Dublin Event Guide 287: Christmas Markets + Fairs + Events all over Dublin

The UCD School of History and Archives, the UCD Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Institute and Innovation UCD invite to a free full day seminar on “Innovation and the Humanities”. Admission is free, but booking is required. All details on website.

The surprisingly vast amount of 25 (!!) galleries and antiques shops in Francis Street came together in the Francis Street Association and designated their street “Dublin’s Art & Antiques Quarter”. And to attract some Christmas business there will be a “Francis Street Art & Antiques Xmas Fair” this year from Thurs 13-Sun 16 Dec. It will be opened officially on Thursday from 18:00-20:00. On Fri the Fair will run from 10:00-19:00, on Sat from 10:00-17:30 and on Sun from 13:00-17:00.

The Launch of “A Practical Guide to Irish Spirituality: Slí Aon Dhraoí” by Lora O’Brien will take place.
Doors open at 10:30. hot port and canapés from 11:00, a reading and presentation at 12:00 and guest speakers after that. A short signing at 13:00 will end the event.

Over forty market stalls in chalets make up this Christmas Market in the Dun Laoghaire Town Centre and the Metals (near the Seafront underneath the Forty Foot Bar) The market is open until 1st January. There is also a Life-size crib with live animals open at St. Michael’s Church.

The Ferocious Mingle Marcade (Market and Arcade) place every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday it is a fancy dress market. It’s a flea-market type permanent market with stalls and “chalets” for traders. The Oscar Verne Café on site and (at least at the weekends) live music adds even more character.

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

The Biggest Christmas Flea Market in Ireland will take place in Block B, Smithfield Square. Dublin. The Dublin Flea and BLOCK T have joined forces to bring you a whopping 120 stalls of bric-a-brac, clothes, vintage, retro, vinyl, furniture and hidden gems with added Christmas cheer in the form of clever crafts, creative thinking and affordable art. The SCOOP Foundation and Amnesty International Ireland will also be there spreading goodwill. Delicious food, coffee, music and Christmas cheer will be available in abundance.

The Flea Market takes place on Fri 14 Dec (12:00-19:00) and on Sat 15 Dec and Sun 16 Dec (11:00-18:00).

The Dame District Christmas Market is taking place the second time this year. Last year it was a long row of white plastic tents down Dame Court from Exchequer Street to Dame Lane. The stalls were fine, but a Christmassy atmosphere didn’t really come up. This year all is promised to be better, “bigger and shinier”. The stalls will be selling handmade crafts, jewelry, toys and food. There will also be a stage with entertainment from music and comedy acts with entertainment every night.

The line up will be:
Alan Star (DJ) – Cravingz – Created by Comets – Crow Black Chicken – Daire Kelly (DJ) – Gypsy Rabble Rebel – Juliet’s Rescue – Julyo – Lisa McLaughlin – Penny Wentworth – ProudFoot – Red Kid – Robin James Hurt – Shawn Mullen – Simon Fagan – The Amazing Few – The Hot Sprockets – The Louisiana 6 – The Rockets – The Young Folk. www.damedistrict.com/entertainment/

Special events on Fri 14 Dec are:
Gypsy Rebel Rebel / Christmas Gypsy Style in Sweeney’s Mongrel (Admission free)
Salsa Night (14-15 Dec: 23:00-02:30) with Antonio in the Mercantile (Admission free)

The Docklands Christmas Festival will start on Friday 07 Dec and will continue until 23 Dec. 80 traders are selling their goods and there will be stalls with food and mulled wine, hot chocolate, roasted chestnuts etc. A carousel and “Victorian fairground attractions” will also be there. The market is open until 20:00. Admission is free.

The lunchtime carol singing of An Post staff at the GPO is a tradition in Dublin that many people are not aware of. Until 21 Dec, An Post staff will sing every weekday from 13:00-14:00 and everybody is invited to join in. The singing is accompanies by Noel Carroll on violin and Lillian O’Connor on piano.

And if you can’t make it to the weekday lunchtime singing you can come to the GPO on Sat 08, 15 and 22 from 13:00-14:00 to listen to the Cameron singers.

Actor AIdan Gillen (Love/Hate) will launch a Christmas-themed House of Light projection show on the South William Street side (where the steps are) of Powerscourt Townhouse Centre. This audiovisual show features lots of Christmas imagery and sounds including Santa Claus and his reindeers, a giant moving gift train, tonnes of snow and loads of other festive pictures and sounds. The launch will take place at 17:00.

Before that, at 16:30, the St. Patrick’s Cathedral Boys Choir will sing on the steps of the centre from 16:30.

Come to this “Friday Night Game Social: Roleplaying Games” and and join in for an evening of roleplaying games of exploration and discovery. Games for a wide variety of tastes and ages will be available to play, whether you want to spend two hours developing strategy or see how many quick games you can fit into one evening. Expect games like: Savage Worlds, Star Wars, Call of Chthulhu. The games are curated by Dr Graham Turner, Chair of the Irish Games Association. Admission is free, but booking is required.

Need to wind down after a tiring week? Free Sahaja Yoga Meditation (not physical yoga, but “yoga meditation”!) classes every Friday at 19:30 at 4/5 Eustace Street, Temple Bar (next to IFI, ring bell no. 3)

A drop in class, with newcomers welcome.

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.

Astronomy Ireland’s weekly free telescope nights are beginning again, and will take place each Friday night at 20:00 if the weather permits. Check the website below for a weather forecast and to find out what you will be able to see at the telescope night. The focus will be on Jupiter and Moon.

The Bicycle Christmas Party takes place in Cafe Rothar and all are welcome. Come by, have a chat with the Dublin Cycling community and you can buy Dublin Cycling Campaign T-shirts. BYOB. Mulled wine and nibbles will be available.

This is one of the most popular Christmas Concerts in Dublin. The LBGT choir Gloria will perform Christmas songs and other material and you can expect a packed St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Admission is free, but make sure you arrive early!

The Stillorgan Orchard provides regular live music. The upcoming gigs are: Fri 14 Dec: Cut Backs; Sat 15 Dec: Full Circle

The Bionic Rats play live Reggae and Ska every Friday in Sin É. Admission is free.

