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.

Every May the Bealtaine Festival takes place all over Ireland and it “Celebrates arts and creativity as we age”.

This is a difficult description as everybody ages and therefore the tagline doesn’t make THAT much sense. In essence, the organisers “Age & Opportunity” actually want to address the “older age”. Ok, that helps a little, but not too much either as nobody still really knows what the target age is. In previous years, a guidance of 55+ was given but that has disappeared and in all honesty most 55-60 year olds wouldn’t be close to insulted if they were classified as “older age”. ;-)

So where does that leave us? We don’t know really know!! So I guess if you feel older, this festival is for you and if you don’t, then the festival is not for you. ;-) I hope that explanation helps a little.

There will be many events throughout May and a good few of them are free. The website has a good enough search facility, although I never understand why event organisers subdivide Dublin into four or five “territories”. You can see the full programme here but I will also never understand why organisers will not make programmes downloadable.

To find events go to the WHAT’S ON page on the website.

In “Dublin City” there are approx. 72 events, but as I said, not all are free. Oddly, the events are sorted in reverse order, starting with the 30 May. Talk about confusing “older” users!?

Over the coming weeks, I will include a number of free Bealtaine events in the Dublin Event Guide for Free Events, but I won’t be able to include all events, so please check the Bealtaine website here: www.bealtaine.ie

The Pembroke Square at the Dundrum “Town Centre” Shopping Complex will host a 3×3 hoops Basketball competition. Unfortuantely I wasn’t able to find out until when the competition runs. Some further details about the event can be found via the link below.

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.

A whole range of Parkruns take place every week (and if you know some more, please tell me):
+ Malahide Park, Dublin Road, Malahide, Co. Dublin
+ Cabinteely Park, Old Bray Road, Cabinteely, Dublin 18
+ Shanganagh Park, Shankill, Co. Dublin
+ Marlay Park, Grange Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin, Co. Dublin
+ St. Anne’s Park, Raheny, Dublin 5
+ Father Collins Park, Donaghmeade/Clongriffin, Dublin 13
+ Tymon Park, Tallaght, Dublin 24
+ Bushy Park, Terenure, Dublin 6
+ Corcagh Park, Clondalkin, Dublin 22
+ Tolka Valley Park, Finglas South, Dublin 11
+ Porterstown Park, Castleknock, Dublin 15

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 Green Door Market is a new indoor food/Farmer’s Market that takes place just a few doors down from the Dublin Food Co-op at Newmarket in Dublin 8. Admission is free.

Opening hours are Thu-Fri 12:00-19:00 and Sat 09:30-16:00.

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.

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 Love Your Home Show/Expo is an established event in Belfast, but will happen for the first time in Dublin this weekend (saturday + Sunday).

Over 160 exhibitors will sell products and help with advice, ideas and inspiration for your home and there will also be a Artists & Makers Village and food stalls.

Admission is free if you register via the link on the Facebook Event Page.

The County Council Market (CoCo) in Marlay Park is taking place every Saturday and Sunday. You will find a wide range of products. There will be food to eat there and food to cook at home but also crafts and arts and books and lots more.

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 Terenure Bushy Park Market is taking place every weekk. The market has more than 30 stalls, offering a whole variety of foods and crafts.

Admission is free.

Dublin City Hall has a museum/exhibition in the basement, called “The Story of the Capital”, it is an exhibition that you should definitely check out at some stage.

To celebrate the Easter Rising Anniversary, admission to that exhibititon was free in 2016, but lucky for us, Dublin City decided to also waive the admission charge for 2018.

Opening hours are Monday-Saturday 10:00-17:15.

Áras an Uachtaráin is the residence of the President of Ireland in the middle of Phoenix Park. It started as a modest brick house for the Phoenix Park Chief Ranger in 1751, was then turned into th ‘occasional residence’ for the Lords-Lieutenant and gradually evolved into a huge mansion. After Ireland gained independence it was turned after 1937 into the residence of the Irish president.

Every Saturday a number of public tours take place and admission is free. Tickets will be issued at the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre on the day, on a first come, first served basis. Group and/or advance booking is not possible.

The tours will be at 10:15, 11:30, 12:45, 14:00 and 15:15 and take approx. 1 hour.

The Drumcondra Village Market is now the “Art, Bites, Crafts Drumcondra Market”. And as you guessed it, it is an arts and crafts fair in the centre of Drumcondra. :-) There will also be some food and music.

The market is open on Saturday and Sunday from 10:30-15:30.

Admission is free.

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.

Six times this year the “People’s Art 2018″ exhibition will take place. 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 and you will be able to admire (and buy) a huge amount of great art works from the artists themselves. The event starts close to 11:00 and typically finishes around 17:00, it runs from Friday until Sunday with the main activity on Saturday and Sunday.

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!

Explore the weird and wonderful diversity of insects and minibeasts living in and around the pond at the National Botanic Gardens. Perfect your technique with guidance from the experts and learn how to identify the amazing creatures you have captured. Once you have discovered the hidden pond life you will never look at ponds the same way again!
This workshop is suitable for children age 8 and upwards.

Admission is free, but booking is required via 01 804 0319. Meet at the Visitor Centre. Organised with the Irish Wildlife Trust.

This is one of these events that have sooooo much potential but is badly promoted and seemingly managed. Imagine, the only reference to what is happening and a schedule is a picture on the Facebook Page of Waterways Ireland. There is not even a Facebook Event Page (it would have taken 10 minutes to set it up!!) Odd if the website of a TD from the area is the place where you find the only readable version of the programme: www.eoghanmurphy.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Porto-harbour.pdf

Waterways Ireland will run their yearly Dublin Rally and last year or for the last TWO years the Canalaphonic festival happened at this weekend. This year it is a very poor cousin of the great Canalaphonic Festival. There will be some Rathimnes Library events on Saturday and some walks, boat trips on the barge Dubh Linn and a Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) demonstration and trial opportunities.

On Sunday talks and demonstrations about biodiversity and recycling will happen. In addition there is kids storytelling and music on the Cadhla Canal Boat, SUP Lessons, barge trips and face painting, No word of music for either day and it is not certain either if there will be any food stalls or,

“The Secret Life of Birds with BirdWatch Ireland” is a Drop-in Activity in the Natural History Museum on Saturday.

Drop into the Discovery Zone and meet the team from Birdwatch Ireland. During this hands-on session, learn about the dawn chorus and why it is such an important time of year for all the different birds living in Ireland.

Admission is free. Suitable for all ages.

The National Gallery has an extensive programme of free talks, public tours and Art Documentary screenings every day of the week. Currently there is at least one free tour every day. Check their website for details. Some special events will be listed separately.

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

“Shop Story Time” in the Gallery Shop is a themed story time once a month for children aged 5+. Professional story teller Ruth Concannon will lead the session which will then be followed by some colouring in! The theme for May is ‘Colours and Seasons’.

For more information call 01 6633518 or email shop@ngi.ie

Admission is free.

The current exhibition in the Science Gallery is called “FAKE” and it will run from 08 March until 03 June.

