Dublin Event Guide 411: Phizzfest, Bray Jazz Festival, Cinco de Mayo, HOME\SICK Science Gallery, Canalphonics

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 Malahide Car Boot Sale is running every Saturday at the Malahide Rugby Club. Admission is free for buyers.

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

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

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

The 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.

The Drumcondra Village Market is an arts and crafts fair in the centre of Drumcondra. Admission 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.

The Merchants Market on East Wall Road is a weekly indoors flea market on Saturdays and Sundays with more than 80 stalls in a big industrial hall. There is everything from furniture and antiques to paintings and mirrors, electronics and hot food to bicycles and buns. It is just a few minutes walk away from the Point Theatre/O2 (walk in the direction of the Port Tunnel).

The Ark in Temple Bar runs many really good events, but due to the cost of running this cultural centre for children, most events are not free. But every now and then, there is a free event or exhibition and they are always worth a visit.

This time it is an exhibition (for ages 4+) called “Once upon a Picture”: Every artwork has a story to tell! Sometimes worlds cross over and strange things happen – humans take on animal form, objects shrink or grow, people dream enchanted dreams and things are not always as they seem. Let your imagination run wild as you explore this exhibition of artworks that are mysterious, alluring and magical. Have fun imagining what the artworks are about and what stories they tell.

Admission is free and no booking is required. The exhibition will be open on the following Saturdays: 28 March, 11+18+25 April, 02 May.

A new weekly Farmer’s Market only recently started in Dalkey with over 20 vendors selling a wide variety of foods and an eclectic selection of arts and crafts. Admission is free.

A new market (flea/vintage/etc) with two cafés has opened in the same location in Thomas Street where the Ferocious Mingle Market was before their move to Camden Street.

The new market in 72 Thomas Street is called Stable Market and it is open from Thursday until Sunday from 10:00-18:00 every day. It seems there is neither a website nor a Facebook Page yet.

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.

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 Terenure Village Market has moved to Bushy Park and is from now on a weekly market.

The market has now grown to 40 stalls offering a whole variety of foods and crafts.

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.

For the 16th year, the Bray Jazz Festival is brought to you on the May Bank Holiday weekend (Fri+Sat+Sun + only one gig on Modnay) and there are free and non-free events. The free gigs are on the Harbour Stage, i.e. in the Harbour Bar in Bray, and gigs on the Molson Canadian Jazz Trail, a music trail through a whole range of pubs in Bray.

The Harbour Bar line-up is:
Sat 15:00: Francesco Turrisi Quartet
Sat 20:00: The CEO Experiment (Peru/Venez/Hungary)
Sat 22:00: Butter & Special Guests
Sun 15:00: Nick Roth Quartet
Sun 20:00: Re: Ellington
Sun 21:45: Stomptown Brass
Mon 22:00; Square Pegs
—–
On the Molson Canadian Jazz Trail, nearly 30 shows are taking place in over a dozen different venues and every single one of them is free. It starts every evening (Fri-Mon) around 21:30 or 22:00 and the full list is here.

You like Jazz? You have to go to Bray!!

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.

The Science Gallery exhibition “HOME\SICK – Post-Domestic Bliss” looks at the Home and asks what “Home” really is and also how it could be improved. The word means something different to everyone, but how will the future of technology and design, communities, families, resources, and nations change the nature of what we define as ‘home’?

HOME\SICK is the summer exhibition of the Science Gallery, which usually is the exhibition that is the most accessible and understandable for all ages and that goal was achieved again. It is not the Science Gallery’s best exhibition, but it is still definitely worth a visit.

The exhibition will run from 01 May until 19 July and is open from Tuesday-Sunday (Tues-Fri: 12:00-20:00, Sat+Sun 12:00-18:00). Admission is free.

This year’s Phizzfest in Phibsborough is starting with a wet day for the Big Day Out. The plan was to have a Bounce Zone, Climbing Wall, Face Painting, Games Boat Rides, Canadian Canoes, Stand Up Paddle Boarding, Go Kart Derby, Annual Duck Race at the Royal Canal, Mount Bernard Park and Shandon.

THe Go Carts and the Bouncy Castles have been postponed to the 17 May, but the rest is going ahead. So bring your umbrella and make the best of it!

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.

“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 required via myfavouritesdublincitywalktour@gmail.com or 085-2725095

The talk “The Making of Song of The Sea” will be on Saturday at 14:00 and again at 16:00. It is a 45 min long talk for Ages 5+ to discover the story behind Song of The Sea, the animated feature film by Kilkenny’s Cartoon Saloon. Director Tomm Moore and Assistant Director Fabian Erlinghauser will explain everything.

