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 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.

“Culture Date with Dublin 8” is a neighbourhood initiative that will celebrate Dublin 8’s rich cultural and historical heritage and it encourages people who live and work in the area to explore what is on their doorstep.

Culture Date with Dublin 8 is a weekend long series of free events, workshops and activities on Saturday and Sunday.

Activities and events are taking place in Richmond Barracks, Goldenbridge Cemetery, IMMA – Irish Museum of Modern Art, Kilmainham Gaol, the Irish National War Memorial Gardens and Phoenix Park, all within walking distance of one another in Kilmainham and Inchicore.

The website www.culturedatewithdublin8.ie lists all events. For a number of them, tickets are required and some events are booked out, but there are still a good few others where tickets are still available. All events are free.

At the time of writing this, there were still tickets available for

+ Pat Liddy Walking Tour: The Grand Canal and its Goldenbridge Neighbour on Saturday at 14:00
+ Goldenbridge Cemetery – Outdoor Concert at the Temple on Saturday at 15:00
+ Richmond Barracks – Musical Tour on Saturday at 14:00
—-
+ Pat Liddy Walking Tour: From the Grand Canal to the Irish National War Memorial
+ Irish National War Memorial – Family Fun Day 13:30-16:30

Tickets are available here. and the website is www.culturedatewithdublin8.ie/saturday19thmay

The Harold’s Cross Community Festival is happening and this Saturday and Sunday are the main days. There are lots of events and it is a little difficult to organise them so I left them in the order the festival organisers have listed them. But let me explain a few things: The main event venue is Harld’s Cross Park and that’s where lot of things are happening.

The Wooly Ward Petting Zoo will be there, the Dublin Concert Band will play, the Clarevilla Baton Twirlers will perform, Musically Sound will sing, there will be fun and games for kids and a few workshops will happen. And then there will be some other events in other locatiosn as well. Just read through the list below and see what interests you and then check out the details on the website below.

Please note: There could be some events that are not free, but the vast majority is free.

Here is the full schedule:

11:00-14:00 Wooly Wards Petting Zoo – Harold’s Cross Park
10:30-16:00 Open Gardens & Plants for Sale Bonsai Exhibition – Hospice Garden
10:00-17:00 Hem lines and Handbags dress sale – Hospice Day Centre
11:30-13:00 Historic Walking Trail – Harold’s Cross Bridge
13:00-15:00 Dublin Concert Band – Harold’s Cross Park Circle Stage
13:00-17:00 Village Books – Harold’s Cross Park
13:00-17:00 DIT – HX Live Future Urban Vision Exhibition – Festival Office
16:30-17:00 Clareville Baton Twirlers – Harold’s Cross Park Circle Stage
14:00-17:00 Queens of Art Exhibition – Minerva Gallery
14:00-17:00 Fun and Games with Local Sports Clubs – Harold’s Cross Park
14:30-17:00 Dublin HEMA Club -Harold’s Cross Park
15:00 Niki Collier – workshop – Harold’s Cross Park
15:00-16:00 DIT Harolds X Live Project Talk – Harold’s Cross Park
15:00 St Charles Tours – Mount Argus
15:30-16:15 Musically Sound – Harold’s Cross Park Circle Stage
16:00-17:00 Clay Workshop with KaroArt – Harold’s Cross Park
19:30-20:00 Take Off Your Cornflakes – Hospice Theatre
22:00 Late Festival Club with Edel McWeeney – McGowans Festival Club

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 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.

Saturday is National Drawing Day, a celebration of drawing and creativity, and the National Gallery has an extensive list of events and activities for all ages on that day.

Admission to all events is free, but some must be booked in advance. All materials are provided.

The events are:

Drawing Live
11am-3pm (Drop-in; throughout the Gallery)
Artists, designers and illustrators responding to the collection & building in their own unique way: Nick Roche, Eve Parnell, Chris Judge, Sarah Ward & Jack Hickey.

The Sensory Session
10am-10.45am (Ticketed; Room 20)
This tailored family session will appeal to children with heightened sensory awareness and is ASD friendly. Free tickets available here.

Drawing for the Virtual World
12pm – 2pm (Drop-in; Lecture Theatre)
Meet award winning Dublin based animation studio Pink Kong and experience the magic of Aurora, the first ever virtual reality animation produced in Ireland.

Life Drawing
11am – 1pm (Drop-in; Room 44)
Artist Fintan Mahon is back to facilitate this life drawing session for teens and adults.

Illustrate Together
1pm-3pm (Drop-in; Room 22)
Illustrator Tarsila Krüse will facilitate this fun, inclusive family activity inspired by our new exhibition Drawing Dublin.

GUM Open Studio
11am-4pm (Drop-in; Millennium Wing Studio)
Join the artists from GUM Collective for drop-in sessions inspired by Emil Nolde: Colour is Life.

Teen Events
12.30pm-2.30pm (Drop-in; Rooms 1–5 and the Maples and Calder Creative Space in the Atrium)
The fantastic students from our 2018 Transition Year work experience programme will run two special activities – ‘Time Trial Challenge’ in Rooms 1-5 and ‘Creative Wall’ in Atrium.