The exhibition is looking at everything Fake from fake meat and fake cheese to fake emotions. In both the natural world and human society, faking, mimicking and copying can be a reliable strategy for success, a fake may be just as valuable as the real thing. But what about replicating taste, emotions, chemical signatures, facts and trademarks? When is authenticity essential and when is copying cool?

Some of the most interesting exhibits are:

+ synthHAsizer will let you record your own fake laugh and use sonic filters to remix it from fake to real.
+ Mississippi Swan: Daybew! will create fake music: A new album of songs every fifteen minutes or around 700 unique songs every day. You can trigger the creation of a unique album at any time.
+ Altered historic figures from the Daily Herald show the beginning of fake news
+ There is even a deli where you can buy fake food samples for EUR 2. For example they have fake cheese, fake meat or “Dubliner Red Cheddar” cheese that is neither manufactured in Dublin nor is it Red Cheddar, it is coloured white cheddar manufactured in Cork.

The website below lists all exhibits and provides some explanation so that you can either before or after your visit check further details.

All Science Gallery exhibitions are suitable for ALL ages, even younger children will be able to take part/follow. Some of the exhibits need a bit more of an age-appropriate explanation for younger kids than others, but nearly everything can be simplified for kids.

I strongly suggest to use the help of the amazing mediators, who can explain everything you see, especially if you don’t want to read all the explanations that are next to every exhibit.

The Science Gallery has very visitor friendly opening hours of Tue-Fri 12:00-20:00 and 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. Grand Social’s Bar and Gourmet Coffee options are available.

This is a celebration of the Buckfast drink and the Bernard Shaw pub will have Buckfast inspired food (Buckfast 99 ice creams, Buckfast Chicken Lunch), a Buckfast beer, a Buckfast Quiz and Djs.

Admission is free.

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.

Fibromyalgia Support Ireland run a support, advice and advocacy group for sufferers of Fibromyalgia and they are inviting you to a Fibromyalgia Awareness Day on Saturday. There will be guest speakers, raffles, music, fun and more.

Admission is free.

Come to explore the Library’s rich architectural history and heritage. The tour begins in the main hall of the Library and includes a visit to the Library’s iconic reading room.

Admission is free.

Every Saturday a free guided tour will take place in the Chester Betty Library. The tour starts at 14:00.

In addition there is another free tour every Wednesday at 13:00 and one on Sundays at 15:00

The Bealtaine Film Screening of “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” will take place in the CBL.

During the period of strong racial tensions across the USA happy go lucky Joanna brings her new fiancé (Sidney Poitier) to meet her family. Despite being a charming and highly successful doctor, the family’s attitudes are challenged with his age, race and being a widower. (1967, PG (108 min)).

Admission is free.

The Silk Road was an ancient network of trade routes that wound through China to the Mediterranean Sea. Though silk was the major trade item, many other plant-derived goods were exported along this route, such as cotton and wine. Hear the fascinating tales surrounding the uses and folklore of these plants while also catching some of our most beautiful Chinese plants at their best.

Admission is free. Meet in the Visitor Centre.

Father and son team Ian and Liam Ledger both serve on the Northern Committee of the Dahlia Society in the UK. Both are also qualifed judges of the dahlia, border carnation and garden pinks judging at UK local and national level and Ian is also a member of the National Executive Council of the Dahlia Society. Their main growing interest in dahlias are giant decoratives and miniature cactus/semi-cactus, also dabbling with pompoms, waterlilies and collarette dahlias. Like many growers they diversified into different plants, including border carnations, garden pinks and gladioli.

Admission is free.

I have no clue what the headline or the event description means, but my guess is that it is the History & Heritage Tour in Irish Language: Turas Poiblí: Stair agus Oidhreacht na Leabharlainne Náisiúnta

Find the description on the website below (also in Irish).

Admission is free.

Dublin Community Supported Agriculture (Dublin CSA) is inviting to a Pot Luck event, where you bring a dish and get a (random) dish. You will also lean about getting local food with zero waste and you will meet a community of like minded people.

Admission is free.

Joe’s Garage will play Alternative Rock, Grunge and 90s at this gig.

Admission is free.

Since Ireland made it to the final for the first time since 2013, maybe there will be a huge appetite for the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night.

It seems that the songs are getting better if easy-listening pop is what you describe as good. But there are definitely less “weird” songs that we don’t understand because they are from another culture. So now it is all more or less the same with some exceptions.

The chances were very low that the Irish entry will win, but I heard that they have increases now. Let’s just hope for Ireland’s sake that he won’t win because the cost of running this event are HUGE,

The final starts at 20:00 and will take at least 2 hours. 26 songs will be performed and then there is the “douze points” voting procedure afterwards.

RTE2 will broadcast the event.

Marcus Woods will play a hip hop DJ Set that is based on a Japanese concept and is released through District Records. He will be supported by live performers FYNCH, Arbu and Sick Nanley & Jake Hurley.

Admission is free.

Farah Elle is a songwriter with an alternative pop sound influenced by anything from hiphop to R&B and ska, while featuring Arabian echoes from her Libyan background.

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.

The Rockets are playing 50s Rock n Roll at this gig in Bray.

Admission is free.

Shakalak is playing a gig in Whelan’s on Saturday.

Admission is free before 22:30.

Revolver is playing in the Saturday night slot in the Porterhouse Temple Bar.

Admission is free.

In addition to the Saturday Car Boot Sale in Tallaght, Irish Car Boot Sales run a weekly Sunday Car Boot Sales in Ballymun.

Admission for buyers is free.

Every May the Bealtaine Festival takes place all over Ireland and it “Celebrates arts and creativity as we age”.

This is a difficult description as everybody ages and therefore the tagline doesn’t make THAT much sense. In essence, the organisers “Age & Opportunity” actually want to address the “older age”. Ok, that helps a little, but not too much either as nobody still really knows what the target age is. In previous years, a guidance of 55+ was given but that has disappeared and in all honesty most 55-60 year olds wouldn’t be close to insulted if they were classified as “older age”. ;-)

So where does that leave us? We don’t know really know!! So I guess if you feel older, this festival is for you and if you don’t, then the festival is not for you. ;-) I hope that explanation helps a little.

There will be many events throughout May and a good few of them are free. The website has a good enough search facility, although I never understand why event organisers subdivide Dublin into four or five “territories”. You can see the full programme here but I will also never understand why organisers will not make programmes downloadable.

To find events go to the WHAT’S ON page on the website.

In “Dublin City” there are approx. 72 events, but as I said, not all are free. Oddly, the events are sorted in reverse order, starting with the 30 May. Talk about confusing “older” users!?

Over the coming weeks, I will include a number of free Bealtaine events in the Dublin Event Guide for Free Events, but I won’t be able to include all events, so please check the Bealtaine website here: www.bealtaine.ie

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.

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 Love Your Home Show/Expo is an established event in Belfast, but will happen for the first time in Dublin this weekend (saturday + Sunday).

Over 160 exhibitors will sell products and help with advice, ideas and inspiration for your home and there will also be a Artists & Makers Village and food stalls.