Nominated for an Academy Award this year, this enchanting story is based around tale of the mythical seal creature the selkie and follows the adventures of Saoirse and her brother Ben. Tomm & Fabian will reveal the secrets behind the making of the film and talk about where the inspiration for this magical story came from.

You will also get to see some clips and images from the film, in advance of its upcoming Irish release on 10 July.

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

An Intercultural Tour & Family Friendly Activities in Mandarin Language with Community Ambassador Tiedong Yang will take place.

Admission is free and no booking required. Meeting point is in the atrium of the Library.

From Sat 11 Apr until 29 May, the Grand Social will screen 8 episodes (one every Saturday) from the Foo Fighters Documentary “Sonic Highways”. Admission is free,

Created by Comets are playing their Funk/Rock/Soul in the Mercantile and admission is free.

Live in Sin É will feature a variety of bands and musicians at this weekly gig night on Saturdays. The event is presented by Super Happy Funtimes. Admission is free and the line-up is can be found on the Facebook Page below.

In short, the line-up is Clara Rose & Band, Woodlark, Paul O’Neill.

This is a weekly Saturday night live music event 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.

Every Saturday Robert Coyle will bring his One-man Comedy show “Robert Coyle’s is feeling Numinous; Comedy Attempting Transcendence – probably NOT a cult.” to Accents Cafe.

Admission is free.

The next “Taste of Music” gig night will take place in Arthur’s Pub and the line-up is Andy Delamare, Lynda Lucas and Alice Jago.

Admission is free.

The Crow Black Chicken will be in the Mezz for a special bank holiday gig. They will be supported by NC Lawlor and the evening starts with Slim Jim and The Bone Breakers. 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.

Otis are playing a free gig in Whelan’s on Saturday.

The second day of the Phizzfest starts EARLY with the Dawn Chorus at the Royal Canal at Shandon. The International Dawn Chorus Day is the worldwide celebration of nature’s daily miracle. Get there early to enjoy the start of the chorus. Arrive at 4.30am with your blanket and your coffee.

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.

The next Farmleigh House Food & Craft Market is on Sunday.

There will also be music on the bandstand by the Dublin Concert Band (14:00-16:00).

There will be NO Food&Craft Fair on Monday, but there will be more music from 14:00-16:00 with “Undercover”.

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 weekly indoors flea market on Saturdays and Sundays with more than 80 stalls in a big industrial hall. There is everything from furniture and antiques to paintings and mirrors, electronics and hot food to bicycles and buns. It is just a few minutes walk away from the Point Theatre/O2 (walk in the direction of the Port Tunnel).

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 new market (flea/vintage/etc) with two cafés has opened in the same location in Thomas Street where the Ferocious Mingle Market was before their move to Camden Street.

The new market in 72 Thomas Street is called Stable Market and it is open from Thursday until Sunday from 10:00-18:00 every day. It seems there is neither a website nor a Facebook Page yet.

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.

Learn at this Feltmaking Workshop how to work with felt with Gabriella. Admission is free.

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

The next Pure Vintage Fair will take place this week and it is what it says on the tin. A market/flea market for vintage items, which will take place on the first Sunday of every month. There will be vintage clothes, furniture, collectibles, jewellery and many more vintage items. Sounds interesting and with 30 stalls, it is well worth a visit. There will also be food, hot drinks and a DJ.

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.

For the 16th year, the Bray Jazz Festival is brought to you on the May Bank Holiday weekend (Fri+Sat+Sun + only one gig on Modnay) and there are free and non-free events. The free gigs are on the Harbour Stage, i.e. in the Harbour Bar in Bray, and gigs on the Molson Canadian Jazz Trail, a music trail through a whole range of pubs in Bray.

The Harbour Bar line-up is:
Sat 15:00: Francesco Turrisi Quartet
Sat 20:00: The CEO Experiment (Peru/Venez/Hungary)
Sat 22:00: Butter & Special Guests
Sun 15:00: Nick Roth Quartet
Sun 20:00: Re: Ellington
Sun 21:45: Stomptown Brass
Mon 22:00; Square Pegs
—–
On the Molson Canadian Jazz Trail, nearly 30 shows are taking place in over a dozen different venues and every single one of them is free. It starts every evening (Fri-Mon) around 21:30 or 22:00 and the full list is here.

You like Jazz? You have to go to Bray!!

According to official Met Eireann information, it is not summer yet, despite the general misinformation that people in Ireland were taught in school, but it doesn’t really matter what you call this time of the year, it is a busy and beautiful time in the National Botanic Gardens.

They want to share the beauty of the gardens with you and invite you for a free guided tour viewing the Herbaceous Borders, Annual Bedding displays, the Rose Garden and much more every Sunday at 12:00 and at 14:30.