Gerry Lydon will do a “One Hit Wonders” themed night downstairs on Murray’s. Admission is free.

I often wonder how a band came to their name and when they first started to realise that the chosen name was a bit of a pain! :-)

One of the bands I wonder about is playing in Whelan’s tonight: “It Was All Black And White”, a 2-piece experimental, instrumental band will be on stage in the Midnight Hour and they will be supported by The Depravations, a 4-piece indie folk band from Galway.

Doors open at 23:30, but admission is free only if you are there before 22:30.

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

The Dublin Food Co-op is open every Saturday at Newmarket for organic wholefoods and sustainable household products, plus over a dozen producer stalls offering organic fruit and veg., baked goods, dairy produce, wines, hot and cold food, etc. The Co-op is also open on Thursdays 12:00-20:00.

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.

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 Docklands Christmas Festival will start on Friday 07 Dec and will continue until 23 Dec. 80 traders are selling their goods and there will be stalls with food and mulled wine, hot chocolate, roasted chestnuts etc. A carousel and “Victorian fairground attractions” will also be there. The market is open until 20:00. Admission is free.

Farmleigh House is celebrating Christmas with a whole range of events at every weekend in December.

This Sunday the Food Market will take place from 10:00-17:00 and there is a Festive Crib. In addition there is “Christmas Crackers Puppet Show” (12:00+13:45+15:30) and Storytelling events (12:45+14:30+16:15) for children and Carol Singing with Gloria (14:30-16:30) and Barbershop Melodies with The Mellowchords (14:00-16:00) for the whole family.

Admission to all events is free.

The surprisingly vast amount of 25 (!!) galleries and antiques shops in Francis Street came together in the Francis Street Association and designated their street “Dublin’s Art & Antiques Quarter”. And to attract some Christmas business there will be a “Francis Street Art & Antiques Xmas Fair” this year from Thurs 13-Sun 16 Dec. It will be opened officially on Thursday from 18:00-20:00. On Fri the Fair will run from 10:00-19:00, on Sat from 10:00-17:30 and on Sun from 13:00-17:00.

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

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

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

You are invited to the festive activities taking place at The Red Stables, St. Anne’s Park, Mount Prospect Avenue, Dublin 3 in December.

There will be fun family drop in art workshops and make your own Christmas tree decorations or create a winter wonderland with artists Fionnuala Hanahoe and Mary Noonan from 12:00-16:00 on Saturday 15 Dec.

Join artist Martina Galvin on Sunday 16 Dec , 12:00-16:00 to make Christmas finger puppets, colourful angels, white Christmas doves, robin red breasts and other birds you might find in St. Anne’s park.

Get in the Christmas mood with the ‘Christmas Crackers’ puppet show by Conor Lambert’s Custard Pie Puppet Company, which features Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, elves and many more Christmas characters. The puppet show is live, interactive and guaranteed to generate lots of belly laughs and little giggles from the audience. Saturday 15 Dec at 16:00.

Using the flora of St Anne’s Park as inspiration, artist Maeve Clancy will transform the exhibition space of The Red Stables into a cut paper wonderland, creating a magical space to explore and engage with. Holly and snowflakes, Santa and Jack Frost will all feature in an interactive display for children of all ages.

The Red Stables Art, Craft and Food Market is open every Saturday 10:00-17:00. www.fingalmarkets.com

All events and even more than listed here can be found on www.redstablesartists.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/RedStXmasflyerWeb.pdf and on the website.

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.

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

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

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.

The crypt of Christ Church will be the venue for the probably smallest Christmas market in Dublin again. But nevertheless there is something special about this market. It is a cool venue and if you have a few minutes, give it a go. There will be craft produce and presents and the crypt also has the Christ Church Cafe where you can warm up between your different Christmas Market visits. Admission is free. The Christmas market will take place on the four Saturdays before Christmas.

A Christmas Gift Boutique will be popping up in the Ranelagh Arts Centre for 12 days before Christmas, selling affordable Irish design and craft gifts from 30 Irish designers.

The Biggest Christmas Flea Market in Ireland will take place in Block B, Smithfield Square. Dublin. The Dublin Flea and BLOCK T have joined forces to bring you a whopping 120 stalls of bric-a-brac, clothes, vintage, retro, vinyl, furniture and hidden gems with added Christmas cheer in the form of clever crafts, creative thinking and affordable art. The SCOOP Foundation and Amnesty International Ireland will also be there spreading goodwill. Delicious food, coffee, music and Christmas cheer will be available in abundance.

The Flea Market takes place on Fri 14 Dec (12:00-19:00) and on Sat 15 Dec and Sun 16 Dec (11:00-18:00).

Construct Star and Angel Christmas Tree Decorations in this free art workshop for all ages with artist Martina Galvin. Admission is free. Contact the Gallery Reception on 01 2225564 to book your place.

Over forty market stalls in chalets make up this Christmas Market in the Dun Laoghaire Town Centre and the Metals (near the Seafront underneath the Forty Foot Bar) The market is open until 1st January. There is also a Life-size crib with live animals open at St. Michael’s Church.

A free family workshop will take place in The Lab. Get into the Christmas spirit mood by learning how to make traditional Swedish Christmas crackers with artist Veronica Forsgren. All materials provided.

The Old Fire Station in Rathmines is home for a new Christmas Market, whcih will take place on 15+16 and 22+23 Dec. The market will be host to Art, Fashion, Crafts, Jewellery, Antiques and Christmas Goodies. The Old Fire Station is directly next to Cafe Moda in the centre of Rathmines, quite near to the Clock Tower. There will be 20 stalls at the weekend. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the starting time on the website, so I use the arbitrary time of 11:00

It seems that there will be a weekday market as well (www.mart.ie/market ) from 18-21 Dec from 13:00-19:00 which will be a little smaller.

The Ferocious Mingle Marcade (Market and Arcade) place every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday it is a fancy dress market. It’s a flea-market type permanent market with stalls and “chalets” for traders. The Oscar Verne Café on site and (at least at the weekends) live music adds even more character.

