of celebrity judges.

The list of performers is not yet announced on their Facebook Page and I am not sure if it will be put up there, but check it anyway.

“The Song Room” is another open mic event. It takes place in The Globe in George’s Street at 20:30 every Wednesday.

“The Zodiac Sessions” is a regular open mic event from 20:30 in Bruxelles (between Grafton Street and Westbury Hotel) for unsigned musicians. Admission is free and there is a different line-up every week.

Bad Boy Jake are every Wednesday in the Gypsy Rose Rock & Blues Bar playing their rock, blues and American.

Traditional Irish Music Session in Hedigan’s (The Brian Boru) in Phibsborough from 21:30 every Wednesday. If you play an instrument you are especially welcome (all levels are welcome).

The first ever Bord Bia Christmas Food Fair will take place in the chq building from 12-15 Dec (Thurs-Sat: 10:00-20:00, Sun: 10:00-18:00). This indoor market will showcase Irish artisan food including Christmas puddings, mulled wine, bakery products, smoked salmon, relishes, preserves and Irish farmhouse cheese. Over forty Irish food producers will participate offering a wide array of tasty Christmas gifts.

The market is completely indoors and it is a perfect use for the pretty but underused chq building. There will also be live music.

While the Bord Bia Christmas Food Fair takes place IN the building, the Docklands’ Christmas Market will take place outside the building at George’s Dock.

The GloHealth Christmas Wonderland (06 Dec – 12 Jan) is this year’s winter event programme (including ice skating rink) at the RDS. There are lots of activities and for the first time Funderland already starts in December. The most interesting part for me is the Continental Christmas Market and you don’t have to pay to get access to it.

So to summarise that: At the RDS there is Funderland (already!), Santa Christmas Circus, iSkate on Ice, Jingle Town (Grotto), Guy Barrett – Illusionist and Custard Pie (Puppet Theatre) and all these shows or activities require tickets and cost money.

The final component is the traditional continental Christmas Market and admission is free to it.

The Christmas Festival in Dun Laoghaire runs from 30 Nov until 01 Jan. There will be a Christmas Market, a.k.a. “Enchanting Christmas Market” ;-) every Thurs-Sun from 11:00-18:00 and at the weekends other events will also take place.

The Ferocious Mingle Marcade (Market and Arcade) is back in a new location. The Marcade is now in Camden Street next to Daintree Paper and opposite the Centra and off-license there. It takes place every Thurs-Sun and is a flea-market-type permanent market with stalls and “chalets” for traders.

BLOCK T, the creative incubator in Smithfield, is the location for the Craft & Design Christmas Pop-up Shop in Smithfield. You will find affordable and unique art, handmade crafts & jewellery, records, posters and many more. The BLOCK T Showroom is just off the Luas track at Smithfield station. It is around the corner from the Shutterbug Vintage Clothes Kilo Sale (on 08 Dec) and as well from the Christmas Cracker Market (13-15 Dec).

The Popo-Up Shop is open every Thursday to Sunday from 07-22 Dec (11:30-18:30 with late opening on Thursday until 20:00)

The National Gallery has an extensive programme of free talks, public tours and Art Documentary screenings focusing on highlights of the European and Irish Collection every day of the week. Check their website for details.

The Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival is with 8 years, the longest established Christmas Market in Dublin, but compare that to the oldest Christmas Market in Germany (in Nuremberg), which is running 374 years now! The Irish Markets are still just tiny babies and a lot of learning and growing up could still be done.

The Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival will run from 12-23 Dec. It was in the past one of the better ones in layout and in the type of stalls/traders there are, but every year the organisers fiddle around with it. Maybe one day they will hit gold. In previous years there was a nice atmosphere and there were even some crafts shops intermixed with soap, flashy T-shirt and plastic goods shops.