The Science Gallery exhibition “HOME\SICK – Post-Domestic Bliss” looks at the Home and asks what “Home” really is and also how it could be improved. The word means something different to everyone, but how will the future of technology and design, communities, families, resources, and nations change the nature of what we define as ‘home’?

HOME\SICK is the summer exhibition of the Science Gallery, which usually is the exhibition that is the most accessible and understandable for all ages and that goal was achieved again. It is not the Science Gallery’s best exhibition, but it is still definitely worth a visit.

The exhibition will run from 01 May until 19 July and is open from Tuesday-Sunday (Tues-Fri: 12:00-20:00, Sat+Sun 12:00-18:00). 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 the Robinson Panoramic Quartet with Anita Vedres (violin), Robin Panter (viola), Kate Ellis (cello) Malachy Robinson (double-bass), performing music by Fergus Johnston, Raymond Deane, Peter McCarthy, David Knotts, Benedict Schlepper-Connolly

The Wings for Life World Run is a Charity Run that takes place at 35 location at the same time and it is a race with a big difference: There is no finish line! The race will start at Newtownsmith Green and goes towards Dalkey, Bray and then onwards towards Wicklow. The runners start at 12:00 and then 30 minutes later the Chaser Car will start and once the chaser car catches you, you are out, until the last person is reached. The rules for the Chaser Car are unfortunately not revealed, so it is unclear how long the race will go.

As you can imagine, for a charity race the entrance fee is the charity contribution and therefore the race is not free, but watching and cheering on the participants is! Different to most other charity races, the organisers of the Wings of Life run promise that 100% of the entrance fee will go to the charity and all the money will be used to find a cure for spinal cord injury.

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

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

www.bookdepository.com?a_aid=dubevg

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

The “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!

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

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

This event is a chance to tour the new exhibition “A Journey: Twenty Seven Years of the work of Irish Woodturner Emmet Kane” with the maker Emmet Kane and hear how he makes and what inspires his work. Admission is free, but booking is required via 01-6777444

Come to this talk about history and production of Irish Farmhouse Cheeses by Glynn Anderson. Admission is free and all are welcome.

Brian Keary is a classically trained guitar player who also has experience of different styles / genres of music ranging from ragtime and folk to baroque and contemporary. He will perform in Sweeney’s (Ground Floor) on Sunday afternoon.

The next Humanist Association Monthly Meeting will take place on Sunday and the talk this time will be “Good without God: a Philosopher’s View” by Dr Hugo Newman, who just successfully completed his doctoral thesis in Philosophy on the moral foundations of libertarian anarchism.

In this presentation he will discuss an attitude that he calls “atheistic humility” and he will explore ways in which one can make sense of objective moral value and purpose without appeal to a divine creator.

Admission is free.

The next Jazz&Tapas Brunch/Dinner in Zaragoza is this Sunday with Natalie Turner (vocals) and Dave Long (guitar) performing.

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

The Sweeney’s Dixeland Jazzmen play their weekly gig on the ground floor in Sweeney’s. 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 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.

The Workman’s Club is having a Bank Holiday Party again and there will be live music, Karaoke and DJs.

The live music line-up is:
+ Fontaines, a five-piece from Dublin influenced by 80s British alternative and rock ‘n’ roll
+ Fiction Peaks, a four-piece playing a mix of alternative rock with an indie pop tinge and an electronic 80s feel
+ Wild Rocket, they play heavy psychedelic punk
+ TAU from Berlin. TAU will play a collage of ideas and trance-induced soundscapes.

The Workman’s Karaoke Club will follow and on the 1st floor DJ sets with music from the 80s, 90s and 00s will entertain you.

Pen to Page at the Back Page is a spoken word poetry event with a range of talented local acts, tackling issues such as urban experience and youth culture, bringing to light social and economic situations that the youth of our day face, including generificaion and Irelands ‘Session Culture’. MC’d by Bohemian FC Poet-in-Residence, Lewis Kenny, who will be launching the event with his specially commissioned poem for Phibsborough entitled ‘Home’.

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

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

High Society will play their Swing, Jazz and Rhythm & Blues. Admission is free,

“Rhythm Rocker at The Globe” is a weekly event on Sunday night in The Globe. Admission is free.

The Pavement Kings play Rockabilly from 21:00 and
DJs Popocorn Peete and Little Dakota follow from 23:00-01:30 with a white variety of styles (Rockabilly, Calypso, Soul, Rock ‘n’ Roll, etc).

Weedway will perform in The Mezz. Admission is free.

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

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

The Dublin Food Co-op and the Latin America Solidarity Centre (LASC) are inviting the Mexican community in Dublin together with yourself for a day of Mexican fun and excitement. There will be Mexican music, food, food demonstrations, games and more.