A Bring & Buy Sale in aid of Dog Rescue Ireland will take place and needs you to bring items in good conditions that can be sold on the day. (You can ring 087-2651720 to arrange collection.) In addition you are needed to buy items there on the day

The event is not free, but the price of EUR 0.50 per person is so low that I decided to include it here. (The admission charge is a bit surprising. Too low to raise a significant amount of money and too high to advertise the event with the more appealing tag of “free”. I would instead ask for a voluntary donation of EUR 1 and otherwise try to get as many people to come and buy items at the market. But I am sure the organisers have a good reason for what they are doing.)

The Moving Crib in St. Martin Apostolate has fascinated generations of children from Dublin and all over Ireland and 50 years after it first began, it still draws the crowds. The Moving Crib is like an expanded Nativity Play going back to Adam and Eve and finishing after the crib scene with the young Jesus teaching the Doctors in the Temple. There are over 100 figures in the Crib arranged in 14 different tableaux. They cover various episodes of the Old and New Testament. The figures are about a metre high, moulded in papier-mache and dressed in miniature clothes. Concealed motors control the movements of the arms, head and legs. All figures, motors, clothing etc. come from a firm in Germany.

Four events take place each day, running for 30 minutes. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find out yet when these four events take place. The opening hours are Weekdays: 14:00-18:00 and Weekends: 11:30-18:00 from 26 Nov-06 Jan. Admission is free.

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

The new and developing creative space “Chocolate Factory” will host a Christmas Fair with crafts and home made produce. The market is running on the next two weekends and there will be stalls selling Food, Crafts, Photography, Art and Jewellery. There will also be live music and entertainment every Saturday. Hot food will be for sale as well as traditional mulled wine and mince pies and you can even get your Christmas Tree there.

A free A1 Computers Drop-in Computer Clinic will take place in Foxrock on Sat 08 + Sat 15 Dec. The A1 Computer Experts will answer all questions about computer problems.

The Dame District Christmas Market is taking place the second time this year. Last year it was a long row of white plastic tents down Dame Court from Exchequer Street to Dame Lane. The stalls were fine, but a Christmassy atmosphere didn’t really come up. This year all is promised to be better, “bigger and shinier”. The stalls will be selling handmade crafts, jewelry, toys and food. There will also be a stage with entertainment from music and comedy acts with entertainment every night.

The line up will be:
Alan Star (DJ) – Cravingz – Created by Comets – Crow Black Chicken – Daire Kelly (DJ) – Gypsy Rabble Rebel – Juliet’s Rescue – Julyo – Lisa McLaughlin – Penny Wentworth – ProudFoot – Red Kid – Robin James Hurt – Shawn Mullen – Simon Fagan – The Amazing Few – The Hot Sprockets – The Louisiana 6 – The Rockets – The Young Folk. www.damedistrict.com/entertainment/

Special events on Sat 15 Dec:
Salsa Night (14-15 Dec: 23:00-02:30) with Antonio in the Mercantile (Admission free)

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

The next Board Games afternoon in the Exchange takes place: Discover, Re-Discover and play board games! This month, learn how to play Guillotine, Citadels and Village. Have fun killing nobles, building up a prosperous city and engraving your prestigious family in the memory of the village! Anyone 12 and up can come, whether you’re a board game geek or clueless about board games.

Admission is free and the games will be on sale at discounted prices.

The lunchtime carol singing of An Post staff at the GPO is a tradition in Dublin that many people are not aware of. Until 21 Dec, An Post staff will sing every weekday from 13:00-14:00 and everybody is invited to join in. The singing is accompanies by Noel Carroll on violin and Lillian O’Connor on piano.

And if you can’t make it to the weekday lunchtime singing you can come to the GPO on Sat 08, 15 and 22 from 13:00-14:00 to listen to the Cameron singers.

Roji Designs will be in The Bernard Shaw on Saturday 15 Dec helping anyone who’s interested to have a go at screenprinting their own print. Some slightly alternative screenprinted Christmas Cards and mulled wine will also be on offer.

Astronomy Ireland are continuing their weekly Sun Shows at the Astronomy Ireland Shop in Swords. Each Saturday, the staff of the Astronomy Ireland Shop will be showing you amazing views of our nearest star. Using special filters and some of the largest telescopes in Ireland you will get to see sunspots bigger than Earth and huge solar flare bursting from our nearest star. If it’s cloudy, there will be a telescope demonstration and you will find out how you can safely observe the Sun and undertake some daytime astronomy using your own telescope.

The IFI continues with its free Archive at Lunchtime screenings on three days every week in December.

The Double Bill on Saturdays is described here: www.ifi.ie/film/archive-at-lunchtime-dbl-bill-dec-2012/
The Monday/Wednesday programme is here www.ifi.ie/film/archive-at-lunchtime-programme-1-dec-2012/ and here www.ifi.ie/film/archive-at-lunchtime-prog-2-dec-2012/

Dabbledoomusic. invite your children to come and try out their new activity book and a host of online musical games and activities designed for kids aged 6 to 12. Join in the musical fun with colourful animations and instruments for everyone to try. Play drums with Igor the octopus, make futuristic electronic music with the ‘ED 9000’ microwave music machine, make up your own music and play it with the dabbledoo musician friends. Admission is free and everyone is welcome. Instruments will be supplied for all.

The Irish Cultural Centre Áras Chrónáin is taking “Live Crib” another step further and will have a Live Crib with Live Animals, live actors and a live baby. Admission is free and it sounds very interesting! There is a show/play, which starts at 14:30 and lasts 45 minutes.

Samantha Libreri signs her new book ‘Finglas: A People’s Portrait’.

Featuring interviews with people from Finglas including Bono, Amanda Brunker, Dermot Bolger, Dessie Ellis, Mairead Farrell, Niamh Kavanagh, Gavin Friday, Charlie Redmond, Ronnie Whelan and many more the book forms an essential record of Finglas’ history in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The culmination of the eighth Choreography Project at CoisCéim will be a show on Saturday at 16:00 and at 18:00 called “Silent Shots”. This project was led by Choreographer Megan Kennedy who is acclaimed for taking an innovative approach to creating dance theatre. Since October, Megan has been working with 16 participants to create Silent Shots, a site-specific piece inspired by shared memories of vintage films and Super 8 footage. The 30-minute performance will take place on the 1st floor of The Chocolate Factory.