11 food stalls and 27 shops stalls (only a small few you can call “craft”) are there this year, but it seems that the layout has been changed completely and the George’s Dock platform is used for a gig marquee this year, called “Festival Lounge”. Until 18:00 you are allowed in for free and some choirs will perform occassionally. In the evening, however, from 20:00-22:00, it will turn into a gig venue and tickets are EUR 8-10. VERY strange for a Christmas Market! So the jury is out about the market this year. We will know more next weekend.

The market will be open every day Mon-Fri 12:00-22:00 and Sat+Sun 10:00-22:00.

The public lecture “No Lipstick or High Heels? Style, Fashion & Politics for Women in the Revolutionary Movement 1900-1923″ with Sinead McCoole, Irish author and historian will take place. Admission is free and no booking required.

A fundraising event for the Dublin Simon Community will take place at the Powerscourt Town House, which will be illuminated with a Light projection show on Thursday. You are asked to come in Christmas jumpers and you are also asked to light them up somehow (safely!).

Actress and Children’s author Pauline McLynn, Television presenter Stephen Byrne, Irish Times journalist Roisín Ingle and Retailer Louis Copeland will design their own Christmas jumper creations, but I am not sure if there is any help for “normal” people.

Entertainment provided is – apart from the Light projection show – a performance from the cast of Annie, by Melaine McCabe and The Lucan Gospel Choir. There will be mulled wine, minced pies and special Christmas shopping stalls.

Admission is free and more details are on the Facebook Page below.

Formal Education is not the only kind of education. At Fhionn’s Afterschool education is boosted through play, sport, arts & activities. On Thursday a free information evening for parents takes place.

Model, parent and columnist Alison Canavan will host the evening. Alison has become an advocate for early childhood learning and development, truly believing the children need to be the focus of our attention now and in the future.

On the evening expect:

Tea & Coffee Reception
The latest in child surveys, parenting tips, Fhionn’s Afterschool official opening and great prizes including a BIKE!
Nutritionist, Emma Buckley, will provide you with time and information on food, portion sizes and tips.
Formative Years Specialist, Aisling Ni Dhoibhilín will chat why play is important for childrenof all ages.

Places are limited so you have to book via Aisling at fhionnsafterschool@gmail.com or call 0857102299

More details are provided on the Facebook Page below.

“These Are a Few of My Favourite Things” is the title of a Walking Tour that Emily Gallagher will run next Thursday. It will be an Alternative Arts and Culture Trail and she will bring you to “Dublin’s Best Cafes, Bars, Markets, Unusual Stores, Galleries, Theatres, Arts Spaces, and more! And hear some tales you’ve never heard before!”

Meeting point is at the Spire. The tours are free but donations are welcome and booking is required via egaldog@gmail.com or 085-2725095

The great guys amd gals behind Picture This! are inviting to their Street Art Exhibition “CREATE II”. It takes place in the pretty coffee house Clement & Pekoe and is a relatively short event, so no “I’ll go tomorrow!”. The exhibiting artists are Jonny Mc Kerr,
Aidan Kelly, Jessica Tobin and Solus Street Art. There will also be a live performance from Boss Level 1 Squad and music will come from Bren and Calzone Kelly.

Admission is free and there will be a complimentary drink. But be aware that the coffee house is not huge and lots of people are expected, so be there with plenty of time!

Dimestore Recordings run a weekly event in Sweeney Mongrel’s, Dame Street (formerly Le Cirk) with a variety of bands and performers. It starts at 20:00, follow the link for the line up.

The 9-piece Cabin Collective from Galway are performing a free gig on Thursday in the Grand Social.

Bad Boy Jake are every Thursday until the end of February in the newly re-opened Rathmines Inn, playing their rock, blues and Americana.

The Max Zaska group and the Patrick Groenland group will perform on alternating Thursdays from 21:00 in the International Bar on 23 Wicklow Street.

Every Thursday “Left Right & Centre” play a mix of blues & soul with a bit of rock&roll.