Admission is free if you register via the link on the Facebook Event Page.

The Magazine Fort in Phoenix Park was for a long time completely neglected, but it is hugely rich in history. Many have seen it as a barred off concrete fortress in a corner of Phoenix Park and even more don’t even know or have forgotten that it exists. The old Phoenix House, the home of the British Viceroy, was on the site where the fort was built from the early 17th century and then in 1734 the Fort was built and extended in 1801.

In 1916 the Fort was raided by the rebels who expected to find a lot of explosives there, but found the Fort nearly empty. In 1939 the IRA raided the Fort and stole more than a million rounds of ammunition, but most of it was recovered over the following weeks.

Since 1988, the Irish Army doesn’t use the Fort anymore and gave it back to the Office of Public Works (OPW), but not much good has happened to the Fort in the last 30 years (!!) and there were numerous speculations about the reasons for that.

Finally since 2016, guided tours are provided and this year from April until end of October there will be three tours every Sunday at 10:00, 12:00 and 14:00. Only 20 places are available on each tour and if there is a big event in Phoenix Park the tour will be cancelled.

Tickets are available at the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre on a first come, first served basis and can not be pre-booked. A shuttle bus will bring the ticket holders to the Fort.

The County Council Market (CoCo) in Marlay Park is taking place every Saturday and Sunday. You will find a wide range of products. There will be food to eat there and food to cook at home but also crafts and arts and books and lots more.

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.

“Nature Detectives” is the workshop that is organised by the Children’s’ Nature Charity OWLS on Sunday.

The event is upported by Dublin City Council and is therefore free.

Put your detective hat on as we go for a wander around the park looking for clues as to who has been feeding on what! Can we work out the food chains that are living in the park without seeing all the animals in it?!

Admission is free, but booking is required via an e-mail to “”Turtle” at education@owls.ie

The Drumcondra Village Market is now the “Art, Bites, Crafts Drumcondra Market”. And as you guessed it, it is an arts and crafts fair in the centre of Drumcondra. :-) There will also be some food and music.

The market is open on Saturday and Sunday from 10:30-15:30.

Admission is free.

Kids Guide Dublin is inviting to their second (and last) Kids Guide Summer Camp Fair in 2018.

Come to this event and find out about all the great summer camps for your kids in 2018. Summer camps for the age category 4-16 will be featured.

Over 50 Summer Camp organisers will showcase their programmes, so you should definitely find something suitable for children and you can book it immediately at the event. Camps for Sports, Art, Music, Kayaking, Languages, Animals, Academic, Legos, Coding and more will be available. And while you are checking out the summer camp options, your kids can have some fun in the Kids’ area.

Admission to the event is free, but the organisers recommend that you register via the link below, That way you will have a chance to win one of several prizes, like free camps for the kids and prizes for mum and dad!

More info can be found at www.kidsguide.ie/summer-camp-fair
and on the Facebook Page here www.facebook.com/events/706531032838104/

and to register, go to the Eventbrite page via the link below the banner.

The National Botanic Gardens run “Kids Drop by Activities” on Sunday.

There will be fun activities in the dedicated Children’s Garden. Sow seeds, make seed bombs, design bug hotels and re-use everyday items to create your own piece of eco art. Suitable from age 4. All children must bring their own grown up.

The event times are: 11:00, 11:30, 15:00, 15:30

Admission is free.

Every Sunday (with a few exceptions) an art workshop takes place for children from 6-11 years of age. Admission is free and children must be accompanied by an adult.

The theme this week is “Music with Tanya”.

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 at Newmarket Square and it will possibly be the last Sunday Fusion Market at this great location, so don’t miss it!

It is a world culture market, an ethnic Bazaar, that focuses on the diverse ethnic culture present in Ireland today. The Market features a huge array of International stalls, ethnic food, live music and entertainment for kids. You can buy handmade goods, arts and crafts, recycled products, jewellery, clothes and food. The market is held every second Sunday of the month.

There is always a great atmosphere and I definitely recommend this monthly market.

Admission is free.

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.

Six times this year the “People’s Art 2018″ exhibition will take place. 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 and you will be able to admire (and buy) a huge amount of great art works from the artists themselves. The event starts close to 11:00 and typically finishes around 17:00, it runs from Friday until Sunday with the main activity on Saturday and Sunday.

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!

This is one of these events that have sooooo much potential but is badly promoted and seemingly managed. Imagine, the only reference to what is happening and a schedule is a picture on the Facebook Page of Waterways Ireland. There is not even a Facebook Event Page (it would have taken 10 minutes to set it up!!) Odd if the website of a TD from the area is the place where you find the only readable version of the programme: www.eoghanmurphy.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Porto-harbour.pdf

Waterways Ireland will run their yearly Dublin Rally and last year or for the last TWO years the Canalaphonic festival happened at this weekend. This year it is a very poor cousin of the great Canalaphonic Festival. There will be some Rathimnes Library events on Saturday and some walks, boat trips on the barge Dubh Linn and a Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) demonstration and trial opportunities.

On Sunday talks and demonstrations about biodiversity and recycling will happen. In addition there is kids storytelling and music on the Cadhla Canal Boat, SUP Lessons, barge trips and face painting, No word of music for either day and it is not certain either if there will be any food stalls or,

This Drop-in family session is entitled “Share your garden” and will happen in the Maples and Calder Creative Space.

Admission is free.

Looking at gardens in the collection, artist Serena Alberigo will encourage participants to create a ‘jigsaw piece’ of garden, so that everyone can contribute to a huge garden in the Gallery. These art-making workshops take place every Sunday and are an opportunity for children and their parents/guardians/carers to work together on creative projects. Drop-in and stay for as long (or as little!) as you wish! Suitable for children of all ages.

The National Gallery has an extensive programme of free talks, public tours and Art Documentary screenings every day of the week. Currently there is at least one free tour every day. Check their website for details. Some special events will be listed separately.

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

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.

This event is a dog walk at Sandymount Strand (but you are also welcome if you do not have a dog!) in support of “Together for Yes”. Meeting point is the car park north of the Martello Tower.) The event might ot take place if the weather is bad, so check on the Facebook Page below if it will happen.

Admission is free.

The current exhibition in the Science Gallery is called “FAKE” and it will run from 08 March until 03 June.

The exhibition is looking at everything Fake from fake meat and fake cheese to fake emotions. In both the natural world and human society, faking, mimicking and copying can be a reliable strategy for success, a fake may be just as valuable as the real thing. But what about replicating taste, emotions, chemical signatures, facts and trademarks? When is authenticity essential and when is copying cool?

Some of the most interesting exhibits are:

+ synthHAsizer will let you record your own fake laugh and use sonic filters to remix it from fake to real.
+ Mississippi Swan: Daybew! will create fake music: A new album of songs every fifteen minutes or around 700 unique songs every day. You can trigger the creation of a unique album at any time.
+ Altered historic figures from the Daily Herald show the beginning of fake news
+ There is even a deli where you can buy fake food samples for EUR 2. For example they have fake cheese, fake meat or “Dubliner Red Cheddar” cheese that is neither manufactured in Dublin nor is it Red Cheddar, it is coloured white cheddar manufactured in Cork.