Admission is free, but registration is required via info@coisceim.com or 01 878 0558. You have to specify which performance you will attend.

A concert with Diva Voces will take place at 17:00 on Saturday. Admission is free.

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

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

The Stillorgan Orchard provides regular live music. The upcoming gigs are: Fri 14 Dec: Cut Backs; Sat 15 Dec: Full Circle

The Docklands Christmas Festival will start on Friday 07 Dec and will continue until 23 Dec. 80 traders are selling their goods and there will be stalls with food and mulled wine, hot chocolate, roasted chestnuts etc. A carousel and “Victorian fairground attractions” will also be there. The market is open until 20:00. Admission is free.

A free Treasure Hunt will take place at the Docklands Christmas Festival. Go to www.dublindocklandschristmasfestival.ie/treasure-hunt.html to download the Regisration Form and then come along. The Treasure Hunt should take you and your kids about 1.5 hours and you can start at any time throughout the day.

Farmleigh House is celebrating Christmas with a whole range of events at every weekend in December.

This Saturday the Food Market will take place from 10:00-17:00 and there is a Festive Crib. In addition there is a Christmas Crackers Puppet Show (12:00+13:45+15:30) and Storytelling events (12:45+14:30+16:15) for children and Carol Singing with Cappella (13:30-15:30) and Barbershop Melodies with The Mellowchords (12:00-16:00) for the whole family. Horse and Carriage Rides will take place between 13:00 and 16:00.

Admission to all events is free.

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.

Established in 1956 by Fr. Louis Coffey, the Live Crib at the Mansion House has entertained generations. The Live Crib consists of a traditional nativity scene set among live animals in a specially constructed stable. The animals are brought to the crib every morning and are returned to a farm on the south of the city in the evening. Admission is free and donations are welcome. The crib will be outside Mansion House until 24 Dec.

The Long Mile Road Market behind Wigoders on Long MIle Road (across the road from Aldi) hosts more than 50 stalls and there is also a Cafe on site.

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

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

A Christmas Craft & Food Fair takes place on Sunday. There will be marquees on Naul village square as well as stalls inside the Centre selling stained glass, patchwork quilts, wood turning, willow baskets, pottery, jewelry, candles, handmade soaps, Christmas Cribs, Knitwear, Wooden Toys, Leather goods, Silk Scarves, mosaics, paintings, Farmhouse Cheeses, Cakes, Cup-Cakes, Breads, Chutneys, Jams and much more. Weather permitting there will be carol singing on the square from 15:00-15:30. Admission is free.

The Christmas Brocante Market will take place on Sun. 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 and approx. 40 stalls will offer their wares.

A Christmas Gift Boutique will be popping up in the Ranelagh Arts Centre for 12 days before Christmas, selling affordable Irish design and craft gifts from 30 Irish designers.

The Biggest Christmas Flea Market in Ireland will take place in Block B, Smithfield Square. Dublin. The Dublin Flea and BLOCK T have joined forces to bring you a whopping 120 stalls of bric-a-brac, clothes, vintage, retro, vinyl, furniture and hidden gems with added Christmas cheer in the form of clever crafts, creative thinking and affordable art. The SCOOP Foundation and Amnesty International Ireland will also be there spreading goodwill. Delicious food, coffee, music and Christmas cheer will be available in abundance.

The Flea Market takes place on Fri 14 Dec (12:00-19:00) and on Sat 15 Dec and Sun 16 Dec (11:00-18:00).

Over forty market stalls in chalets make up this Christmas Market in the Dun Laoghaire Town Centre and the Metals (near the Seafront underneath the Forty Foot Bar) The market is open until 1st January. There is also a Life-size crib with live animals open at St. Michael’s Church.

The Old Fire Station in Rathmines is home for a new Christmas Market, whcih will take place on 15+16 and 22+23 Dec. The market will be host to Art, Fashion, Crafts, Jewellery, Antiques and Christmas Goodies. The Old Fire Station is directly next to Cafe Moda in the centre of Rathmines, quite near to the Clock Tower. There will be 20 stalls at the weekend. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the starting time on the website, so I use the arbitrary time of 11:00

It seems that there will be a weekday market as well (www.mart.ie/market ) from 18-21 Dec from 13:00-19:00 which will be a little smaller.

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 Ferocious Mingle Marcade (Market and Arcade) place every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday it is a fancy dress market. It’s a flea-market type permanent market with stalls and “chalets” for traders. The Oscar Verne Café on site and (at least at the weekends) live music adds even more character.

The Moving Crib in St. Martin Apostolate has fascinated generations of children from Dublin and all over Ireland and 50 years after it first began, it still draws the crowds. The Moving Crib is like an expanded Nativity Play going back to Adam and Eve and finishing after the crib scene with the young Jesus teaching the Doctors in the Temple. There are over 100 figures in the Crib arranged in 14 different tableaux. They cover various episodes of the Old and New Testament. The figures are about a metre high, moulded in papier-mache and dressed in miniature clothes. Concealed motors control the movements of the arms, head and legs. All figures, motors, clothing etc. come from a firm in Germany.

Four events take place each day, running for 30 minutes. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find out yet when these four events take place. The opening hours are Weekdays: 14:00-18:00 and Weekends: 11:30-18:00 from 26 Nov-06 Jan. Admission is free.

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

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

The new and developing creative space “Chocolate Factory” will host a Christmas Fair with crafts and home made produce. The market is running on the next two weekends and there will be stalls selling Food, Crafts, Photography, Art and Jewellery. There will also be live music and entertainment every Saturday. Hot food will be for sale as well as traditional mulled wine and mince pies and you can even get your Christmas Tree there.

