Dublin Event Guide 526: Rose Festival, Big Slide, Wings Food Festival, Liberties Festival,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Rose Festival in St. Anne’s Park this Saturday and Sunday is a yearly family-friendly day out in this big park in Clontarf. There will be lots of food and other stalls, arts exhibition, Viking display, children’s entertainment, the Wolly Ward Petting Zoo will be there, an Archaeology workshop for kids, the Big Bear Planetarium, Free horse & carriage rides, Tai Chi demonstration, carousel and climbing tower.

In addition there will be lots of live music and dance from 11:30-17:30 with
Brian Boru, Dublin Bluegrass Collective, JeJune, SwingtTime, The Rats Deppers, Belly Dancers Zoryanna & Ferasha, Tango Fiesta. And the World Wutherings Heights Day will feature (see separate listing in this Dublin Event Guide).

The Rose Festival is really a great event and I definitely suggest that you pack in the family and go there for a relaxing afternoon. For the last few years the peak time for the roses (there is a rose garden) was over when the festival happened, but there is plenty of other activities.

Admission is free, parking in the park is available but does cost a fee. I can’t remember if it was EUR 3 or EUR 5 last year.

A downloadable flyer can be found here.

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.

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

To celebrate the Easter Rising Anniversary, admission to that exhibititon was free in 2016, but lucky for us, Dublin City decided to also waive the admission charge for 2017.

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

Chicken Wing lovers can indulge in their passion at the Wings Food Festival in Bray on Saturday and Sunday. There will be 4 food providers selling their different type of Chicken Wings, but if wings are not your things ;-) you will find another 30 street food stalls as well. Wing competitions will be one feature of the weekend, but there are also craft vendors, BBQ Demos and some live music with Niall Donnelly, Jamie Duff and there will be DJs.

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

Admission is free.

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 98Fm Big Slide is a 80 metres long water slide on Winetavern Street (that’s the street from Christ Church Catehdral to the Liffey). Sounds cool, but if you think you will be able to have a go, forget it!!!! Only ticket holder will get a chance to use the slide and tickets were given out on 98FM.

In fact this event was sooo disappointing last year that I wouldn’t even mention it if not one big change had been made. This year, there is a little festival at the Amphitheatre in the park between Christ Church and Dublin City Council HQ, just next to Winetavern Street with performances from Hit Machine Drummers, stilt walkers, jugglers, a circus skills workshop, a dunk tank with Jump Juice, a free fitness class with Ger Conroy and an outdoor screening of The LEGO Batman Movie.

So forget the slide and go to these events on Saturday:
12:00-13:00 Hit Machine Drummers
13:00-15:00 Circus Skills Workshop
15:00-16:30 Movie Screening: The Lego Batman Movie
16:30-18:00 Hit Machine Drummers

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On Sunday the events are:
12:30-13:30 Ger Conroy Fitness Class
13:30-15:30 Circus Skills Workshop
15:30-17:00 Movie Screening: The Lego Batman Movie
17:00-18:30 Hit Machine Drummers

Admission to the festival events is free and no booking required.

The In-Spire Galerie in Gardiner Street is inviting to an Art & Craft Mini-Market on Saturday and Sunday.

There will be prints, shabby chic furniture, ceramics, jewellery, home accessories and more. On Saturday a wine reception will take place from 18:00.

Admission is free.

The Best Little Market is a new Arts & Crafts and flea market in the Vintage Inn pub in Ringsend.

Admission is free.

Some Puppet Show events take place on Saturday and Sunday:

“Children’s Puppet Playtime” is your chance to perform your own puppet show at Famleigh House. Admission is free and access is on first come, first served basis. The time slos are 12:00-13:00 and 14:30-15:30.

At 13:30 and at 16:00 a Puppet Show with Julie Rose McCormick will take place. Admission is free for that as well and access is also on first come, first served basis.

On Sunday there is also Music on the Bandstand with the Blanchardstown Brass Band.

Garden designer Diarmuid Gavin will run a “Gorgeous Gardens Masterclass” at The Retail Park Liffey Valley on Saturday. It will take place in the car park in front of The Range and admission is free.

Diarmuid Gavin will talk, give demonstrations and a do a Q&A session with all guests. The topics will include working with small spaces, bringing the outdoors indoors and pet friendly gardens and more.

There will be giveaways for adults and kids so bring the whole family along.