The website below lists all exhibits and provides some explanation so that you can either before or after your visit check further details.

All Science Gallery exhibitions are suitable for ALL ages, even younger children will be able to take part/follow. Some of the exhibits need a bit more of an age-appropriate explanation for younger kids than others, but nearly everything can be simplified for kids.

I strongly suggest to use the help of the amazing mediators, who can explain everything you see, especially if you don’t want to read all the explanations that are next to every exhibit.

The Science Gallery has very visitor friendly opening hours of Tue-Fri 12:00-20:00 and Sat+Sun 12:00-18:00.

Admission is free.

Every Sunday, the National Botanic Gardens invite to two guided walks. The first one is at 12:00 and the second one at 14:30.

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 feature Elisaveta Blumina on piano performing her programme “Levant Without Borders”. For more details see the website below.

This Family Tour is specially designed for children and their guardians, parents and carers to make the works on display in the National Gallery fun and engaging for kids.

Admission is free. Meet at the Merrion Square information desk.

At the Baldoyle Mayfest there will be Live Music & Dance, Entertainment, Bouncy Castles, Crazy Golf, Tug-of-War and Art in the Park. It is a Family Fun Day and admission is free.

The “Dublin Sketchers” is an informal group of (hobby) artists who go somewhere different in Dublin every Sunday (e.g. National Museum, Maritime Museum, Dublin Flea Market, Farmleigh, Botanic Gardens, Dublin Castle, Science Gallery, …), 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 below or on their Facebook Page 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!

The Irish Museum of Moden Art is running an “EXPLORER Family Workshop” for the whole family. Get creative together as a family, explore artworks with IMMA staff and enjoy a hands-on workshop in the galleries.

Admission is free.

Every Sunday a free tour takes place in the Hugh Lane Gallery.

Admission is free and booking is not required, but places are limited, so early arrival is recommended.

Ain’t Saint John will be performing in the Courtyard of the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre. They are a five-piece folk / chamber-pop act and their music features lyrics and imagery inspired by the natural world.

Admission is free.

On Sunday the film “Oliver” from 1968 will be screened in the Chester Beatty Library.

The boy who wanted more is brought to life in this multi-Oscar-winning version of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. Sing along with classic like ‘Food Glorious Food’, ‘Consider Yourself’ and ‘You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two’. (1968, G (153 min)).

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

Sunday Sketching for the whole family takes place every Sunday in the Hugh Lane Gallery and admission is free.

Families are invited to explore and respond together the gallery’s collection and temporary exhibitions through discussion and drawing. Bring your own sketchbook along or use the drawing materials provided.

Admission is free and no booking required, although numbers may be limited. Suited for ages 6+.

Every Sunday a free guided tour will take place in the Chester Betty Library. The tour starts at 15:00.

In addition there is another free tour every Wednesday at 13:00 and one on Saturdays at 14:00

The event “Hands on History: School days” is a drop-in handling session with Museum educators. It is suitable for all ages. Using the Museum’s collection of objects for handling, you will explore and learn about the history of education and discover key objects used in the classroom during specific time periods.

Admission is free.

“The making of the Tenement Museum on Dublin’s Henrietta Street” is a talk in the Lecture Theatre of the National Gallery. Join Charles Duggan, Dublin City Council, as he shares stories about the making of the new Tenement Museum on Henrietta Street, Dublin.

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.

In addition to the Sunday at Noon concert, there is a Sunday at Three concert this week. It will feature Lina Andonovska on flute and Alex Rainieri on piano. Find more details on the website below.

Admission is free.

Travel around European traditional dancing culture without a ticket at the weekly Bal Folk Dance Sessions.

And if you don’t know how to dance, don’t worry! Workshops are provided and admission is free. Donations are appreciated.

This week the Bal Folk event will take place in St Stephen’s Green in the Pavilion, that’s the little house next to the lake. The theme will be “Bulgarian Folk Dances“.

Dr. Alan Tuffery will give a presentation on ‘Evolution and Humanism’ at the next meeting of the Humanist Association of Ireland.

Admission is free.

The High Leeson is a Bluegrass band that plays every Sunday in the Leeson Longe.

Admission is free, donations are appreciated.

The Dixeland Jazzmen play a weekly gig in Sin E. Admission is free.

At the Jawbone Gig night in Arthur’s Pub, Acoustic Folk & Blues will be performed every Sunday. Admission is free.

www.facebook.com/pages/Jawbone-Dublin-Acoustic-Folk-Blues-Commune/724102984268967

“The 8th is Bollocks” is a fundraising night organised by Men For Repeal with a whole range or performers:

Gavin Glass, Pine the Pilcrow, For Foresters, Markas Carcas and the Trail Gang, Mongrel State, Tadgh, Aaron Smyth, JaXson, Chancer, Rob Walsh and the Panik Attaks, Baba

Admission is free, but a donation of EUR 5 is suggested.

The Gardiner Street Gospel Choir sings every Sunday from September to June at their “Gig in God’s Gaff”, a Mass in St. Francis Xavier Church at the top of Gardiner Street near the junction with Dorset Street.

The Gardiner Street Gospel Choir, one of the best known gospel choirs in Ireland will give you a chance to experience a mass with a difference. It is uplifting and inspiring and everybody is welcome independent from your level of religiousness or your relationship with the Catholic Church in other contexts.

Disclaimer: I am involved with the Gardiner Street Gospel Choir, so the description above MIGHT not be totally unbiased. But just take it from me, they are brilliant! ;-)

Pete Cummins, Grammy award winning songwriter will play a gig in the Leeson Lounge.

Admission is free.

The Comedy Crunch is a free Stand Up comedy downstairs in Stag’s Head, Dame Lane from 21:00 every week on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. 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).

The Square Pegs will play Goodtime Blues in Bray at this gig.

Admission is free.

The Dublin Blues Cartel will be in Whelan’s again and will perform mostly a version of New Orleans R’n’B with a classic Rock twist, sandwiched with Swing, Rock’n’Roll, Soul, Funk, Blues and Rap of all eras.

Admission is free.

Every May the Bealtaine Festival takes place all over Ireland and it “Celebrates arts and creativity as we age”.

This is a difficult description as everybody ages and therefore the tagline doesn’t make THAT much sense. In essence, the organisers “Age & Opportunity” actually want to address the “older age”. Ok, that helps a little, but not too much either as nobody still really knows what the target age is. In previous years, a guidance of 55+ was given but that has disappeared and in all honesty most 55-60 year olds wouldn’t be close to insulted if they were classified as “older age”. ;-)

So where does that leave us? We don’t know really know!! So I guess if you feel older, this festival is for you and if you don’t, then the festival is not for you. ;-) I hope that explanation helps a little.

There will be many events throughout May and a good few of them are free. The website has a good enough search facility, although I never understand why event organisers subdivide Dublin into four or five “territories”. You can see the full programme here but I will also never understand why organisers will not make programmes downloadable.