Drawing Dublin
11am-12.15pm (THIS EVENT IS NOW BOOKED OUT)
Join art historian Dr Katy Milligan and artist Sarah Edmondson for a tour of the Drawing Dublin exhibition followed by a sketching workshop in Merrion Square.

Sketch the Sky
2pm – 3pm (THIS EVENT IS NOW BOOKED OUT)
Sarah Edmondson and Katy Milligan will show families how to make their own personal umbrellas in a drawing activity that defies the Irish weather! Free tickets available here.

Emil Nolde: Colour is Life
Free entry to the exhibition from 12pm-3pm on Drawing Day

In addition there are Sketching Tours, Drawing Trails, Pop-Up Talks, Drawing Challenges, Exhibition Tours and more.

Find all events on www.nationalgallery.ie/whats-on

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.

On National Drawing Day the Archaeology Museum in Kildare Street is running an event for 6-10 year olds, called “Storyboard how the Ardagh Chalice was lost and found”

Join children’s illustrator Mark Wickham to storyboard how the Ardagh Chalice was discovered. The chalice and its hoard were hidden away in the 9th century; a time when the Vikings first travelled to Ireland and raided monasteries in the search for treasure and precious objects. The hoard was rediscovered 150 years ago by a boy digging potatoes at a ringfort and today, remains one of Ireland’s most iconic objects.

Admission is free, but booking is required via educationarch@museum.ie or 01-6486 332. Located in the Learning Resource Room.

To celebrate National Drawing Day Artzone Art Teachers will lead drawing workshops for children aged 5-7 and 8-12 years. Students will learn a variety of drawing techniques using the medium of pastel. They will create a textured, tonal piece inspired by imagery from the Farmleigh environment using secondary resources. Suitable for all children – no previous art experience required.

Admission is free, but places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Workshops will take place at 11:00-12:00 / 12:15-13:15 / 13:30-14:30 / 14:45-15:45 / 16:00-17:00

Important: Due to the Ed Sheeran concerts in the Phoenix Park there will be lots of road closures:
From Mountjoy Roundabout to North Road exit at Ashtown Gate. No right turn on entry at Ashtown Gate. No left turn at Mountjoy Roundabout onto North Road from Castleknock Gate. Odd Lamp Road will be open to two-way traffic for the duration of these traffic restrictions.

The International Literature Festival Dublin (ILFD) will take place from Sat 19 – Sun 27 May and it will start with a Party in the Park next to St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Saturday and Sunday.

There will be street theatre, storytelling, readings, face painting, balloon modelling, the Children’s Books Ireland Book Doctors and more. You can do workshops in animation & cartoons, arts & crafts, and writing, or just drop by and enjoy traditional street games and family comedy. The Wooly Wards mobile pet zoo will be there on Sunday and kids can create their own giant castle, space rocket or den in the Brici? Spraoi Playground. Or they can explore the park with a Treasure Map on a “21 Tiny Treasures Treasure Hunt”.

Admission is free to all events.

The schedule for Saturday is:

Story Zone
11:00 – 11:45 Storytime in Irish and English with Sadhbh Devlin & Tarsila Kruse (Age 4+)
12:00 – 12:45 Glitter Hole: Drag Storytime (Age 4+)
12:45 – 13:15 Fiona Dowling Storytelling (Age 3+)
13:15 – 14:00 Glitter Hole: Drag Storytime (Age 4+)
14:00 – 14:45 Fiona Dowling Storytelling (Age 3+)
14:45 – 15:30 Fiona Dowling Storytelling (Age 3+)
15:30 – 17:00 Variety of Stories told by the unique & outrageous.
——
Arts & Crafts Workshops
11:00 – 11:45 Family Draw Along with Alan Nolan (Age 5+)
11:00 – 16:00 Where have you come from, where are you going? An autobiography in moments. Pop-up Workshops (All ages, family friendly)
11:30 – 13:30 Children’s Books Comic Workshops with Heather Gray
12:00 – 12:45 Family Draw Along with Alan Nolan (Age 5+)
13:00 – 13:45 Sadhbh Devlin Craft Workshop (Age 7+)
14:00 – 14:45 Keelin Murray Craft Workshop (Age 7+)
14:30 – 16:30 Children’s Books Comic Workshops with Heather Gray (4+)
15:00 – 15:45 Keelin Murray Craft Workshop (Age 7+)
16:00 – 16:45 Keelin Murray Craft Workshop (Age 7+)
—-
Animation & Creative Writing
11:00 – 12:00 Monster Doodle with Niamh Sharkey (Age 3+)
12:00 – 13:00 Monster Doodle with Niamh Sharkey (Age 3+)
13:00 – 13:45 Animation Workshop with Brown Bag (Age 8+)
14:00 – 14:45 Family Cartooning with Alan Nolan (Age 6+)
15:00 – 15:45 Family Cartooning with Alan Nolan (Age 6+)
—-
Main Stage
11:00 – 11:45 Red Rover Red Rover – Playground Games with Kunak McGann (All Ages)
11:45 – 12:30 Family Comedy with Punch Lions – Paul Tylak & Danny Kehoe (Age 5+)
12:45 – 13:30 Happy Pear: Recipes for Happiness. Book discussion, demo and book signing.
13:45 – 14:30 Fanzini Brothers (All Ages)
14:30 – 15:15 Family Comedy with Punch Lions – Paul Tylak & Danny Kehoe (Age 5+)
15:15 – 16:00 Fanzini Brothers (All Ages)
16:00 – 17:00 Stories from around the world told through the songs of the Dublin City Rounders
—-
Play Zone
11:00 – 17:00 Bricí Spraoi
Relaxed Zone
Events suitable for children on the autism specturm. Advance booking required.
11:00+12:00+13:00 Lego Workshop with Joanne Fine. Book here.
14:00+15:00+16:00 Storytelling with Paul Timoney. Book here.
and also
21 Tiny Treasures – Treasure Trail
Face Painting and Balloon Making
The Book Doctors
Help Build a Library