The Dame District Christmas Market is taking place the second time this year. Last year it was a long row of white plastic tents down Dame Court from Exchequer Street to Dame Lane. The stalls were fine, but a Christmassy atmosphere didn’t really come up. This year all is promised to be better, “bigger and shinier”. The stalls will be selling handmade crafts, jewelry, toys and food. There will also be a stage with entertainment from music and comedy acts with entertainment every night.

The line up will be:
Alan Star (DJ) – Cravingz – Created by Comets – Crow Black Chicken – Daire Kelly (DJ) – Gypsy Rabble Rebel – Juliet’s Rescue – Julyo – Lisa McLaughlin – Penny Wentworth – ProudFoot – Red Kid – Robin James Hurt – Shawn Mullen – Simon Fagan – The Amazing Few – The Hot Sprockets – The Louisiana 6 – The Rockets – The Young Folk. www.damedistrict.com/entertainment/

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

You are invited to the festive activities taking place at The Red Stables, St. Anne’s Park, Mount Prospect Avenue, Dublin 3 in December.

Join artist Martina Galvin on Sunday 16 Dec , 12:00-16:00 to make Christmas finger puppets, colourful angels, white Christmas doves, robin red breasts and other birds you might find in St. Anne’s park.

Using the flora of St Anne’s Park as inspiration, artist Maeve Clancy will transform the exhibition space of The Red Stables into a cut paper wonderland, creating a magical space to explore and engage with. Holly and snowflakes, Santa and Jack Frost will all feature in an interactive display for children of all ages.

All events and even more than listed here can be found on www.redstablesartists.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/RedStXmasflyerWeb.pdf and on the website.

The Sundays at Noon Concert Series is back after the summer break and takes place again in the Sculpture Gallery at the Hugh Lane Gallery. Now in its 36th year, 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 the Ensemble Avalon, performing pieces from W.V. Wallace, P. Hammond, E.J. Moeran and A. Piazzolla

Naively I thought that all Christmas markets are totally gender inclusive, but I must have been wrong! The LGBT community is getting a gayer Christmas Market this Sunday in the Front Lounge. The products sold seem to be quite similar to all other Christmas markets, though: art, fashion, craft, jewellery, antiques and Christmas goodies.

The 60m Ice Slide on Dun Laoghaire Harbour Plaza will be open from Thurs 13 Dec until 01 Jan from 11:00-19:00 every day (with the exception of Christmas Day). You can watch the spectacle for free and you can slide down yourself for EUR 2 (for 3 slides).

On Sun from 13:00 a “Daring Live Performance down the Ice Slide by the Ski Club of Ireland) will take place. There will be a range of performances between 13:00 and 17:00.

The surprisingly vast amount of 25 (!!) galleries and antiques shops in Francis Street came together in the Francis Street Association and designated their street “Dublin’s Art & Antiques Quarter”. And to attract some Christmas business there will be a “Francis Street Art & Antiques Xmas Fair” this year from Thurs 13-Sun 16 Dec. It will be opened officially on Thursday from 18:00-20:00. On Fri the Fair will run from 10:00-19:00, on Sat from 10:00-17:30 and on Sun from 13:00-17:00.

Children are invited to come to the Learning Resources Room and help to decorate the Christmas Tree in the museum by making fun Christmas decorations.

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

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

The Irish Cultural Centre Áras Chrónáin is taking “Live Crib” another step further and will have a Live Crib with Live Animals, live actors and a live baby. Admission is free and it sounds very interesting! There is a show/play, which starts at 14:30 and lasts 45 minutes.

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

The public lecture “Into the Light -The Arts Council Collection” with lecturer Karen Downey (Project Curator of Into the Light) will take place in the Hugh Lane Gallery. Admission is free. No booking required, but places are limited.

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.

It’s winter and animals are hibernating to avoid the cold weather. Join in on this trail and make sure that you do NOT disturb the animals. Admission is free and no booking is required.

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

The Bray Gospel Choir will perform in Café en Seine on 09+16 December in aid of the Simon Community and admission is free.

37 Dawson Street is still one of the newsest pubs in Dublin and for the month of December, they are adding a weekly vocal jazz gig to their Sunday attractions.
The upcoming gigs are 16 Dec: Clare Finegan Quartet, 23 Dec: Emilie Conway Quartet, 30 Dec: Anne Marie Williams Quartet.

A Fireworks Display will be part of the Dun Laoghaire Christmas Festival. It will take place in Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

Saucy Sundays is a weekly free live music afternoon and evening in the Grand Social. This week’s line up is Vann, Mick Heslin, Sign A, Just No, Galia Arad, Ger Murphy, Nial McGarty, Island Life, Bleach Dogs. www.facebook.com/events/446341912091721/

This is the next meeting of Exchange Words, a scriptwriting (film and theatre) group. A safe space where writers and actors can come together to collaborate, create and have fun. It will feature drama games, writing discussion and script readthroughs. Writers can bring a few copies of script, 1-4 pages in length, for the actors to perform as part of the workshop. The workshop is free and open to all.

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

The public lecture “New views on the origin of our species” will take place on Sunday.

This talk, by Prof. Chris Stringer FRS of the Natural History Museum, London, one of the world’s leading experts on the subject, will review how data from fields as diverse as geology, anthropology and genetics have, in the past decade, revolutionised our understanding of the evolution of our own species. The event is sponsored by the Palaeontological Association and UCD College of Science. Admission is free but booking is required at www.ucd.ie/earth/newsevents/stringer/registration/ Minimum age: 15 yrs.

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

This week a small Christmas Gospel Concert will take place after the normal mass for about 20 minutes.

Every Sunday a band will play from 21:00-22:30, a Latin Beat Club, Brazilian DJs and Salsa Classes (from 18:00) are additional features. Admission is free.

The weekly Sunday Roast is an event in the Mercantile where live music is combined with free roast potatoes. The next Sunday Roast line up is Wocko, Lorcan James, Cash is King, Donna Marie & Michael J, Bennett vs. Matrix, Dave Morrissey, Juliets Rescue, Class A’z, Fox.E and the Good Hands, Frantic Jack, Soldiers can’t dance.