To find events go to the WHAT’S ON page on the website.

In “Dublin City” there are approx. 72 events, but as I said, not all are free. Oddly, the events are sorted in reverse order, starting with the 30 May. Talk about confusing “older” users!?

Over the coming weeks, I will include a number of free Bealtaine events in the Dublin Event Guide for Free Events, but I won’t be able to include all events, so please check the Bealtaine website here: www.bealtaine.ie

“Who needs your Yes?” is a Referendum Event organised by the National Women’s Council of Ireland.

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

“Forgotten Voices” is a 2-hour walking tour that will explore the lives of the people who lived in Dublin’s inner city from the Georgian Period to the middle of the last century.

Meeting point is at the entrance of the Four Courts Dublin. The tour is free but donations are welcome and booking is required via email to forgottenvoiceswalkingtour@gmail.com or – if you can’t book beforehand – just show up on the day.

Private group bookings off up to 25 people can be accommodated at a different time and or day on request.

The National Gallery has an extensive programme of free talks, public tours and Art Documentary screenings every day of the week. Currently there is at least one free tour every day. Check their website for details. Some special events will be listed separately.

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

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.

This is a Sean-Nós singing workshop with Antaine Ó Faracháin. It is a bilingual (Irish/English) workshop and is suitable for all levels from complete beginner to experienced.

Admission is free, but booking is required via 01 8734333

If you regularly or occasionally buy books online, you can help the Dublin Event Guide hugely even without having to pay cent directly. In fact you even save money this way:

Buy your books from The Book Depository and get better prices and free (!!) delivery for all orders independent from the volume and when you click on the picture here before you buy, then 5% of what normally The Book Depository would get, they give back to the Dublin Event Guide. Everybody wins!

www.bookdepository.com?a_aid=dubevg

If you prefer Amazon to buy your books (for free postage you need to order a minimum of GBP 25), then use this Amazon link to help the Dublin Event Guide. Thanks!

The New parents’ tours are for parents, guardians and carers of young children and will focus on a selection of highlights in the permanent collection. The aim is to welcome families and visitors of all ages and encourage them to feel comfortable in the Gallery rooms. The route is suitable for prams and strollers, and all are welcome.

Admission is free.

Song Cycle is a weekly Singer/Songriter showcase in Wheelan’s.

Admission is free.

The Circle Sessions is an “Open Mic” that provides an opportunity for up and coming musicians, spoken word artists, poets and comedians to perform.

Come to this weekly show to perform or to simply watch a great mix of music, poetry, spoken word and comedy.

Admission is free.

Every Monday a Jazz Jam Session will take place in the Grand Social and you are invited to listen or even to participate. Admission is free for musicians and audience.

Instruments are supplied (drums (no cymbals), double bass, guitar amp, bass amp, PA system) and ideas and themes will be proposed prior to the session to the musicians who join the event on Facebook (see Facebook Page below).

Every Monday the Woolshed Bar hosts “The Comedy Shed”, usually with 3 headline acts.

Admission is free.

The Comedy Crunch is a free Stand Up comedy event every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. 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).

An Open Trad Music Session is taking place every Monday in Mother Reilly’s. Admission is free.

That’s It Recordings is an open mic every Monday at Sin E. Just turn up and play. Sign up before 22:00 to ensure you get a slot. Bring a USB stick along and you will get a recording of your music to take home.

Admission is free.

Every May the Bealtaine Festival takes place all over Ireland and it “Celebrates arts and creativity as we age”.

This is a difficult description as everybody ages and therefore the tagline doesn’t make THAT much sense. In essence, the organisers “Age & Opportunity” actually want to address the “older age”. Ok, that helps a little, but not too much either as nobody still really knows what the target age is. In previous years, a guidance of 55+ was given but that has disappeared and in all honesty most 55-60 year olds wouldn’t be close to insulted if they were classified as “older age”. ;-)

So where does that leave us? We don’t know really know!! So I guess if you feel older, this festival is for you and if you don’t, then the festival is not for you. ;-) I hope that explanation helps a little.

There will be many events throughout May and a good few of them are free. The website has a good enough search facility, although I never understand why event organisers subdivide Dublin into four or five “territories”. You can see the full programme here but I will also never understand why organisers will not make programmes downloadable.

To find events go to the WHAT’S ON page on the website.

In “Dublin City” there are approx. 72 events, but as I said, not all are free. Oddly, the events are sorted in reverse order, starting with the 30 May. Talk about confusing “older” users!?

Over the coming weeks, I will include a number of free Bealtaine events in the Dublin Event Guide for Free Events, but I won’t be able to include all events, so please check the Bealtaine website here: www.bealtaine.ie

The National Gallery has an extensive programme of free talks, public tours and Art Documentary screenings every day of the week. Currently there is at least one free tour every day. Check their website for details. Some special events will be listed separately.

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

The Pop- UP Art Talk “The Doge wedding the Adriatic” will take place in Room 45 of the National Gallery. Gráinne Finn will talk about this painting by Francesco Guardi.

Admission is free.

The talk “How to Choose a Career Path when you are Multi Talented.” in the Business Information Centre, of the Central Library with Maite Lopez (Career Change and Pathfinding Coach) will assist with “Finding Your Own Career Path and Exploring Your Potential”.

Admission is free.

Let’s get Talking Mental Health with Angela Amirault (Psychologist and Counsellor) will be a talk about how you can be happier in your life (once you realise the only person you can change is yourself).

The event will take place on
Tuesday 15 May in Ballyfermot Library at 10:30 Phone 01-6269324
Monday 14 May in Walkinstown Library at 18:00 Phone 01-4558159
Thursday 31 May in Walkinstown Library at 13:00 Phone 01-4558159

Admission is free, but booking is required via the phone numbers above.

This seems to be the meetup of all Meet Ups! It is also called “Women in Tech Meet Up Summit”, but it is not clear if that means you have to be a Meet Up leader (or something similar) to come to the summit. Admission is free, so it seems that everyone is welcome.

“The summit will provide a platform for the tech meet up community in Dublin to come together under one unified event. This will be a jam packed evening full of technical discussions and content from some of Dublin’s most talented women in the tech space.”

Find all details about speakers and topics on the website below where you also have to register for this free event.

This is a historical lecture celebrating The Mendicity Institution’s 200 year anniversary. The lecture will be based on life in Dublin in the year 1818, the year Mendicity was established. There will be 2 speakers delivering the lecture on the following topics:

Dr Elaine Sisson, “Everyday Life in 1818”
Lar Joye, “Dublin as a Military City in 1818”

The event will take place in the Parochial Hall of St. James’s Church. Admission is free, but booking is required via the website below.

EveryTuesday at 19:00, The Dublin Language Exchange takes place in the Czech Inn. It is the biggest free meeting of people from all around Dublin that are interested in learning languages and communicate with speakers of other languages.

Admission is free and the meetup is completely informal. No booking required.

Camden Comedy is a weekly comedy night on a Tuesday that I only found recently.

Every Tuesday they have a whole range of comedians and admission is free.