Every Thursday a free Trad Session takes place in McNeills and often there are high profile Trad musicians performing. Until the end of August, that Thursday Session is part of the Steeple Sessions programme (www.steeplesessions.com )

The next Zebra Club gig will feature Animal Beats and Yellowbridge. Admission is free if you arrive before 22:30.

The first ever Bord Bia Christmas Food Fair will take place in the chq building from 12-15 Dec (Thurs-Sat: 10:00-20:00, Sun: 10:00-18:00). This indoor market will showcase Irish artisan food including Christmas puddings, mulled wine, bakery products, smoked salmon, relishes, preserves and Irish farmhouse cheese. Over forty Irish food producers will participate offering a wide array of tasty Christmas gifts.

The market is completely indoors and it is a perfect use for the pretty but underused chq building. There will also be live music.

While the Bord Bia Christmas Food Fair takes place IN the building, the Docklands’ Christmas Market will take place outside the building at George’s Dock.

The GloHealth Christmas Wonderland (06 Dec – 12 Jan) is this year’s winter event programme (including ice skating rink) at the RDS. There are lots of activities and for the first time Funderland already starts in December. The most interesting part for me is the Continental Christmas Market and you don’t have to pay to get access to it.

So to summarise that: At the RDS there is Funderland (already!), Santa Christmas Circus, iSkate on Ice, Jingle Town (Grotto), Guy Barrett – Illusionist and Custard Pie (Puppet Theatre) and all these shows or activities require tickets and cost money.

The final component is the traditional continental Christmas Market and admission is free to it.

The Christmas Festival in Dun Laoghaire runs from 30 Nov until 01 Jan. There will be a Christmas Market, a.k.a. “Enchanting Christmas Market” ;-) every Thurs-Sun from 11:00-18:00 and at the weekends other events will also take place.

The Ferocious Mingle Marcade (Market and Arcade) is back in a new location. The Marcade is now in Camden Street next to Daintree Paper and opposite the Centra and off-license there. It takes place every Thurs-Sun and is a flea-market-type permanent market with stalls and “chalets” for traders.

BLOCK T, the creative incubator in Smithfield, is the location for the Craft & Design Christmas Pop-up Shop in Smithfield. You will find affordable and unique art, handmade crafts & jewellery, records, posters and many more. The BLOCK T Showroom is just off the Luas track at Smithfield station. It is around the corner from the Shutterbug Vintage Clothes Kilo Sale (on 08 Dec) and as well from the Christmas Cracker Market (13-15 Dec).

The Popo-Up Shop is open every Thursday to Sunday from 07-22 Dec (11:30-18:30 with late opening on Thursday until 20:00)

The National Gallery has an extensive programme of free talks, public tours and Art Documentary screenings focusing on highlights of the European and Irish Collection every day of the week. Check their website for details.

The Dame District Christmas Market will take place every day from Fri 13 – Sun 22 Dec. The market is a row of 24 white plastic tents/marquees down Dame Court with a few lights and a few pine branches for decoraton. Yes, you get it: atmosphere is a problem. But the tents are relatively big so that stalls are of a nice size and there are some interesting traders. Admission is free.

The best about this market is that there will be a free concert every night on the stage and it seems (unconfirmed!) that performers are Hazey Noisy Lake, Bob Gallagher, Nella Dwyer and Alan Star.

Unfortuantely I wasn’t able to find a schedule yet with start times etc for the music performances on the stage.

The Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival is with 8 years, the longest established Christmas Market in Dublin, but compare that to the oldest Christmas Market in Germany (in Nuremberg), which is running 374 years now! The Irish Markets are still just tiny babies and a lot of learning and growing up could still be done.

The Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival will run from 12-23 Dec. It was in the past one of the better ones in layout and in the type of stalls/traders there are, but every year the organisers fiddle around with it. Maybe one day they will hit gold. In previous years there was a nice atmosphere and there were even some crafts shops intermixed with soap, flashy T-shirt and plastic goods shops.