This week’s event is the MRU (Musicreview Unsigned) Music Awards 2012 and prices will be given to performers. Admission is free, but come early! More information on www.facebook.com/events/131722426974732/

The Comedy Crunch is a free Stand Up comedy downstairs in Stag’s Head, Dame Lane from 21:00 every week on Sun+Mon. Every week different comedians entertain and on top of that there is some free ice cream. This Sunday headliner Rory O’Hanlon with guests will entertain you.

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

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

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

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

Over forty market stalls in chalets make up this Christmas Market in the Dun Laoghaire Town Centre and the Metals (near the Seafront underneath the Forty Foot Bar) The market is open until 1st January. There is also a Life-size crib with live animals open at St. Michael’s Church.

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

The Dame District Christmas Market is taking place the second time this year. Last year it was a long row of white plastic tents down Dame Court from Exchequer Street to Dame Lane. The stalls were fine, but a Christmassy atmosphere didn’t really come up. This year all is promised to be better, “bigger and shinier”. The stalls will be selling handmade crafts, jewelry, toys and food. There will also be a stage with entertainment from music and comedy acts with entertainment every night.

The line up will be:
Alan Star (DJ) – Cravingz – Created by Comets – Crow Black Chicken – Daire Kelly (DJ) – Gypsy Rabble Rebel – Juliet’s Rescue – Julyo – Lisa McLaughlin – Penny Wentworth – ProudFoot – Red Kid – Robin James Hurt – Shawn Mullen – Simon Fagan – The Amazing Few – The Hot Sprockets – The Louisiana 6 – The Rockets – The Young Folk. www.damedistrict.com/entertainment/

The Docklands Christmas Festival will start on Friday 07 Dec and will continue until 23 Dec. 80 traders are selling their goods and there will be stalls with food and mulled wine, hot chocolate, roasted chestnuts etc. A carousel and “Victorian fairground attractions” will also be there. The market is open until 20:00. Admission is free.

The lunchtime carol singing of An Post staff at the GPO is a tradition in Dublin that many people are not aware of. Until 21 Dec, An Post staff will sing every weekday from 13:00-14:00 and everybody is invited to join in. The singing is accompanies by Noel Carroll on violin and Lillian O’Connor on piano.

And if you can’t make it to the weekday lunchtime singing you can come to the GPO on Sat 08, 15 and 22 from 13:00-14:00 to listen to the Cameron singers.

The IFI continues with its free Archive at Lunchtime screenings on three days every week in December.

The Double Bill on Saturdays is described here: www.ifi.ie/film/archive-at-lunchtime-dbl-bill-dec-2012/
The Monday/Wednesday programme is here www.ifi.ie/film/archive-at-lunchtime-programme-1-dec-2012/ and here www.ifi.ie/film/archive-at-lunchtime-prog-2-dec-2012/

Need to wind down after a tiring week? Free Sahaja Yoga Meditation (not physical yoga, but “yoga meditation”!) classes every Monday from 19:00 in Blakestown Community Resource Centre (next to Lidl).

This is a drop in class, with newcomers are welcome.

The Comedy Crunch is a free Stand Up comedy event every Sunday and Monday. Every week different comedians entertain and on top of good comedy you will get free ice cream. Admission is free. This Monday’s line up is Neil Hickey & Jim Elliott plus guests.

Exchange Focus is a collective photography group. They act as a forum and meeting point for Dublin photographers to share techniques and collaborate on projects and they regularly exhibit their work and run free workshops in all aspects of photography. The group meets every second week on Monday nights and is open to everyone. All levels of experience are catered for.

Every Monday, a mix of musicians from bands like The Seven Deadly Skins / Animal Cracker / Upbeat Generation / Crete Boom & more come together to play a free night of Rock & Reggae.

The Royal Irish Academy of Music is inviting to a performance of the Apple Hill Quartet. They will also be coaching advanced chamber ensembles from the RIAM. Admission is free and all are welcome.

Over forty market stalls in chalets make up this Christmas Market in the Dun Laoghaire Town Centre and the Metals (near the Seafront underneath the Forty Foot Bar) The market is open until 1st January. There is also a Life-size crib with live animals open at St. Michael’s Church.

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

The Dame District Christmas Market is taking place the second time this year. Last year it was a long row of white plastic tents down Dame Court from Exchequer Street to Dame Lane. The stalls were fine, but a Christmassy atmosphere didn’t really come up. This year all is promised to be better, “bigger and shinier”. The stalls will be selling handmade crafts, jewelry, toys and food. There will also be a stage with entertainment from music and comedy acts with entertainment every night.

The line up will be:
Alan Star (DJ) – Cravingz – Created by Comets – Crow Black Chicken – Daire Kelly (DJ) – Gypsy Rabble Rebel – Juliet’s Rescue – Julyo – Lisa McLaughlin – Penny Wentworth – ProudFoot – Red Kid – Robin James Hurt – Shawn Mullen – Simon Fagan – The Amazing Few – The Hot Sprockets – The Louisiana 6 – The Rockets – The Young Folk. www.damedistrict.com/entertainment/

The Docklands Christmas Festival will start on Friday 07 Dec and will continue until 23 Dec. 80 traders are selling their goods and there will be stalls with food and mulled wine, hot chocolate, roasted chestnuts etc. A carousel and “Victorian fairground attractions” will also be there. The market is open until 20:00. Admission is free.

The lunchtime carol singing of An Post staff at the GPO is a tradition in Dublin that many people are not aware of. Until 21 Dec, An Post staff will sing every weekday from 13:00-14:00 and everybody is invited to join in. The singing is accompanies by Noel Carroll on violin and Lillian O’Connor on piano.

And if you can’t make it to the weekday lunchtime singing you can come to the GPO on Sat 08, 15 and 22 from 13:00-14:00 to listen to the Cameron singers.

GAME: NEXT, a 4-day showcase of the very latest in gaming technology from Ireland and further afield, will run from December 18-21 and the include the European premiere of the ultimate virtual reality experience Project Holodeck, featuring the revolutionary new virtual reality headset Oculus Rift. There will be a special launch event at 18:00 on 18 Dec.