Rumours have it that the Bluegrass Collective will perform in Sin É on Tuesday and there might even be an open Bluegrass Jam! Admission is free.

Jesters is a weekly open mic comedy event where a lot of comedians do 5 minutes of material.

Admission is free. If you would like to perform then send a message to the Jesters Facebook Page via the link below.

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.

Ben Prevo will be for his weekly gig in the Bowery. Expect Blues, Funk, Jazz and even Country.

Admission is free.

The Comedy Crunch is a free Stand Up comedy event every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. 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 Lounge Quintet plays this gig every Tuesday: Jazz Standards, Latin and Bebop. Often guest musicians and singers join them. Admission is free, donations are welcome.

Every Tuesday and Thursday the International Bar invites to a Jazz night in the Lounge.

Groups led by Cote Calmet, Sean Maynard Smith, Dominic Mullan, Paddy Groenland, Georgia Cusack & Alex Mathias are performing regularly with occasional guest players, but there are also other bands from all over.

Admission is free, with a suggested donation of EUR 5. The website clearly says that there is no entry fee, but – and that makes a lot of sense – that your donations are very much appreciated (Musicians need to pay for rent and food too!) Be generous after the gig if you liked it, but if someone wants to charge an admission charge, please point out that the “rules” as described on their website are like I have explained.

Every Tuesday, a pub quiz is taking place in the Woolshed.

Admission is free. Max team size is 6 people.

Every May the Bealtaine Festival takes place all over Ireland and it “Celebrates arts and creativity as we age”.

This is a difficult description as everybody ages and therefore the tagline doesn’t make THAT much sense. In essence, the organisers “Age & Opportunity” actually want to address the “older age”. Ok, that helps a little, but not too much either as nobody still really knows what the target age is. In previous years, a guidance of 55+ was given but that has disappeared and in all honesty most 55-60 year olds wouldn’t be close to insulted if they were classified as “older age”. ;-)

So where does that leave us? We don’t know really know!! So I guess if you feel older, this festival is for you and if you don’t, then the festival is not for you. ;-) I hope that explanation helps a little.

There will be many events throughout May and a good few of them are free. The website has a good enough search facility, although I never understand why event organisers subdivide Dublin into four or five “territories”. You can see the full programme here but I will also never understand why organisers will not make programmes downloadable.

To find events go to the WHAT’S ON page on the website.

In “Dublin City” there are approx. 72 events, but as I said, not all are free. Oddly, the events are sorted in reverse order, starting with the 30 May. Talk about confusing “older” users!?

Over the coming weeks, I will include a number of free Bealtaine events in the Dublin Event Guide for Free Events, but I won’t be able to include all events, so please check the Bealtaine website here: www.bealtaine.ie

Did you ever want to give drawing a go? Or maybe you are a budding artist looking for like-minded people to draw with? The Drawing Group for Adults in Rua Red runs free weekly drawing sessions on Wednesdays from 11:00-12:00. Materials are provided.

This week’s Phoenix Park Walk is entitled “Celtic Tree Trail”. The Celts believed each tree had its own personality and meaning. Learn
about their uses through history and why trees are so important

Admission is free.

The National Gallery has an extensive programme of free talks, public tours and Art Documentary screenings every day of the week. Currently there is at least one free tour every day. Check their website for details. Some special events will be listed separately.

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

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.

A free guided tour will take place at the National War Memorial at Islandbridge every Wednesday at 14:00 from March until the end of October.

The tour will focus on World War I, in which nearly 50,000 Irish soldiers died. You will also hear about the main features of the gardens at this tour.

Meeting point is the car park at 14:00 (next to the Trinity College Boat Club). For further information and to check that it is taking place, contact 01-6770095 (Phoenix Park Visitor Centre).

Paul Fitters will talk about managing flower-rich meadows. He will explain the best plants and approaches to develop and maintain a meadow that will delight the eye year round. Paul lectures in the Teagasc College of Amenity Horticulture based at the National Botanic Gardens.

Admission is free.

Steven O’Gara, Senior Economic Development Officer for Dublin City Council and part of the management team for the Economic Development & Enterprise Department will talk about what support eh Local Enterprise Office will be able to provide fore new or growing businesses.

Admission is free, but booking is required via 01-8733996

Rhona Mahony (Master of the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street) will talk about the medical facts around the eighth amendment, and the impact if it is retained or repealed, as well as her insight on it as a practitioner working in Irish women’s healthcare. Rhona will be joined by Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin for further discussion on the topic.

Doors will open at 18:00 and the talk begins at 18:30.

Admission is free, but booking is required via the link below. However, be aware that the Science Gallery does overbook events based on the experience that usually a percentage of people will not come to free events despite their booking. If the topic is a hotly discussed topic it could however happen that less no-shows will happen and then overbooking will mean that if you are too late you might not get a seat EVEN if you have a ticket. So arrive early!!

The Dwarf Jar House Trio (Daniel Rorke (sax), Cormac O’Brien (bass) and Matthew Jacobson(drums)) will play a weekly Jazz gig every Wednesday in Dwarf Jar Cafe and they usually have one or more guest musicians or singers supporting them.

Admission is free.

The Roots Band “Brand New Switcharoo” will perform in the Harbour Bar. Admission is free.

The Dublin Jam Session is an open Jam with full back line. It is open to all levels of musicians and singers and all genres of music and the only rule is that you must jam with others (not all your own band).

It takes place every Wednesday and admission is free.

Peter Phillips, curator of Birds and Small Mammals at Dublin Zoo, will talk about the famous West Cork birding hotspot Cape Clear Island.
Admission is free. Organised with Birdwatch Ireland

The Wow Wignal Sessions is a weekly gig night in Bagots Hutton. The line up is usually announced just a few days before on the Facebook Page below.

Admission is free.

The Anseo Comedy Club takes place every Wednesday in Anseo (upstairs).

Admission is free, donations are welcome.

“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.

Music College BIMM will bring 10 talented songwriters to Sin E to compete against each other.

Admission is free.

Dance Forro every week at this “Forro Wednesday” in the Woolshed for free.

Los Paradiso are playing Rockabilly, Tex Mex, Western Swing, Surf in the Leeson Lounge. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.

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).

Watson Junior play on Wednesday in the Porterhouse in Temple Bar.

Admission is free.

The Harleys are a popular coverband and they will be in the Mezz every Wednesday at midnight.

Admission is free.

Every May the Bealtaine Festival takes place all over Ireland and it “Celebrates arts and creativity as we age”.

This is a difficult description as everybody ages and therefore the tagline doesn’t make THAT much sense. In essence, the organisers “Age & Opportunity” actually want to address the “older age”. Ok, that helps a little, but not too much either as nobody still really knows what the target age is. In previous years, a guidance of 55+ was given but that has disappeared and in all honesty most 55-60 year olds wouldn’t be close to insulted if they were classified as “older age”. ;-)

So where does that leave us? We don’t know really know!! So I guess if you feel older, this festival is for you and if you don’t, then the festival is not for you. ;-) I hope that explanation helps a little.