Admission is free and everyone is invited. The full schedule is on the website below.

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

A dog walk on the bank holiday from the “palm tree” sculpture at Sandymount Strand to Merrion Gates and back will take place in support of the Yes Equality campaign. Admission is free, but voluntary donations which will go to the Yes Equality campaign are very welcome.

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!

The band “Undercover” will play on the bandstand in the gardens of Farmleigh House. Admission is free.

Super Happy Fun Times are running an Open Mic night for Music and Spoken Word every Monday in Sin É.

Admission is free.

The Pleasing Features Music showcase is back in May with the following line-up: Boom Child, Seth Eltons Music, The Grand Wake, TADGH.

Admission is free.

This is an open mic night with Special Guests every Monday. Arrive, sign in (from 19:00) and play. Admission is free.

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

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

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).

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

Patrick Mahony sings songs from Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Matt Monro and many more every Monday in the Cafe en Seine. Admission is free.

For the 16th year, the Bray Jazz Festival is brought to you on the May Bank Holiday weekend (Fri+Sat+Sun + only one gig on Modnay) and there are free and non-free events. The free gigs are on the Harbour Stage, i.e. in the Harbour Bar in Bray, and gigs on the Molson Canadian Jazz Trail, a music trail through a whole range of pubs in Bray.

The remaining Harbour Bar line-up is:
Mon 22:00; Square Pegs

You like Jazz? You have to go to Bray!!

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

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

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

An Information and Advise Stand for “FIT (Fast Track into Information Technology) Skills Training for Older People” will be in the Business Information Centre at the Central Library.

Admission is free and no booking required.

Italian jewellery designer Gisella Bianco will talk about “What is art jewellery?” on Tuesday. She will present her work and show some examples of Italian artists from the ‘90s to explore the wonders of art jewellery.

Admission is free, but you have to book your place by sending a mail to iicdublino@esteri.it

On the same evening an exhibition by Gisella Bianco will be opened in the Italian Institute of Culture. The exhibition includes some of Gisella’s latest works: a selection of necklaces, rings, earrings and bracelets in silver, gold and precious stones. The exhibition is open on Tuesday from 18:30 and on Wednesday 06 May from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 15:00 to 17:00.

The launch of Mexican writer Bruce Swansey’s first novel “Edificio La Princesa” takes place in the Instituto Cervantes. Bruce Swansey will be at the launch.

Admission is free, but booking is required via swansey@embamex.ie

The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) continues to bring you Dublin Green Drinks on the first Tuesday of every month. Green Drinks is a monthly event in 711 cities around the world to bring people with an interest in green issues together. At this month’s Dublin event, the topic is the Abbeyleix Bog Project with Chris Uys. He will talk about the concept of community-based natural resource management and its role in turning a once threatened area of conservation into a thriving habitat.

Meet up on the top floor of J.W. Sweetman’s. Doors open at 18:30 and the talk is at 19:00. Admission is free and booking is not required.

Cathal Póirtéir chats to author Liam Mac Cóil. I would expect that the conversation could be in Irish (without translation).

Admission is free.

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

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.

Live sessions with the Blue Moon Folk and Blues Collective are taking place every Tuesday at the Beerhouse. Admission is free.

The Folk Club in Whelan’s will bring you the best in Trad, Ballads, Americana & World Music every Tuesday. The line-up this week is on the Facebook Page below. Admission is free.

The Comedy Crunch is a free Stand Up comedy event every Sunday and 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 Phoenix Big Band is a 16 piece band playing songs of the 1930s, 1940s and other big band arrangements and they are playing every Tuesday in the Tara Tower Hotel (since 2012!) for adult dancing. If you like to waltz, cha cha or foxtrot, come and enjoy their performance.

Admission is free.

The band plays in the main function room which is occasionally booked, so to confirm that they are playing, please ring the hotel on the day: Phone 01-2694666

Robert Sarazin Blake is a traveling folk/americana songsman who is touring since 1997, has 10 albums and sold more than 10,000 copies from his suitcase. He will be in the Mezz as part of his 1 week tour around Ireland.

Admission is free.

A totally unplugged Singer/Songwriter night (no PA, no microphones) with original music is taking place upstairs in Anseo every Tuesday from 21:30.

Please check on the Facebook Page below if the event is going ahead as it seems to get cancelled every now and then and if you want to play a 15-30 min set or just want to play one song make yourself heard via the same Facebook Page.

Admission is free.

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.

Entry charges at nearly all OPW sites are waived once a month. The Office of Public Works (OPW) wants to encourage people to visit the historic sites that it manages and has therfore started this initiative in 2011.