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 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 Family event in the Chester Beatty Library for National Drawing Day is “Sketching Dublin”.

Gather your family and come along this National Drawing Day to expolore the city through drawing. Roxana Manoucheheri will introduce blind drawing and other sketching exercises while exploring Georgian elements of Dublin.

Suitable for ages 6 and over. 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.

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 Family Day Festival is a whole day of fun at Smithfield Plaza. It is organised by “one family” and celebrates the diversity of the family in Ireland (one-parent families, step families, traditional married families, adoptive/foster/blended/extended families etc).

There will be storytelling, a book doctor, Traditional Music & Dance, a Circus Workshop, a circus+Alpine culture Yodel Show and there will also be film screenings. And further features will be Pop-up Drama & Games, Ireland’s Biggest Family Tree, Free Face painting, Banner Workshop and Toddler Games.

A busy day with LOTS of great events for kids og all ages. All details are on the website below and you should definitely check the schedule out.

A Pop-up talk with Katy Milligan fwill take place in front of Michael Angelo Hayes’s watercolour of “Sackville Street, Dublin”. This work is currently on view in the Print Gallery exhibition “Drawing Dublin”.

Admission is free.

The National Drawing Day event in the Chester Beatty Library is “Freehand Sketching”.

Bring your sketchbook and get the artistic juices flowing. This session for adults will explore how to execute depth and build layers to create mysterious drawings filled with hidden meanings. Materials provided.

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

On National Drawing Day the Archaeology Museum in Kildare Street is running an event for 11-16 year olds, called “Storyboard how the Ardagh Chalice was lost and found”. The earlier workshop by the same name is for 6-10 year olds.

Join children’s illustrator Mark Wickham to storyboard how the Ardagh Chalice was discovered. The chalice and its hoard were hidden away in the 9th century; a time when the Vikings first travelled to Ireland and raided monasteries in the search for treasure and precious objects. The hoard was rediscovered 150 years ago by a boy digging potatoes at a ringfort and today, remains one of Ireland’s most iconic objects.

Admission is free, but booking is required via educationarch@museum.ie or 01-6486 332. Located in the Learning Resource Room.

The Skerries Traditional Music Festival is taking place this weekend and there will be a number of free live music sessions on Saturday and Sunday afternoon and evening.

The Saturday events are listed here and the Sunday events can be found here.

The National Drawing Day event in the National Museum is “Tapestry Tales” and it is suitable for all ages.

Help creating a large-scale tapestry drawing inspired by stories from the Museum’s collection. Tapestry Tales is a collaborative workshop for all age groups that looks at the practice of drawing through observational and drawing techniques.

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.

Early House will play a gig in the Harbour Bar.

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.

Music blog “tmftml” will run a gig night with “Oscar Mild”

Admission is free.

Tongue In Chic play the music of Nile Rogers, king of Disco and CHIC, as well as few 90s HipHop covers and Soul Foolishness play Funk, Soul & HipHop, a mixture of original material and covers.

Stage times are:
Soul Foolishness 21:00-23:00
Tongue In Chic 00:00-02:00

Admission seems to be free.

Guitar pop band Call Girl are playing a gig in Whelan’s.

Admission is free before 22:30

Rock Tribunal will play a gig in the Porterhouse in 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.

“Culture Date with Dublin 8” is a neighbourhood initiative that will celebrate Dublin 8’s rich cultural and historical heritage and it encourages people who live and work in the area to explore what is on their doorstep.

Culture Date with Dublin 8 is a weekend long series of free events, workshops and activities on Saturday and Sunday.

Activities and events are taking place in Richmond Barracks, Goldenbridge Cemetery, IMMA – Irish Museum of Modern Art, Kilmainham Gaol, the Irish National War Memorial Gardens and Phoenix Park, all within walking distance of one another in Kilmainham and Inchicore.