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.

A Ceremonial Military Guard will parade at the site of the “National Memorial to Members of the Defence Forces who died in the Service of the State”, at Merrion Square during July and August. Ceremonies will take place at the pyramid at Merrion Square opposite the back entrance to the Dail, every Saturday from 15 July to 19 August 2015.

Units from different sections of the Defence Forces (Army, Air Corps and Naval Service) will participate in this Military Guard Ceremony to remember their comrades. Every week different units will be involved and the details of the ceremony and the participating units are described on the website below.

The exhibition “SOUND CHECK” (09 June – 24 September) in the Science Gallery is looking the influence sound has on our life. THe exhibition looks at lots of interesting ways to create sound.

It is highly interactive exhibition with lots of oppoertunities to create sound/make noise. Some of the main exhibits are a big sound pinball table, a synthesiser on a bike, musical swings, a room full of Moog Synthesiser equipment, a Uranium controlled Xylophone and there are fice “Sonic Bikes” that you cyn pre-book and loan out for a 1 hour guided tour in Dublin.

The exhibition is suitable for ALL ages, even younger children will be able to take part and nobody will be bored.

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

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

Admission is free.

This National Gallery tour will introduce you to some fascinating stories behind the National Gallery’s conservation and refurbishment project and will then show you key works from the newly conserved and hung National Collection.

Admission is free. Meet at the Merrion Square Information Desk.

This tour will take place from 12:30-13:15 and again from 14:30-15:15

As part of the current “Sound Check” exhibition in the Science Gallery you can rent out a bike to experience Dublin in a completely different way:

Ya slip ta bang is an interactive composition mapped over the streets of Dublin that will unfold for you as you ride ‘sonic bikes’ along specific routes of the city. Accompanied by electronic music, the composition tells the story of recovering he roin addict Lucy Dolan as she returns to the city, revisiting important places in her life.

The sonic bike is a bicycle with frame-mounted speakers that plays different sounds and music dependent on where the cyclist goes and how fast they ride, via a mounted location-sensitive system.

The bikes can be rented for free for up to 1 hour on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturday and Sunday between 12:30 and 16:00. The rules and conditions are on the website below and that is also where you book the bikes.

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

The Grand Dublin Swim is not a free event for participants, but watching is free.

There will be a number of races in the Liffey from 13:00. The schedule is

13:00 5km and 10km swimmer
15:00 Fun swim 250m and 750m
15:30 Intermediate and Advance 1600m
16:00 Leinster Open Sea 1600m Female Swimmers
17:00 Leinster Open Sea 1600m Male Swimmers
18:00 Elite Swimmers 1600m

The Bernard Shaw Flea Market is a weekly market (every Saturday) with approx 16 stalls, music, pizzas from the Big Blue Bus and the Bernard Shaw Garden Bar. Expect vintage clothes, shoes, jewellery, art, records, bric-a-brac and more and DJs will provide the entertainment.

Admission is free.

“Wuthering Heights” is a song by Kate Bush from 1978 that became her best known song. There were two official music videos and one of them was the “red dress video” with a unique (and in my opinion as a non-dancer, VERY odd dance). You can watch it here www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW3gKKiTvjs

On the “The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever” on Saturday the main activity will be a group performance of THAT dance. Meeting point is at the corner of St. Anne’s Park at the junction of Clontarf Road with Mount Prospect Avenue, near Yang’s Restaurant.

The planned schedule is
13:00 Meet-up
13:15-14:15 Learning of the dance routine and rehearsal
14:15-15:00 Picnic (bring your own food)
15:00-15;15 Final rehearsal, before moving to the stage area for 15:15
15:30-16:00 Group performance in front of the main stage at the Dublin City Rose Festival

It is a slightly mad event I think, but it is popular, so why not!! 664 people have declared on the Facebook event page that they will be there, Only a fraction will actually come, but it seems as this event has the finger on the pulse of what people want. ;-)

Admission is free and no tickets are required.

“These Are a Few of My Favourite Things” is the title of a Walking Tour that Emily Gallagher runs every Saturday. It is 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!”

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

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

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

Every Saturday a kid’s book will be read in 27 Eason’s stores all over Ireland. In O’Connell Street the reading takes place at 14:00. In the other Eason Stores, the times vary between 11:00 and 15:00 (see website below). Suitable for age 0-6 with their parents.

Admission is free.