11 food stalls and 27 shops stalls (only a small few you can call “craft”) are there this year, but it seems that the layout has been changed completely and the George’s Dock platform is used for a gig marquee this year, called “Festival Lounge”. Until 18:00 you are allowed in for free and some choirs will perform occassionally. In the evening, however, from 20:00-22:00, it will turn into a gig venue and tickets are EUR 8-10. VERY strange for a Christmas Market! So the jury is out about the market this year. We will know more next weekend.

The market will be open every day Mon-Fri 12:00-22:00 and Sat+Sun 10:00-22:00.

The Dublin Flea & Block T Christmas Cracker Market, Dublin’s Biggest Inddor Christmas Flea Market will take place from Fri 13 – Sun 15 Dec. Over 100 stalls of second-hand, retro, vintage, affordable art, bric-a-brac, music and food. Definitely a market to go to with lots of vary varied stalls. I will be there! ;-)

Admission is free.

The first ever White Lady Art Gallery Christmas Market, with 14 stalls full of hand-made art, crafts and gifts all at affordable prices will take place over three weekends from Fri-Sun. The weekends are 06-08 Dec, 13-15 Dec, 20-22 Dec.

Admission is free.

The Academy Discourse “Can modern biology help in understanding gender conflicts in the 21st century home and workplace?” with Professor Paul Seabright. Admission is free but booking is required.

You are invited to celebrate Christmas in the Gutter Bookshop with mulled wine and mince pies and some Christmas music to get you in the mood for the festive season. Admission is free and everyone is welcome.

Takin’ The Mic Open-Mic Night is an open mic night at the Irish Writers’ Centre, taking place one Friday every month. Writers, spoken-word artists and musicians are all welcome to perform. Names of contributors are taken from 19:00, so arrive early if you want to perform. Admission is free.

Cornucopia Café & Restaurant host live music three evenings a week (Thurs, Fri and Sat). The restaurant is a Wholefood & Vegetarian Restaurant and is open until 22:15.
+ Every second Thursday N.C Lawlor, a songwriter, session player and troubadour plays a mix of country, bluegrass & blues from 19:30-21:30.
+ Every Friday (19:30-21:30) Junshi Murakami plays Irish Harp.
+ Every Saturday (19:30-21:30) Nollaig Mann plays a collection of popular and jazz classics.

The Dublin Sidewalk Astronomers meet at the Martello Tower car park in Sandymount for a public star-gazing. Members bring along their telescopes and share the wonders of the night-sky with you. Admission is free.

“Dublin Tribal Spirit” is a weekly event that gives you the great experience of a drumming circle with african drums and authentic tribal rhythms. Tom and Sinead, who run that event are providing lots of drums for it and teach you the rhythms.

There is no formal admission charge for this event, but donations are expected. The organisers bring their own 20-30 drums to it every week, so they are looking for donations to keep the event going.

“Pizza & champagne” – A collection of works by Dope & Sinead Bailey Kelly is an exhibition that takes place on Friday evening.

Pizza & Champagne is an odd combination of culinary tastes and a contradiction in styles, but why not! If you like it, enjoy it the way you want it. This translates into art. The exhibition will dismantle ideals of artistic exclusivity because art is not made by artists, but is made by people. This show will bring you art made by people for people.

Dope’s work is bold, mixing up loud colors, textures, patterns and playing with experimental typography.
Sinead Bailey Kelly’s work is a collection of majestic creatures; she paints friends, faces of inspiration and soul mates in watercolors. Music will be provided by Frank B and by Together Disco at the after-party.

Admission is free. The event is not yet on the Facebook Page below, but I am sure it will be added soon.

Shouting at Planes are performing in Whelan’s on Friday. Admission is free.

The Stillorgan Orchard has live music every Friday and Saturday. Many of the performers are established and very good bands. The upcoming gigs are detailed on the website below. Admission is always free.