The website www.culturedatewithdublin8.ie lists all events. For a number of them, tickets are required and some events are booked out, but there are still a good few others where tickets are still available. All events are free.

At the time of writing this, there were still tickets available for

+ Pat Liddy Walking Tour: The Grand Canal and its Goldenbridge Neighbour on Saturday at 14:00
+ Goldenbridge Cemetery – Outdoor Concert at the Temple on Saturday at 15:00
+ Richmond Barracks – Musical Tour on Saturday at 14:00
—-
+ Pat Liddy Walking Tour: From the Grand Canal to the Irish National War Memorial
+ Irish National War Memorial – Family Fun Day 13:30-16:30

Tickets are available here. and the website is www.culturedatewithdublin8.ie/sunday-20th-may

The Harold’s Cross Community Festival is happening and this Saturday and Sunday are the main days. There are lots of events and it is a little difficult to organise them so I left them in the order the festival organisers have listed them. But let me explain a few things: The main event venue is Harld’s Cross Park and that’s where lot of things are happening.

On Sunday there will be a Plant Sales in Harold’s Cross Park, Eleanor McEvoy will sing, the Swing Kings will play a gig, a magician and clowns will be there and there will be fun and games for kids and a few workshops will happen. And then there will be some other events in other locatiosn as well. Just read through the list below and see what interests you and then check out the details on the website below.

Please note: There could be some events that are not free, but the vast majority is free.

Here is the full schedule for Sunday:

10:30-16:00 Open Gardens & Plants for Sale Bonsai Exhibition – Hospice Garden
11:30-13:00 Photowalk with Esther Moline – Mount Argus Park
11:00-17:00 DIT – HX Live Future Urban Vision Exhibition – Festival Office
12:00-17:00 Queens of Art Exhibition – Minerva Gallery
13:00-17:00 Village Books – Harold’s Cross Park
12:30-13:00 Thumbelina by Russian School of Music – Harold’s Cross Park
13:00-17:00 Childrens Fun & Games – Harold’s Cross Park
13:00-17:00 Plant Sale – Harolds Cross Park
13:10 Lasair Circle Stage – Harold’s Cross Park
13:00-16:00 Crematorium Tours – Crematorium
13:50 Clowns for Haiti Circle Stage – Harold’s Cross Park
14:00 Face Painting Army Tent – Harold’s Cross Park
14:00 Tour of Russian Orthodox Church & School – Russian Orthodox Church
14:00-15:00 Martin Tourish & Daire Bracken – Harold’s Cross Park
14:30 Scoil Mológa Choir – Harold’s Cross Park
14:30 St Charles Tours – Mount Argus
15:00-16:00 Eleanor McEvoy – Harold’s Cross Park
15:10 Magician: Captain Ho Ho – Circle Stage, Harold’s Cross Park
16:00-17:00 Swing Kings – Harold’s Cross Park
16:10-17:00 Herlihy School of Dance – Circle Stage Harold’s Cross Park

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 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.

A “Summer Gift and Craft Festival” is taking place in the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire. There will be 50 stands with gifts and crafts and admission is free and since gift giving is not only taking place at Christmas, it is a good idea to have fairs like that also during the year.

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.

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

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.

The Brocante Market will take place on Sunday. It is a collection of antiques, furniture, vintage jewellery, collectables and curiosities from the past and present, second-hand, refurbished, antique and hand-crafted stuff for your house and garden. If you are an interior designer or just have and eye for style and are looking for a special piece or maybe a bargain then this is the market for you. The market is held every 3rd Sunday of the month.

Admission is free.

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.

“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 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.

The International Literature Festival Dublin (ILFD) will take place from Sat 19 – Sun 27 May and it will start with a Party in the Park next to St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Saturday and Sunday.

There will be street theatre, storytelling, readings, face painting, balloon modelling, the Children’s Books Ireland Book Doctors and more. You can do workshops in animation & cartoons, arts & crafts, and writing, or just drop by and enjoy traditional street games and family comedy. The Wooly Wards mobile pet zoo will be there on Sunday and kids can create their own giant castle, space rocket or den in the Brici? Spraoi Playground. Or they can explore the park with a Treasure Map on a “21 Tiny Treasures Treasure Hunt”.

Admission is free to all events.

The schedule for Sunday is:

Story Zone
11:00 – 11:45 Storytime in Irish and English with Sadhbh Devlin and Trasila Kruse (Age 4+)
12:00 – 12:45 Fiona Dowling Storytelling (Age 3+)
13:00 – 13:45 Fiona Dowling Storytelling (Age 3+)
14:00 – 14:45 Fiona Dowling Storytelling (Age 3+ )
15:00 – 15:45 Glitter Hole: Drag Storytime (Age 4+)
16:00 – 16:45 Glitter Hole: Drag Storytime (Age 4+)
—
Arts & Crafts Workshops
11:00 – 11:45 Family Draw Along with Alan Nolan (Age 5+)
11:00 – 16:00 Where have you come from, where are you going? An autobiography in moments. Pop-up Workshops (All ages, family friendly)
11:30 – 13:30 Children’s Books Comic Workshops with Heather Gray
12:00 – 12:45 Family Draw Along with Alan Nolan (Age 5+)
13:00 – 13:45 Sadhbh Devlin Craft Workshop (Age 7+)
14:00 – 14:45 Keelin Murray Craft Workshop (Age 7+)
14:30 – 16:30 Children’s Books Comic Workshops with Heather Gray (4+)
15:00 – 15:45 Keelin Murray Craft Workshop (Age 7+)
16:00 – 16:45 Keelin Murray Craft Workshop (Age 7+)
—
Animation & Creative Writing
11:00 – 12:00 Free Family Doodling
12:00 – 14:00 Fighting Words Writing Workshop (Age 8+)
14:00 – 16:00 Fighting Words Writing Workshop (Age 8+)
16:00 – 16:45 Flight of Fancy Shadow Puppetry Show
—
Main Stage
11:00 – 11:45 Red Rover Red Rover – Playground Games with Kunak McGann (All Ages)
11:45 – 12:30 Family Comedy with Punch Lions – Paul Tylak & Danny Kehoe (Age 5+)
12:45 – 13:30 Fanzini Brothers (All Ages)
13:45 – 14:30 Family Comedy with Punch Lions – Paul Tylak & Danny Kehoe (Age 5+)
14:30 – 15:15 Fanzini Brothers (All Ages)
15:15 – 17:00 A variety of stories told by the most unique and outrageous characters
—
Play Zone
11:00 – 17:00 Bricí Spraoi
—
Relaxed Zone
Events suitable for children on the autism specturm. Advance booking required.
11:00+12:00+13:00 Lego Workshop with Joanne Fine. Book here.
14:00+15:00+16:00 Storytelling with Paul Timoney. Book here.
Plus…
21 Tiny Treasures – Treasure Trail
Face Painting and Balloon Making
The Book Doctors: Children’s Books Ireland Book Clinic
Help Build a Library
Wooly Wards Farm

A Drop-in family session will take place on Sunday in the Maples and Calder Creative Space in the National Gallery.

It is an art-making workshop where children and their parents/guardians/carers are encouraged to work together on creative projects. Drop-in and stay for as long (or as little) as you wish! These workshops are suitable for children of all ages.

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.

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 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 Red Bull Flugtag is the biggest event this weekend. More than 40,000 people are expected and it will be a fun (but busy event).

We had to wait for 7 years until the Flugtag came back after the first one in Dun Laoghaire in 2011 (The first one in Dublin was in 1999 at George’s Dock, IFSC.) and you might have to wait another 7-12 years until it will be back, so if the weather is in any way ok. you should consider going to Dun Laoghaire.

Flugtag means Flight Day and it refers to the flying of largely unsuitable “flying” machines from a 9m high platform in Dun Laoghaire Harbour. 45 teams have built their flying machines in previous weeks and will launch them on Sunday from that ramp. Some will fly (a bit), others will crash immediately, but it usually is some fun to see the disaster unfolding. ;-) The teams are judged on the flying capability of their machines, but also on the creativity of their craft and on their showmanship.

The event starts at 12:30 and the best (and only) viewing area will be on the East Pier from the entrance of the pier to the bandstand. It is a long enough area, but thousands of people make it tight. (I would strongly recommend to leave prams at home.) Then every 5 minutes a flying machine will be pushed off the ramp by its creators until 16:30.

The event is family friendly, but be aware that little kids will not see that much in a big crowd unless you lift them up. Also be aware that something happening every 5 minutes might not keep your kids entertained enough to hang out there for hours.

The market in Dun Laoghaire’s People’s Park and the restaurants and eateries in Dun Laoghaire will be the best places for food OR you can bring a picnic.

Parking will be limited in the area and there will be traffic restrictions, so you better check “Everything you need to know” about getting there, which can be found on the website here and ideally use public transport to get to Dun Laoghaire (DART + Bus)

The weather forecast promises a cloudy but mainly dry day with some showers and with highest temperatures of around 16 degrees.

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 Miriam Roycroft cello and Lance Coburn piano. They will perform

Martin?: Pastorales 3+4
Martin?: Sonata No. 2 H 286
Janá?ek: Pohádka
Martin?: Variations on a theme by Rossini

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.

Féile na Gaeilge is a celebration of Irish Language, Story, Culture and Music. It will take in the CHQ building or next to the CHQ building, the organisers are not so clear on that.

There will be music, dance, food, literature and storues and more all in Irish language.

Admission is free.

Luke Clerkin and Elga Fox will perform at the Sunday Songbrunch. There will also be an Open Mic and Closing Jam.

Admission is free.

Dun Laoghaire Rathdown is organising a Science and Technology event in Shanganah Park in Shankill on Sunday. It is a fun and educational event for the whole family based around science and technology themes.

There will be a Digital Design and Fabrication Workshop, a mobile planetarium, classes and workshops about technology for kids, Minecraft workshops, an Archaeology “big dig” and more.