Admission is free and no booking is required.

The Performance Collective are a group of five leading Irish visual artists (Michelle Browne, Pauline Cummins, Frances Mezzetti, Dominic Thorpe and Alex Conway) who will present a two hour live improvised and collaborative work.

Unit1 is inviting to this exhibition of live performance by The Performance Collective on Tuesday in the Back Loft in La Catedral Studios.

Admission is free and all are welcome. For more details check the Facebook Page.

The alternative comedy “Long Shot Comedy” is taking place on Tuesday. Admission is free.

Open Mic Night with The Last Tycoons in O’Donoghue’s on Suffolk Street every Tues from 20:00. It’s free and anyone can get up, sing a song or do whatever they like.

The weekly “Grand Folk Club” will feature Trad, Ballads, Americana, Folk, World Music & More. This Tuesday, the line-up is: Lynched (Ballads/Trad/Urban Folk) and Macdara Yeates (Ballads/Trad/Folk). Admission is free.

White Chocolate is playing Rock Covers from 23:30 in The Mezz in Temple Bar.

Over forty market stalls in chalets make up this Christmas Market in the Dun Laoghaire Town Centre and the Metals (near the Seafront underneath the Forty Foot Bar) The market is open until 1st January. There is also a Life-size crib with live animals open at St. Michael’s Church.

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

The Dame District Christmas Market is taking place the second time this year. Last year it was a long row of white plastic tents down Dame Court from Exchequer Street to Dame Lane. The stalls were fine, but a Christmassy atmosphere didn’t really come up. This year all is promised to be better, “bigger and shinier”. The stalls will be selling handmade crafts, jewelry, toys and food. There will also be a stage with entertainment from music and comedy acts with entertainment every night.

The line up will be:
Alan Star (DJ) – Cravingz – Created by Comets – Crow Black Chicken – Daire Kelly (DJ) – Gypsy Rabble Rebel – Juliet’s Rescue – Julyo – Lisa McLaughlin – Penny Wentworth – ProudFoot – Red Kid – Robin James Hurt – Shawn Mullen – Simon Fagan – The Amazing Few – The Hot Sprockets – The Louisiana 6 – The Rockets – The Young Folk. www.damedistrict.com/entertainment/

The Docklands Christmas Festival will start on Friday 07 Dec and will continue until 23 Dec. 80 traders are selling their goods and there will be stalls with food and mulled wine, hot chocolate, roasted chestnuts etc. A carousel and “Victorian fairground attractions” will also be there. The market is open until 20:00. Admission is free.

The Winter Solstice Tour: Neolithic Ireland is taking place in the National Museum. Discover more about Ireland 6,000 years ago with a look at Neolithic passage tombs and the artefacts discovered within including finds from Newgrange, Co. Meath. Admission is free and no booking required.

The IFI continues with its free Archive at Lunchtime screenings on three days every week in December.

The Double Bill on Saturdays is described here: www.ifi.ie/film/archive-at-lunchtime-dbl-bill-dec-2012/
The Monday/Wednesday programme is here www.ifi.ie/film/archive-at-lunchtime-programme-1-dec-2012/ and here www.ifi.ie/film/archive-at-lunchtime-prog-2-dec-2012/

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

WALK, the Walkingstown Community is inviting local people and members of community groups in Dublin to attend an evening celebrating achievements and festive fun on Wednesday.

The evening will commence with the arrival of Santa and his Elves by Sleigh at Walkinstown Green where a choir will be preform carols during a remembrance, candle lighting ceremony. This will be followed by a short stroll to WALK’s Centre on Longmile Rd via Walkinstown Rd were Tea/Coffee, Mince Pies, and mulled wine will be accompanied by carol singing and further surprises.

Neven Maguire, Irish celebrity chef, known from TV will be in the National Library for a special talk and Q&A on Wednesday. He will discuss learning to cook, cooking for others and how he communicates his love of food and cooking through books and social media. This lecture is part of a lecture series ‘The Kitchen Archive’ that focuses on how recipes and culinary skills have been communicated through the centuries in Ireland.

Admission is free and all are welcome. No booking required, however seats will be allocated on a first-come first served basis. Doors open at 18:30.

The “Not your average Jazz Band” Shake Your Brass, will play in Whelan’s Front Bar. Admission is free.

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

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

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

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

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

The next Inn Jokes show will take place on Wednesday and Colm O’Regan has lined up Patrick McDonnell, Totally Wired and Colm McGlinchey.

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).

Over forty market stalls in chalets make up this Christmas Market in the Dun Laoghaire Town Centre and the Metals (near the Seafront underneath the Forty Foot Bar) The market is open until 1st January. There is also a Life-size crib with live animals open at St. Michael’s Church.

The Ferocious Mingle Marcade (Market and Arcade) place every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday it is a fancy dress market. It’s a flea-market type permanent market with stalls and “chalets” for traders. The Oscar Verne Café on site and (at least at the weekends) live music adds even more character.

Join Mary Greene to find out how Christmas is celebrated around the world and then make a decoration for your tree. This tour is for adults with babies. Admission is free, but booking is required via 01-6486453

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

The Dame District Christmas Market is taking place the second time this year. Last year it was a long row of white plastic tents down Dame Court from Exchequer Street to Dame Lane. The stalls were fine, but a Christmassy atmosphere didn’t really come up. This year all is promised to be better, “bigger and shinier”. The stalls will be selling handmade crafts, jewelry, toys and food. There will also be a stage with entertainment from music and comedy acts with entertainment every night.

The line up will be:
Alan Star (DJ) – Cravingz – Created by Comets – Crow Black Chicken – Daire Kelly (DJ) – Gypsy Rabble Rebel – Juliet’s Rescue – Julyo – Lisa McLaughlin – Penny Wentworth – ProudFoot – Red Kid – Robin James Hurt – Shawn Mullen – Simon Fagan – The Amazing Few – The Hot Sprockets – The Louisiana 6 – The Rockets – The Young Folk. www.damedistrict.com/entertainment/

The Docklands Christmas Festival will start on Friday 07 Dec and will continue until 23 Dec. 80 traders are selling their goods and there will be stalls with food and mulled wine, hot chocolate, roasted chestnuts etc. A carousel and “Victorian fairground attractions” will also be there. The market is open until 20:00. Admission is free.