Most OPW owned sites can already be visited for free, but the sites that normally charge a fee will be free every first Wednesday as well. In the (extended) Greater Dublin Area this means you can visit the following sites for free:
+ The Casino, Marino
+ Dublin Castle, State Apartments
+ Kilmainham Gaol
+ Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre at Newgrange
+ Glendalough Visitor Centre in Wicklow

As you can imagine, this event is very popular and therfore it is strongly recommended to arrive early at the venues. Once the day’s tickets are given out, you will not get access anymore.

This is a guided walk and talk to the site in the Phoenix Park of the 1882 political assassination of Burke and Cavendish.

Meeting point is at the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre. 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.

Learn about Beekeeping at this Walk & Talk Event with resident beekeepers Meeda & Brian. Meeting point is in the Victorian Walled Kitchen Garden next to the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre. Admission is free and all are welcome.

This is a Storytelling Workshop for Adults in connection with the Bealtaine Festival. “Birth of a Nation” is the title of this storytelling session with Jean Ryan. It will explore mythical kings of Persia and Ireland.

Admission is free but the event is limited to 15 places and booking is required via the website below.

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.

Whether it is finding a mate or deterring a predator, animals have evolved a variety of methods of communicating, from the familiar visual or auditory to the unusual seismic or thermal to the downright bizarre such as dance.

Join zoologist Donal Vaughan at this event for adults to discover more about the world of animal communication. Admission is free, but booking is required via educationarch@museum.ie or call 01 648 6332.

In this series of four lunch time talks, the speakers will look at individuals and how World War I affected them. The series of talks is in connection with the exhibition on the Irish experience of World War 1:

+ Wed 06 May: “Norman Leslie and the Sword of Prince Arthur” by Mark Leslie
+ Wed 13 May: “Meeting Michael O’Leary” with Nikki Ralston, Curator of the WWI exhibition
+ Thurs 21 May: “Lady Augusta Dillon and the women’s war effort in Galway” with Dr Emma Lyons, School of History and Archives, University College, Dublin
+ Thurs 28 May: “Mary Martin: Legacy from Loss” with Isabelle Smyth, Writer in Residence with the Medical Missionaries of Mary

More detail about the topic of each talk can be found on the event page which you reach via the website below.

The Trinity College Dublin Library is inviting to a public lecture entitled “Meeting the Challenges of Preserving the UK Web” by Helen Hockx-Yu (Head of Web Archiving, British Library).

The talk will provide an overview of the key curatorial, legal and technical challenges related to archiving the UK web and the approaches the British Library has taken to meet them.

Admission is free.

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.

“Designing Dublin: How our transportation needs are shaping the city” is a talk by Michael Philips (Dublin City Engineer since 1998 and also Director of Traffic since 2006) He will explain how a sustainable transportation system plays an important part in how the city functions, and how, through careful planning and design, it can influence how we experience and enjoy our city.

This event is free of charge, but booking is required. To reserve a place contact katy@rds.ie or click on the ‘Get a Ticket’ link on the website below.

On the 400th anniversary of his birth, Mexico and Ireland are paying homage to a hero of both nations: William Lamport or Guillen de Lampart.

His memory is revered along with other National Heroes in the Column of Independence, (“El Angel”) in Mexico City. The historic character is less well known than the fictional character that inspired: “El Zorro”, despite the fact that the hectic life and tragic end of the Lamport are more fascinating than the adventures of El Zorro.

Born in Wexford in 1615, Lamport, who was catholic and fascinated by poetry, astronomy and mathematics, first conspired to free Ireland from British oppression and later authored Mexico’s first proclamation of independence.

He failed on both counts and after an unjust and prolonged trial, he was sentenced to death and buried at the stake by the Tribunal of the Holy Office, but centuries later the seed of freedom and justice that he planted in both nations would see fruition.

His life and work will be discussed by Mercedes de Vega Armijo, Andrea Martínez Baracs, Fabio Troncarelli, Thomas O´Connor and Carmen Sanjulián.

The Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies Lecture Series about “Aspects of the Early Modern Period” is back with a lecture about “Modern Translations of Beowulf by Seamus Heaney and J.R.R.Tolkien” on Wednesday and “Translations from Modern Icelandic Novels into English and French: The Thief of Time / Le Voleur de vie” on Thursday at 14:00.

Both lectures are given by Prof. Rory McTurk (University of Leeds)

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.

Check the Facebook Page below for the line-up.

The Anseo Comedy Club, run by comedian Aidan Killian, takes place every Wednesday in Anseo (upstairs).

Admission is free, donations are welcome.

“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.

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

The Jazz Pigs with a classic multi-brass front line play a mix of Lounge, lively sixties Jazz and driving Funk. Every Wednesday downstairs in 4 Dame Lane. Admission is free.