Admission is free.

The Family Fun Day at the Irish National War Memorial Gardens is part of the “Culture in Dublin 8” events, but to make sure that it doesn’t get lost in the listing about the Dublin 8 festival, I am mentioning the Family Fun Day separately.

The activities in the gardens are Re-enactments, Poetry, Storytelling, Puppetry, Circus Performers and Skills Workshop, Arts & Crafts, Balloon Making & Facepainting.

“Be transported back to World War 1 and witness for yourself the uniforms and skills of the soldiers and hear about the regiments who fought in the Great War through British army and German army re-enactment groups. Listen to many of the most moving and memorable poems to emerge from the First World War from WW1 poets. Enjoy the magic of this family-friendly story session with Punch and Judy. Learn new circus skills including Juggling, Hoops, Ball and more at our circus skills workshop. Get creative and colourful at the arts and crafts workshop and balloon making and face painting stations.”

Admission is free, but oddly tickets are required for this event and they can be found here.

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!

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.

An Intercultural Tour in Araboc Language with Community Ambassadors Bayan Musallam and Asmaa Ashour will take place.

Meeting point is in the atrium of the Library. 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

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 talk “James Malton’s views of Dublin in context” with Dr Conor Lucey, UCD takes place. The talk is part of a series of events organised to complement the exhibition Drawing 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.

This is a monthly lecture about pollinators and a walk recording the many different species of bumblebee found within the Park.

Admission is free.

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+.

The International Poetry Festival “POETRY SPRING 2018” is coming back to Ireland. It is a Lithuanian literary event with poetry readings, discourses, and meetings with poets, writers, translators, critics held in a number of countries outside Lithuania, including Ireland.

This year the contributors in Dublin are poet and translator Rimas Uzgiris, the poet Ilze Butkute, the poet, writer and playwright Mindaugas Valiukas. Írish poets Paul Perry, Alan Jude Moore and Peter Sirr will be there as well.

Readings will be in English & Lithuanian. 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 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! ;-)

The Sunday Roast is back! Gone missing for the last two years, this – originally weekly – epic Sunday evening gig was one of the longest standing events in Dublin. back then it took place in the Mercantile, now it has moved to the Grand Social and is a monthly event, but we are glad that the Sunday Roast is back!

In addition to the great music by a range of bands and performers throughout the evening, there will also be free roast potatoes available for you!

Expect the line-up soon on the Facebook Page below.

Admission is free.

Pharaoh Trade will launch their EP on Sunday in the Workman’s Club with a gig.

Admission is free.

Wrongonyou (Marco Zitelli) makes innovative and authentic music that is influenced by indie folk.

Admission is free.

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 Tiny Quartet is playing instrumental Jazz Pop Covers.

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

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.

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!

At this recital, Cello Ireland will play a wide variety of music from Latin America (Piazzolla) to songs from the Irish tradition.

Admission is free but booking is required via musiclibrary@dublincity.ie or 01 8734333

‘Céad Míle Fáilte: Guidebooks to Dublin’s Fair City’ is a talk with Maeve Casserly, NLI that is inspired by this year’s Bealtaine festival theme ‘Be our Guest’. It invites you to take a trip back in time to see an array of guidebooks for tourist in ‘Dublin’s Fair City’. What kind of sites and scenes appealed to visitors from the 1890s? Where they different in the 1910s and 1960s? Using Dublin as a case study, you’ll see how the tourism industry has changed in Ireland since the 1890s through guidebooks, pamphlets, advertisements and posters in the National Library collections (the Lonely Planets of their day).

Admission is free, but booking is required via learning@nli.ie

This event will take place again on Monday 28 May at 15:00.

Get advice and guidance on researching the rich and varied collections of the National Library. The workshop will draw on case studies of personalities from the NLI’s collections and is suitable for anyone looking to embark on a research project or to enhance research skills in navigating the catalogue, accessing the various collections and interpreting the sources. The workshop is suitable for everybody, including people who are using the library for the first time.

Admission is free. Places are limited so booking required via learning@nli.ie or 01 6030 259/346

“Gardening for Birds” is a talk with Declan Murphy. Drawing on a lifetime’s experience, this talk introduces you to the birds in your garden, what they look like and what they sound like. Learn how to attract birds to your garden and which plants to grow in this entertaining presentation.

Admission is free.

Ciaran Molumby (Business Development Manager and GDPR Practitioner) will talk about GDPR:
+ Overview of the new regulations
+ Hints & tips on cyber security
+ Do you know how the new EU GDPR will affect you?

Admission is free.

Belfast Bars are coming to the Liquor Rooms for a one-night Takeover event. There will be staff from Rita’s Belfast and LiquorXXX and they will take over the Liquor Rooms, showcase their signature cocktails and will have to compete in some bartender challenges.

There will also be performances from Bella Agogo and DJ Flava Dave (Aka Dave Taylor) will play some tunes.

Admission is free.

The Irish Astronomical Society will hold their Annual General Meeting and there will also be a talk about “Physics of Light and Optics” with Michael Grehan.