The Dublin Food Co-op is open every Thursday at Newmarket for organic wholefoods and sustainable household products, plus over a dozen producer stalls offering organic fruit and veg., baked goods, dairy produce, wines, hot and cold food, etc.
The Co-op is also opened on Saturdays 09:30 – 16:30. 12:00-20:00.

Lunchtime Market at Christ Church Cathedral from 12:00-15:00.

The Dublin Writers’ Forum welcomes writers of all genres, of all ages and all levels of experience. DWF is an open group of writers who share a common passion for all things literary. It is a safe ‘working space’ where on a weekly basis writers can bring their work to be critiqued by other writers.

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

The 4-piece Pop/Rock band The Ambertones will perform in Whelan’s. Admission is free.

Jaime Nanci & The Blue Boys are playing a weekly gig in the Mercantile Hotel on Thursdays. Their music is swing, blues, bebop and doo wop. Admission is free.

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

“Thirsty Thursday” Open Mic Night from 21:00 in the Bridge Inn in Chapelizod Village.

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

The yearly State Midnight Mass Christmas gig, a free show in the Mercantile takes place. The line-up is Skelocrats, Ghost Estates, The Notas, Deaf Joe and Jennifer Evans. Admission is free. Donations are welcome and CDs will be sold for the charity Pieta House.

Banda Baque Sol play every Thursday funl, soul and samba.

Every Thursday the resident band “Dilligaf” is performing from 22:00 in the Baggot Inn.

Established in 1956 by Fr. Louis Coffey, the Live Crib at the Mansion House has entertained generations. The Live Crib consists of a traditional nativity scene set among live animals in a specially constructed stable. The animals are brought to the crib every morning and are returned to a farm on the south of the city in the evening. Admission is free and donations are welcome. The crib will be outside Mansion House until 24 Dec.

A Christmas Gift Boutique will be popping up in the Ranelagh Arts Centre for 12 days before Christmas, selling affordable Irish design and craft gifts from 30 Irish designers.

Over forty market stalls in chalets make up this Christmas Market in the Dun Laoghaire Town Centre and the Metals (near the Seafront underneath the Forty Foot Bar) The market is open until 1st January. There is also a Life-size crib with live animals open at St. Michael’s Church.

The Dame District Christmas Market is taking place the second time this year. Last year it was a long row of white plastic tents down Dame Court from Exchequer Street to Dame Lane. The stalls were fine, but a Christmassy atmosphere didn’t really come up. This year all is promised to be better, “bigger and shinier”. The stalls will be selling handmade crafts, jewelry, toys and food. There will also be a stage with entertainment from music and comedy acts with entertainment every night.

The line up will be:
Alan Star (DJ) – Cravingz – Created by Comets – Crow Black Chicken – Daire Kelly (DJ) – Gypsy Rabble Rebel – Juliet’s Rescue – Julyo – Lisa McLaughlin – Penny Wentworth – ProudFoot – Red Kid – Robin James Hurt – Shawn Mullen – Simon Fagan – The Amazing Few – The Hot Sprockets – The Louisiana 6 – The Rockets – The Young Folk. www.damedistrict.com/entertainment/

The Docklands Christmas Festival will start on Friday 07 Dec and will continue until 23 Dec. 80 traders are selling their goods and there will be stalls with food and mulled wine, hot chocolate, roasted chestnuts etc. A carousel and “Victorian fairground attractions” will also be there. The market is open until 20:00. Admission is free.

The lunchtime carol singing of An Post staff at the GPO is a tradition in Dublin that many people are not aware of. Until 21 Dec, An Post staff will sing every weekday from 13:00-14:00 and everybody is invited to join in. The singing is accompanies by Noel Carroll on violin and Lillian O’Connor on piano.

And if you can’t make it to the weekday lunchtime singing you can come to the GPO on Sat 08, 15 and 22 from 13:00-14:00 to listen to the Cameron singers.

Come to this “Friday Night Game Social: Khet” and and join in for an evening of combining strategy games with lasers.

Khet is an abstract strategy board game in which two players fire lasers to strike and remove Egyptian-themed game pieces from the board. Most of the pieces are mirrored on one or more sides, allowing players to alter the trajectory of the laser beam each time it is fired by changing the position of the playing pieces. When a piece is struck by a laser on a non-mirrored side, it is eliminated from the game. The object is to hit your opponent’s pharaoh with a laser, thereby claiming victory, all the while protecting your own king.

Admission is free, but booking is required.

A Jazz Session will take place in the in the Radisson Hotel. This is the last Jazz Gig there in 2012. James Mullen will perform.

The Dublin Sidewalk Astronomers will meet at the Martello tower car park in Sandymount to observe the 9 day old Moon. This event is free and everybody is welcome. The event is weather dependent, please check the web site after 18:00 on Friday to see if it is going ahead.

I normally don’t include DJ events, simply because there are too many. Every pub and club has a DJ and I wouldn’t be able to differntiate between an outstanding DJ and a guy who plays MP3s from his iPOD … some would say there is no difference, but that would be a little harsh. ;-)

Anyway, the reason why I include this event is because it is meant to be the last rave on earth IF and only IF the interpretation of the Mayan calender comes true that claims the earth will come to an end next Friday. I’d say the Mayans just had no space on their calender anymore and decided to add the years after 2012 in the next “print” run!

Anyway (2!), here is what is taking place at the last rave: The Zombie Circus presents
+ 1st Floor: Lex Woo – Dj Mog-Y – Ras Tinny with Reggae/Funk/Soul/Hip-Hop/Breakbeat/Afrobeat/Jazz/Electro
+ Ground Floor: Kurt Coca ine – Claire Meow Catt with Rock & Roll / Funk / Soul / Disco/ 80’s Cheese/ 90’s Classics
and lots of home-grown stuff

Admission is free.