There will be many events throughout May and a good few of them are free. The website has a good enough search facility, although I never understand why event organisers subdivide Dublin into four or five “territories”. You can see the full programme here but I will also never understand why organisers will not make programmes downloadable.

To find events go to the WHAT’S ON page on the website.

In “Dublin City” there are approx. 72 events, but as I said, not all are free. Oddly, the events are sorted in reverse order, starting with the 30 May. Talk about confusing “older” users!?

Over the coming weeks, I will include a number of free Bealtaine events in the Dublin Event Guide for Free Events, but I won’t be able to include all events, so please check the Bealtaine website here: www.bealtaine.ie

Every Thursday a free tour of Grangegorman Military Cemetery on Blackhorse Avenue takes place. Meet inside the cemetery gates.

Admission is free and everybody is welcome. Ring 01-6770095 for more information.

Grangegorman Military Cemetery is in Blackhorse Avenue just outside Phoenix Park. It is the largest military cemetery in Ireland. It was first opened in 1876 to serve as a graveyard for the soldiers of what was then Marlborough Barracks, now McKee Barracks, and their families. Specific zones were laid out for English, Canadian, New Zealand, and Australian service men. The cemetery’s pedestrian gate is open from 10:00-16:00 seven days a week.

The National Gallery has an extensive programme of free talks, public tours and Art Documentary screenings every day of the week. Currently there is at least one free tour every day. Check their website for details. Some special events will be listed separately.

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

The Green Door Market is a new indoor food/Farmer’s Market that takes place just a few doors down from the Dublin Food Co-op at Newmarket in Dublin 8. Admission is free.

Opening hours are Thu-Fri 12:00-19:00 and Sat 09:30-16:00.

If you regularly or occasionally buy books online, you can help the Dublin Event Guide hugely even without having to pay cent directly. In fact you even save money this way:

Buy your books from The Book Depository and get better prices and free (!!) delivery for all orders independent from the volume and when you click on the picture here before you buy, then 5% of what normally The Book Depository would get, they give back to the Dublin Event Guide. Everybody wins!

www.bookdepository.com?a_aid=dubevg

If you prefer Amazon to buy your books (for free postage you need to order a minimum of GBP 25), then use this Amazon link to help the Dublin Event Guide. Thanks!

A lunchtime recital with mezzo soprano Sarah Lutrell and pianist Modesta Gorol will take place and they will perform a mix of vocal and piano music.

Admission is free.

Guercino’s Drawings is a Pop-up Art Talk in the Prints and Drawings Study Room that will focus on three drawings by Guercino in the Gallery’s collection. The works will be examined in the context of the historical and stylistic environment of seventeenth-century Italian art, as well as that of the artist’s career. The fascinating provenance of the drawings will also be explored.

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

The Temple Bar Craft Market during the week is back and it has moved to Thursdays in 2018. Organised by the Temple Bar Company the market will bring handcrafted jewellery, wood design, handmade soaps, original art, photography, fashion, specialised cards and stained-glass crafts.

The market starts at 14:00 and finishes at 20:00, but is still carrying the totally nonsensical and completely misleading name “Temple Bar NIGHT Market”. I will just ignore this unsuitable and incorrect name and will rename it to “Temple Bar Craft Market”. ;-)

At this “Tour of Conservation Studios”, get behind the scenes at the Museum and meet Museum conservators.

Admission is free but booking is required. Suitable for adults and children from age 12.

Guercino’s Drawings is a Pop-up Art Talk in the Prints and Drawings Study Room that will focus on three drawings by Guercino in the Gallery’s collection. The works will be examined in the context of the historical and stylistic environment of seventeenth-century Italian art, as well as that of the artist’s career. The fascinating provenance of the drawings will also be explored.

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

Prof. Maja Pantic will give the lecture “Artificial Intelligence: What if machines could sense how I feel?” in the O’Brien Centre for Science at UCD and admission is free.

Maja Pantic obtained her PhD degree in computer science in 2001 from Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. Until 2005, she was an Assistant/ Associate Professor at Delft University of Technology. In 2006, she joined the Imperial College London, Department of Computing, UK, where she is Professor of Affective & Behavioural Computing and the Head of the iBUG group, working on machine analysis of human non-verbal behaviour. From May 2018, she is the Director of the Samsung Artificial Intelligence Research Centre in Cambridge, UK. Prof. Pantic is one of the world’s leading experts in the research on machine understanding of human behavior including vision-based detection, tracking, and analysis of human behavioral cues like facial expressions and body gestures, and multimodal analysis of human behaviors like laughter, social signals, and affective states.

Michael Graziano (scientist and novelist, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Princeton University) will speak about ‘Consciousness’ as part of the Neurohumanities public talk series.

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

A weekly Jazz Club event with live band is taking place at J.W. Sweetman’s.

Admission is free.

Every Thursday the Little Museum of Dublin waives their admission charges for two guided tours thanks to sponsorship from Guinness. The first tour is at 18:00 and the second tour is at 19:00. Make sure that you are there at least 10 minutes before the start of the tour to get one of the limited places.

The Little Museum of Dublin has a fascinating collection of artefacts from the last 100 years Dublin’s history.

On other days and other times, admission is EUR 10 for adults and admission is by guided tour only.

Explore some of the highlights of the National Gallery exhibitons at this evening tour.

Admission is free. Meet at the Merrion Square information desk.

A Gala event for the Hungarian Culture Days will take place on Thursday in Smock Alley Theatre.

There will be Hungarian culture and tradition presented to you, inclusivea Hungarian Dance Group and a Hungarian chamber choir.

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

An expatriate or expat is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country other than that of their citizenship.

And this is a weekly meeting for all Expats in Dublin (new and old!). If you are new to the city, this is an excellent way to meet people.

Admission is free (no booking required!), but you are asked to give the same kind of welcoming to new members as is given to you.

Paula Meehan and Ben McGuire will be in conversation with Niall MacMonagle at this “The Blank Page: Poets in conversation” event.

Beginning with a general conversation about poetry and what led the participants to poetry, the discussion will move on to consider a specific work. Each poet will choose one poem from their work prior to the event.

Admission is free.

The Thursday Night Board Gaming event is running for more than 10 years already and it is a weekly event for all Board Game enthusiasts. But even if you are a Board Game newbie, you are welcome. Just come along! More information can be found here: www.meetup.com/IrishGamesAssociation/

Admission is free.

The Crystal Skull Sessions is a band competition in Sin É where you will vote for your favourite act.

Admission is free.

The Shogunz of Stank with Mik Pyro and Pete Pamf among others will be in the Bowery every Thursday for a gig. They will play Funk, Hip Hop and Groove.

Admission is free.

A Table Quiz takes place in the Grand Social. On Thursdays teams of 4 people (or at least 2 people) will compete against each other over questions from the areas of General Knowledge, Music, Film, Sports & Entertainment.

Admission is free.

Every Thursday a Singer Songwriter Night will take place in Mother Reilly’s in Rathmines. This is YOUR chance to show everyone what you can do, alternatively you can just listen to the talented Singer/Songwriters. Admission is free.