Everybody is invited to attend and IAS members are requested to attend.

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 UCD Centre for Gender, Feminisms & Seksualities (CGFS) [misspelling to avoid the wrath of spam checkers!] is inviting to their first conference “Thinking Gender Justice”, which will take place from Tuesday 22 – Thursday 24 May.

Find all details on the website below.

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

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.

A Pop-up talk will take place in Room 25 in front of Carlo Maratti’s “The Ra pe of Europa” with Emma Hackett.

Admission is free.

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.

“The Anti-Amendment Campaign: Reflections on 35 years under the 8th” is an evening of talks about the 35 years the 8th amendement was in the Irish Constitution.

It was voted into the Irish Constitution with a 67% majority in 1983. But many prominent figures, including Mary Robinson, Michael D. Higgins, Peter Sutherland, Nell McCafferty, Christy Moore, Jennifer Johnson and Neil Jordan vehemently opposed it. They claimed that it would do nothing to provide support to women in crisis pregnancies, that it would not eradicate abortion in Ireland, that it would endanger the lives and health of women, and that it could actually kill women.

There will be a multimedia exhibition, Women to Blame, curated by Therese Caherty and Pauline Conroy showcasing 40 years of struggle for contraception and reproductive rights.

Speakers will be former Supreme Court judge Catherine McGuinness, Niall Stokes of Hot Press Magazine, Senator Ivana Bacik, Catherine Forde, Therese Caherty and Pauline Conroy.

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

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.

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

The Irish Traditional Italian Chippers Association (ITICA) is inviting you to take part in the National Fish & Chips Day. To celebrate this day all participating chippers will offer Fish & Chips for half price!

To find out if your local chipper is taking part, look for the ITICA logo and many will have balloons outside on Wednesday.

Half price fish & chips what is there not to like!? ;-)

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 visiting the People’s Garden with OPW gardeners. Meet at the Parkgate Street entrance to the People’s Gardens.

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.

“Tourism in Dublin: a visit to an ever-changing city” with Maeve Casserly, NLI is a talk about the changing tourism over time.

What were the top 10 tourist attractions in Dublin in 1891? Where was the trendiest hotel to stay and which was the best pub to get yourself a ‘pint of plain’? Once seen as the ‘second city in the Empire’, how did Dublin market itself after independence? Historian Maeve Casserly will use guidebooks from the National Library’s collections to show how the tourism industry in Ireland changed between the 1890s and 1960s.

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).

The International Literature Festival Dublin will happen from 19-27 May and in addition to the “Party in the Park on Saturday and Sunday, there are a handful of free events during the week.

French translator Mireille Gansel in conversation about her memoir Translation as Transhumance with her award-winning translator, Ros Schwartz. The book has been described as a “meditation on translation itself.”

Talking Translation has been curated by Sinéad Mac Aodha, director of Literature Ireland, in partnership with the Alliance Française Dublin, the French Embassy in Dublin, Instituto Cervantes Dublin, the Spanish Embassy in Ireland and the Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation.

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

The International Literature Festival Dublin will happen from 19-27 May and in addition to the “Party in the Park on Saturday and Sunday, there are a handful of free events during the week.

“Whispered Renditions” is a collaborative event based around how translating suppressed languages has affected the ability to tell tales and stories. Participants will consider the journey language takes and how it affects the stories people are nurtured with, celebrating the stories that inspire and shape society within Dublin City. The event will take the form of a panel discussion with academics and storytellers, encouraging audience participation and collaboration.

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

The International Literature Festival Dublin will happen from 19-27 May and in addition to the “Party in the Park on Saturday and Sunday, there are a handful of free events during the week.

Featuring Spanish writer and translator Enrique de Hériz; publisher, Irish language translator and author Micheál Ó Conghaile; Catalan writer and artist Alicia Kopf; and Irish novelist and artist Sara Baume.

Talking Translation has been curated by Sinéad Mac Aodha, director of Literature Ireland, in partnership with the Alliance Française Dublin, the French Embassy in Dublin, Instituto Cervantes Dublin, the Spanish Embassy in Ireland and the Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation.

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

Historian Maeve Casserly talks about Suffrage in the Suburbs.

Admission is free.

The names of eighteen composers and musicians connected to a greater or lesser extent with Ireland such as Michael Balfe, John Field, Percy French, Count John McCormack, Thomas Moore and Vincent Wallace are commemorated in the names of roads in Walkinstown.
Newer residents of the area may not be aware of the heritage surrounding the names of the roads they live on. So Michael Grant will talk about and illustrate with musical examples the lives of many of these artists.

Admission free, but booking is required via 01-4558159

The International Literature Festival Dublin will happen from 19-27 May and in addition to the “Party in the Park on Saturday and Sunday, there are a handful of free events during the week.

Many people left Ireland in the aftermath of the crash in 2008, some have now returned. Have they changed? Has the city changed? What about their interactions with it?
This event will combine panel discussion, video presentations and audience participation to explore what happens when someone returns having been away. How does their time abroad impact on their relationship to the place they left and can they comfortably assimilate back into life?