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 Dublinked Open Data Platform and Innovation Network are inviting everybody who is interested in Open Data to the “Data Opens Doors” conference to hear the latest news from the open data community in the Dublin, Ireland and beyond.

Discover the latest insights from international data experts from Open Data Manchester, Future Cities Catapult, Open Data Institute, Insight Centre for Data Analytics and The Programmable City. Hear Startup DataStories from our home grown entrepreneurs and start-ups, turning data into valuable new products and services.

Admission to the full day conference is free and all details about the talks and speakers can be found on the Eventbrite website below, where you also can book your place.

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.

To celebrate Bealtaine in the Year of Irish Design 2015, the National Museum is inviting you to a 2-day workshop (07+08 May) about Irish Leather Craft with designer and artist Róisín Gartland. Participants will work with expert leather-worker Róisín to create their own leather object based on ancient examples of Irish leather design.

Admission seems to be free, but booking is required via 01 6486339 or email educationarch@museum.ie. The event will be in the Learning Resource Room, first floor.

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.

An open reading of work by the Bealtaine Writers as part of the annual Bealtaine Festival. Admission is free and all are welcome to attend.

Bealtaine Writers are a group of mainly older women and men who have met monthly over the past 15 years at the Irish Writers Centre to write and review work in progress, mainly poetry.

The Blue Heaven Barbershop Chorus is performing a lunchtime concert in the Music Library of the Central Library. Admission is free, but booking is required on 01-8734333

“Poems that make Grown Men Cry” (edited by Anthony Holden and Ben Holden) is an anthology in which hundred men, in such diverse fields as literature, film, science, architecture and theatre, confess to having been moved to tears by certain poems. Their choices include works by celebrated masters like Emily Dickinson, Philip Larkin, W. H. Auden and Ranier Maria Rilke, as well as by contemporary poets including Billy Collins, Derek Walcott and John Berger.

This lunchtime event at Books Upstairs will feature authors Paul Lynch (The Black Snow) and Paul Murray (Skippy Dies), crime novelist Declan Hughes (All the Things You Are) and literary publicist Cormac Kinsella reading selected poems from the anthology.

The Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies Lecture Series about “Aspects of the Early Modern Period” is back with a lecture about “Modern Translations of Beowulf by Seamus Heaney and J.R.R.Tolkien” on Wednesday and “Translations from Modern Icelandic Novels into English and French: The Thief of Time / Le Voleur de vie” on Thursday at 14:00.

Both lectures are given by Prof. Rory McTurk (University of Leeds)

Admission is free.

You are invited to a public tour of the exhibition “Yeats: The Life and Works of William Butler Yeats” on the first Thursday of each month from March – October 2015.

As this year marks the 150th anniversary of the poet’s birth in 1835, the tour will introduce the life and work of the poet.

Admission is free, but places are limited.

A Piano Jazz session on a 150 year old ‘Cottage Grand Piano’ built in London will take place and Renata Mittnacht (piano) will perform on Thursday. The Jazz Supper Club is in Clery’y in Doran’s at the Tea Rooms on the 1st floor.

Admission is free.

‘Pucker Power’ by Kevin Stevens & Sheena Dempsey is a sequel of “The Powers” and it is about Pucker, the Power family’s pug-dog who gets dognapped along with a french poodle and has to be tracked down across Dublin, Paris and St Petersburg.

Admission to the book launch is free.

A weekly Forro Night (Brazilian Dance) with a Forro Live Band takes place in the D-One Bar & Brazilian Grill every Thursday.

Admission is free.

Girl Geek Dinners are a chance for ladies in technology to get together, enjoy some nice food and drinks and have fun meeting other women in their field. Agenda and details are here and you need to register for this free event here. Men are allowed to come but only when invited by a woman, check the rules on the website below.

Organised by the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies as part of the Memories and Identities in Central and Eastern Europe Conference the lecture “The Many Uses of the Usable Past: Rethinking Revolution(s) in Late Socialism” by Prof Polly Jones (Oxford) will take place.

Find details and background information about the lecture on the website below.

Admission is free, but booking by sending an e-mail Dr Balázs Apor at aporb@tcd.ie is required.

‘Censored’ is a series of eight free evening lectures, one each month, from September 2014 to August 2015.

The next lecture in this series is “The Embrace of Love: the censoring of Kate O’Brien” with Dr Eibhear Walshe, UCC.

Admission is free to all lectures, but booking is required via info@nationalprintmuseum.ie

In addition to the Saturday Car Boot Sale which starts so early (06:00!!) that you need to be an insomniac or a super early bird, there is now a Thursday evening Car Boot Sale in the same location. It starts at 18:30 and runs until 22:00. Late night car boot shopping. :-) Admission for buyers is free.