The False and the Fair & Joey Gavin are playing Alternative Indie.

Admission is free.

A Fun Pub Quiz takes place in Brady’s in Terenure on Thurs. The quiz will be on every Thursday night in the Lounge at Brady’s. Keith McLoughlin is the Quiz Master.

There will be six rounds of the quiz with picture questions, audio questions and general knowledge questions. Admission to the quiz is free and therr will be free drink vouchers for the winning and runner up teams. (No phones to get answers allowed.)

Every Tuesday and Thursday the International Bar invites to a Jazz night in the Lounge.

Groups led by Cote Calmet, Sean Maynard Smith, Dominic Mullan, Paddy Groenland, Georgia Cusack & Alex Mathias are performing regularly with occasional guest players, but there are also other bands from all over.

Admission is free, with a suggested donation of EUR 5. The website clearly says that there is no entry fee, but – and that makes a lot of sense – that your donations are very much appreciated (Musicians need to pay for rent and food too!) Be generous after the gig if you liked it, but if someone wants to charge an admission charge, please point out that the “rules” as described on their website are like I have explained.

A weekly Trad Music Night is taking place in McLoughlin’s in Dun Laoghaire. It is an acoustic night and all musicians are welcome. Admission is free.

Every Thursday a free Trad Session takes place in McNeills and often there are high profile Trad musicians performing.

The Woolshed Karaoke is happening every Thursday from 21:30. Anyone can participate! Admission is free.

The BIMM Music College is organising the Midnight Hour on Thursdays in Whelan’s. The line-up has not yet been announced.

Admission is free.

Every May the Bealtaine Festival takes place all over Ireland and it “Celebrates arts and creativity as we age”.

This is a difficult description as everybody ages and therefore the tagline doesn’t make THAT much sense. In essence, the organisers “Age & Opportunity” actually want to address the “older age”. Ok, that helps a little, but not too much either as nobody still really knows what the target age is. In previous years, a guidance of 55+ was given but that has disappeared and in all honesty most 55-60 year olds wouldn’t be close to insulted if they were classified as “older age”. ;-)

So where does that leave us? We don’t know really know!! So I guess if you feel older, this festival is for you and if you don’t, then the festival is not for you. ;-) I hope that explanation helps a little.

There will be many events throughout May and a good few of them are free. The website has a good enough search facility, although I never understand why event organisers subdivide Dublin into four or five “territories”. You can see the full programme here but I will also never understand why organisers will not make programmes downloadable.

To find events go to the WHAT’S ON page on the website.

In “Dublin City” there are approx. 72 events, but as I said, not all are free. Oddly, the events are sorted in reverse order, starting with the 30 May. Talk about confusing “older” users!?

Over the coming weeks, I will include a number of free Bealtaine events in the Dublin Event Guide for Free Events, but I won’t be able to include all events, so please check the Bealtaine website here: www.bealtaine.ie

The Irish Young Philiopher Festival invited students in 3rd to 6th class of Primary School and all secondary students in Ireland to take part. The participants have to show visible thinking about a philosophical question.

On Friday the final/competition/judging will take place and it seems that the public is invited to the event.

Are you in need of a Man Day? Is your head wrecked? Are you stressed? Want to learn to control your anger?

Clondalkin Tus Nua is inviting to a day full of Education, Exercise, Food and Relaxation for men only.

Admission is free. To take part text your name to 087 247 0464 to book a place. Use the message title ‘Man Day’.

Dublin City Hall has a museum/exhibition in the basement, called “The Story of the Capital”, it is an exhibition about Dublin’s History and you should definitely check it out at some stage.

To celebrate the Easter Rising Anniversary, admission to that exhibititon was free in 2016, but lucky for us, Dublin City decided to also waive the admission charge for 2018.

Opening hours are Monday-Saturday 10:00-17:15.

A worldwide day of Botanical Art Open Day is happening on Friday and to mark the day, the Irish Society of Botanical artists will be hosting an open day which will include a tour of the exhibition at 14:00 with wildflower author Zoë Devlin, painting demonstrations throughout the day and a chance to meet the artists involved.

Admission is free.

The National Gallery has an extensive programme of free talks, public tours and Art Documentary screenings every day of the week. Currently there is at least one free tour every day. Check their website for details. Some special events will be listed separately.

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

The Green Door Market is a new indoor food/Farmer’s Market that takes place just a few doors down from the Dublin Food Co-op at Newmarket in Dublin 8. Admission is free.

Opening hours are Thu-Fri 12:00-19:00 and Sat 09:30-16:00.

The Cemetery at Arbour Hill is the last resting place of 14 of the leaders of the 1916 Rising. Among those buried there are Pádraig Pearse, James Connolly and Thomas Clarke. This tour every Friday introduce the Cemetery and will also explain the background and the event of the Easter Rising.

Admission is free and no booking necessary. The meeting point is inside the cemetery gates.

Freedom is an exhibition showcasing artistic reactions to an Ireland post “Repealing the 8th”. The launch event will be a night of Art, Music, Poetry and the exhibition will continue on Saturday (13:00-18:00).

All pieces of art will be for sale with the proceeds after cost being donated to Together for Yes.

Admission to launch and exhibition is free.

The launch event for the exhibition “Finding Power” by artist Joes Caslin will take place on Friday. It wwill be a panel discussion followed by a wine reception.

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

Joe Caslin is a street artist, illustrator, art teacher and activist from Roscommon and Finding Power is the result of Caslin’s in-depth investigation of Frederic William Burton’s work “For the Love of Art”.

Sinéad Burke, Alice Mary Higgins and Stephen Moloney will join Joe Caslin in a panel discussion, which will be chaired by project curator Sinéad K Rice (Head of Education at the National Gallery of Ireland).

The SIGNAL talk series will examine upcoming trends, tech, careers and creativity in music.

SIGNAL: LIVE CODE will explore how coding is the frame on which digital music production, synthesis and live performance is created. Host Martin Clancy will be joined by M4L specialist Mark Towers, a lead developer at Isotonik Studios (UK) to discuss “under the hood” programmes such as Max, Csound and Pure Data, and how they are increasingly stepping into the light and being used by creatives in music, mixed media and the visual arts. The event will close with a live coding performance in which the audience will be invited to participate.

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

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.

Catch 22 will play Rock/Pop/Funk covers after midnight and before that from 21:00-23:00 the Smokehouse Blues Band will keep you entertained.

Admission is free before 22:00.

Ledz Presence are playing a Led Zeppelin Tribute gig in Bray.

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.

Phazam Haze and LNT will perform at this gig night organsied by The Fun Machine.

Gavin Povey and The Fabulous Oke She Moke She Pops” will play New Orleans style Piano Rhythm & Blues, Boogie Woogie and Rock’n’ Roll. Gavin Povey has played piano with Van Morrison, Finbar Wright, Kirsty MacColl, Steve Cropper, Shakin’ Stevens and many more.

Admission is free.

Gin ‘n’ Juice are playing a hip hop, funk and dance gig in the Grand Social.

Admission is free.