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

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.

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.

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.

The Wow Signal 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.

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).

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

The GUM Collective, a group of Dublin-based visual artists, were artists-in-residence in the Gallery, investigating the life and work of Emil Nolde through their individual art practices. Their work, created in response to the exhibition, will be on view in the Millennium Wing Studio all day.

Admission is free.

In response to Amanda Dunsmore’s exhibition “Keeper”, participants will reflect on how one’s memory of an event both evolves and remains suspended over time in art workshop led by Kathryn Maguire. You will use collage and small objects in the interior of our capsules as a representation of personal experience of a specific event or time period.

Admission is free, but booking is required via 01 222 5550.

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!

This Pop-up performance with RIAM is part of a series of pop-up musical performances organised to complement the exhibition Emil Nolde: Colour is Life. The Royal Irish Academy of Music is organising the musical side of these short lunchtime concerts in the Shaw Room exploring compositions from the dynamic inter-war period.

Admission is free.

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”. ;-)

The International Literature Festival Dublin will happen from 19-27 May and in addition to the “Party in the Park on Saturday and Sunday, there are a handful of free events during the week.

Mary O’Malley and Enrique Alda discuss why the translation of poetry is so challenging.

Talking Translation has been curated by Sinéad Mac Aodha, director of Literature Ireland, in partnership with the Alliance Française Dublin, the French Embassy in Dublin, Instituto Cervantes Dublin, the Spanish Embassy in Ireland and the Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation.

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.

Crossing political and literary borders, “Words on the Street” will take you on a journey across the cultural landscape, in an evening of celebrity readings of translated work by contemporary European authors.

You will hear readings from ten European countries, in six cultural venues in Dublin 2. This year the trail includes the National Library of Ireland, Royal College of Physicians, Alliance Francaise, National Gallery of Ireland, Instituto Cervantes and Literature Ireland on Fenian Street.

The readers will be Anne Doyle, Mary Kennedy, Lisa Lambe, Geraldine Plunkett and Johnny Ward, with author Elizabeth Day representing the UK and reading from her latest novel “The Party”.

You will hear excerpts from writers from Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Malta, Poland, Romania, Spain and the UK.

The first reading at each venue will start at 18:30 and the last one at 21:00. Each reading takes approx. 15 minutes and is repeated on the hour and half hour.

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.

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 X Factor filled the biggest venues with queues for auditions, The Voice UK is coming to the Bowery for auditions! :-O

The Voice UK Live Auditions will be held in Rathmines and if you want to take part you have book a slot via music@thebowery.ie

The audience will not be voting for the performers, but you have seen the liveshows and you probably know that the audience’s support is crucial when the judges make their decisions.

Admission is free.

“Rhythm and Brews Craft Beer Club” is a monthly meet-up and beer review in Sin E. The next event is on Thursday and you will be able to try the beer of the month, talk about it with other beer enthusiasts and listen to live music.

For more info contact: gerard AT mentorpitch.com

The Sin E webpage is about 6 months outdated, so we currently don’t know the band/performers.

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.

Des Hopkins is playing a Dixieland Jazz gig in Bray.

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.

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.

Admission is free.

Today the “Referendum on the regulation of termination of pregnancy” will take place all over Ireland. It is probably the most fought over Referendum ever in Irish history. The decision will be if the 8th Amendment to the constitution will be removed (YES Vote) or will remain (NO Vote).

No matter what your opinion is, please go and vote! It is crucial that you contribute with your voice and vote!

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

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.

The next Culture Club will have the theme “The Way We Wore”.

Culture Club invites members to explore and enjoy the collections at Collins Barracks through a series of specially arranged guided tours and activities in the company of museum staff followed by ’Tea & Chat’ and an opportunity to mingle. The Clubs take place on the last Friday of each month. May’s Culture Club will be a tour of The Way We Wore with Museum curator Alex Ward.

Admission is free, but booking is required via 01-6777444

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 Pop-up talk “Guercino and Baroque Art” with Kate O’Donoghue will happen in the exhibition Guercino: Journey of a Masterpiece in the Hugh Lane Room (Room 31).

Admission is free.

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.

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 Barefoot Magicians will perform their original material based around a blues groove.

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.

Parchman Farm are playing Chicago, Texas style blues in Bray.

Admission is free.

The Brady’s Sessions takes place in Gub Dandy’s at the side of Brady’s Pub Terenure. It is an acoustic night with a range of singer/songwriter and is hosted by Keith McLoughlin.

The line up is The Finns, Gatinhos, Paul in Denial, Brian McGrane, Micah, Terrie Gray.

Admission is free. Find more details about the event via the link below.

Chief Keegan is an instrumental funk band and they will play at the “Vote for Repeal After Party”. They will be supported by KLNSY.

Admission is free.

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.

Punk/funk band Munky will play a gig in Whelan’s and admission is free before 22:30.

Live band Early House are playing Disco, Funk and Soul.

Admission is free.