Twice every year, the Central Library together with the Local Enterprise Office in Dublin City are running a series of six free Business Lectures for everybody who wants to start or grow a business. The lectures will cover subjects such as the characteristics needed to run and fund your business. Digital marketing strategies and writing business plans will also be included.

They will take place on Thursdays from 18:30-20:00 between 02 April and 07 May.

Admission is free, but booking is required here. All topics and speakers are listed on that same website, but to make it easier for you, they are also here:

02 April: An Introduction to Self Employment
09 April: Ideas Generation & Market Research
16 April: Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship
23 April: Digital Marketing Strategy
30 April: Financing your Business
07 May: Writing the WINNING Business Plan

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

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

A weekly live music gig of the genres Blues/Roots/Rock/Soul will take place in Arthur’s Pub with weekly changing performers:

+ 1st Thursday: Ben Prevo
+ 2nd Thursday: Declan Kennedy
+ 3rd Thursday: Dermot Byrne
+ 4th Thursday: Mick Pyro

Admission is free.

The Book Launch of “Proxopera” by Benedict Kiely will take place. Benedict Kiely was born in 1919 and died in 2007 and it seems a little surprising that his book is launched only now. But I am sure there is a good reason for it. Admission to this event is free.

Every Thursday, the Xchange invites to a Language Exchange (19:00-20:30), followed by live music (21:00-23:30) by up and coming local and international artists.

Admission is free before 20:00 and free finger food is provided.

The RDS Rising Stars Concerts showcase new talent in Irish Classical Music and there will be four outstanding young musicians from Ireland’s music colleges featured on 07 May, together with special guest and former RDS Music Bursary Winner, Anna Devin (Soprano).

The Rising Star Performers are
+ Jane Hackett (Violin) RIAM
+ Gary Beecher (Piano), CIT Cork School of Music, Freemasons Young Musician of the Year
+ Eugene Alves (Cello), CIT Cork School of Music
+ Pablo Manjón-Cabezas Guzmán (Clarinet) DIT Conservatory of Music & Drama

Admission to Rising Stars is free but booking is required via the link on the website below. For programme details go to www.rds.ie/risingstars

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

Jona Xhepa is launching a new Literary / Comedy / Science Salon with the intention to emulate and maybe revive the 19/20th century environs of philosophy salons, jazz tavernas, cabaret frolics. Speakers, readers, musicians, including a poet/physicist, performance artist, surrealist writer. Find out more on the Event Page below.

Admission seems to be free.

Sham Bone is playing Blues Covers in the Harbour Bar in Bray. Admission is free.

A new weekly Table Quiz takes place in the Grand Social. Every Thursdayteams 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.

A new regular gig night is starting on Thursday in the Mercantile. It is called “Hot Box Social” and the line-up for this first events is Gentlemen Callers, Solid Gold Rocketship, Pineto Cats, Popgun Warfare, The River Fane.

Admission is free.

Following the success of the Organ Recital Series in Whitefriar Street Church over the last two years, another series of four concerts will be happening in May. The recitals will take place each Thursday at 20:00 and admission is free.

The programme is:
07 May; John Dexter playing works by Bach, Couperin, Pachelbel, and Peeters.
14 May: Peter McBride playing works by Handel, Bach, Bédard, and Vierne.
21 May: Aleksandr Nisse playing works by Buxtehude, Bach, Saint-Saëns, Salvignol-Nisse, Nisse, Florentz and Messiaen.
28 May: Simon Nolan playing works by Marchand, Sweelinck, Bach, Dupré, Peeters and Vierne.

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.

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

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

The yearly Woolshed Karaoke Competition is running from 23 Apr-30 May. The heats are happening every Thursday and the semi finals are on 14+21 May, with the Grand Final being held on 30 May.

Entry to the competition is free and anyone can participate. Just put your name down on the night. The overall winner will get to record a CD at Temple Lane Studios in Dublin.

If you don’t want to enter the competition you can still come along and sing for fun. Every singer will get a free drink.

Admission is free.

The Soul & Party Band Santoria will play in the Mercantile in their smallest (4 piece) configuration. Admission is free.

The Explojans will play ska, bluebeat, rocksteady and early reggae in the Mezz on Thursday. Admission 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 Warrenmount Community Education & Development Centre is inviting to four Cultural Taks over the next four Fridays. The first one is on 08 May and looks at “Broadway Musicals” from the 1940s and 50s.

In his lectures on 08+15 May, John Allen will explore the history of this uniquely American theatrical phenomenon as it developed during the 1940s and 1950s. John’s lectures will be illustrated by many recorded excerpts from the shows featured.

The first two Music Talks are follwoed by Literature Talks:

Susan Knight will give a lecture on “Dublin in Poetry and Prose” on 22 May and on “Young Skins: the latest generation of Irish writers” on 29 May.

Admission is free to all talks and you can book your place for the Music Talks here and for the Literature Talks here.

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 European Commission Representation in Ireland and the European Parliament Office in Ireland are inviting you to celebrate Europe Day at the European Union House with a “Taste of Europe” event, which is a food tasting with foods from a variety of EU countries.

The celebrations, which will have a focus on the European Year for Development 2015, will also feature: The Discovery Gospel Choir, East African Traditional Dancers and Niwel Tsumbu (modern African beat).

Admission is free.

The final interview in the “Midland- Lár Tíre: Cycling the MGWR from Past to Present: Public Interview” series of public interviews between the artist Pamela de Brí and the Curator of the National Photographic Archive Elizabeth Kirwan will take place on Friday.

Admission is free.

In connection with the Canalphonics Festival a walking tour of Cathal Brugha Barracks in Rathmines takes place at 16:00 on Fri 08 May and at 12:00 on Sat 09 May. The tour will vist the guardroom, now visitor centre, which houses an exhibition of military artefacts including personal items that belonged to General Michael Collins. It also includes the guardroom exercise yard in which Francis Sheehy Skeffington, Thomas Dickson and Patrick McIntyre were executed by the British forces without trial on 26 April 1916.

Admission is free. No information is available if the event has to be booked and where the meeting point is. Maybe the gates of the Barracks?

Canalphonics is a free Music and Culture Festival that is sponsored and supported by Dublin City Council’s South East Area Office in partnership with Dave Judge of Abner Brown’s Barbershop. It will take place on Friday 08 and Saturday 09 May in Portobello and Rathmines.

On Friday from 17:00-21:30 and on Saturday from 13:00-21:30, bands will play on the Making Waves Stage on a barge at Portobello Harbour, followed by a wide range of gigs and club nights in 22 venues in the area.

On Saturday barges participating in the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland’s Dublin Rally will arrive and there will be a boutique market at Portobello Harbour from 11:00-21:30 with barge trips and family fun activities.
A second stage at Rathmines Plaza (14:00-17:00) will feature Eleanor Shanley, Mike Hanrahan, Paul Kelly, Daoirí Farrell, The Dorians and the Ceoltóir Traditional Group BCFE. Childrens’ activities are taking place at St Marys College in Rathmines and Mart (the old Rathmines fire station) will feature a 20 piece jazz swing band at 19:00 on Saturday.

Over the two days there will be art/craft exhibitions, markets, pop up acoustic sets and guerrilla spoken word performances in Rathmines and Portobello and cafés and eateries offer some discounts.

The line-up for the Making Waves Stage on Saturday is Blue Moon Barbershop Quartet, Suzanne Savage, Johnny Stewart, Mongoose, Kicking Bird, Stomptown Brass, Sinéad White and finally The Hot Sprockets. For Friday and for the the other venues I only found a very general line-up of all contributing acts here. Hopefully we will find out more details before Friday!

Looks like a super most-go event!!

This is a weekend of events in celebration of 50 years of the Corrymeela Community, Northern Ireland’s oldest peace and reconciliation organisation. You are welcome to join the conversation as we engage with the realities of diversity, prejudice, upstanding and community across the island of Ireland and beyond. Space is limited and many of the events are booked out already, but some free tickets are still available here.

The culmination of the weekend will be a picnic (13:00) followed by a service (15:15) on Sunday 10 May in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. Pádraig O’Tuama (Corrymeela Community Leader) will speak on the theme of Our Shared Humanity and music will be from the Discovery Gospel Choir; all are very 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.

The weekly European Folk Dance Workshop/Session takes place in the Tap Bar every Friday.

The dances are French, Greek, Italian, Hungarian, Polish, Portuguese folk and traditional dances and everybody interested to join in or to learn is welcome. Admission is free, but donations (suggested: EUR 3) are very welcome

A weekly Gig Night in Sin É, organised and presented by Super Happy Fun Times takes place every Friday and admission is free. The line-up can be found on the Facebook Page below.

The Outsiders are a six-piece ska/reggae band. They will be in the Harbour Bar on Friday and admission is free.

Jawobone will play in Arthur’s Pub and they will be supported by Jem Mitchell.

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.

“Ska ‘n’ Reggae” is the theme in the Dive Bar (downstairs in Turks Head) every Friday. The Bionic Rats play live. followed by DJs until late. Admission is free.

Lazy Horse is a celebrating the music of Neil Young with Crazy Horse and Bob Dylan & The Band. Admission to this gig is free until 22:30.