A weekly tour of the National War Memorial Gardens will take every Saturday from March until the end of October.

Admission is free. “Meet inside the gates” it says here.

The Ones to Watch Summer Festival “Summer Watch 2017” will bring over 20 bands of new Irish talent to Whelan’s. From 13-16 July the over 20 of the best and brightest emerging acts will perform and admission to all gigs is free.

On Saturday, the line-up will be:

20:30-21:00 Motions
21:15-21:45 CPNHGN
22:00-22:30 MUNKY
22:45-23:15 Brass Phantoms
23:30-00:00 Third Smoke

Carlinhos Cruz, Brazilian singer-songwriter will perform a modern fusion of traditional Brazilian rhythms and contemporary, soulful melodies.

You will hear music from his recent E.P “Do Outro Lado” and some new material from his upcoming album

He will be joined on stage by Henrique Franco on drums, Djaman on bass and Dani Barilli on guitar.

Admission is free.

Cula Bula’s Trad Max Apocalypse will play a gig in Sin E on Saturday.

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.

Soul Revival will play Soul Hits at this gig in Bray.

Admission is free.

The Midnight Revellers play a gig in Palmerstown House Pub.

Admission is free.

5-piece blues/rock band “A Weekend Away” from Limerick will play a gig and “Key” will provide support with a completely different style. Key are influenced by 60s psychedelic noir, rap and hip hop beats.

Admission is free before 22:30 or if you sign up to the guest list.

The band Slipstream will play in Kennedy’s Pub and admission is free. No other information was provided!

The Red Hot CHilli Pepper Tribute band “Red Hot Copy Peppers” will be in the Mezz for a gig.

Admission is free.

The Gods is a great high-energy party/cover band and they will play a gig in the Bowery.

Admission is free.

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

Admission for buyers is free.

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

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

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

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

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

Since 1988, the Irish Army doesn’t use the Fort anymore and gave it back to the Office of Public Works (OPW), but not much good has happened to the Fort in the last 28 years (!!) and there were numerous speculations about the reasons for that.

Finally since last year, guided tours were provided and were meant to run for three months until end of October 2016. But the interest was so great that the OPW decided to continue the tours with a reduced schedule over the winter. And since 02 April there will be tours again every Friday and Sunday at 10:00, 12:00, 14:00 + 15:00 and only 20 places are available on each tour.

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

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

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

The Rose Festival in St. Anne’s Park this Saturday and Sunday is a yearly family-friendly day out in this big park in Clontarf. There will be lots of food and other stalls, arts exhibition, Viking display, children’s entertainment, the Wolly Ward Petting Zoo will be there, an Archaeology workshop for kids, the Big Bear Planetarium, Free horse & carriage rides, Tai Chi demonstration, carousel and climbing tower.

In addition there will be lots of live music and dance from 11:30-17:30 with
Brian Boru, Dublin Bluegrass Collective, JeJune, SwingtTime, The Rats Deppers, Belly Dancers Zoryanna & Ferasha, Tango Fiesta. And the World Wutherings Heights Day will feature (see separate listing in this Dublin Event Guide).

The Rose Festival is really a great event and I definitely suggest that you pack in the family and go there for a relaxing afternoon. For the last few years the peak time for the roses (there is a rose garden) was over when the festival happened, but there is plenty of other activities.

Admission is free, parking in the park is available but does cost a fee. I can’t remember if it was EUR 3 or EUR 5 last year.

A downloadable flyer can be found here.

Chicken Wing lovers can indulge in their passion at the Wings Food Festival in Bray on Saturday and Sunday. There will be 4 food providers selling their different type of Chicken Wings, but if wings are not your things ;-) you will find another 30 street food stalls as well. Wing competitions will be one feature of the weekend, but there are also craft vendors, BBQ Demos and some live music with Niall Donnelly, Jamie Duff and there will be DJs.

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

Admission is free.

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

The themes for the workshop are:
16 July Explore the Walled Garden
23 July Draw Flowers from the Walled Garden
30 July Farmer Ann

The full list can be found here phoenixpark.ie/media/phoenix-park-programme-of-events-2017.pdf

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

The 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.

Rumble in the Jumble is a market in the Dublin food co-op with arts, crafts, vintage, vinyl and more.

Admission is free.

The National Gallery is running a series of free themed family drop-in workshops from 11:30-13:30 on Sundays.

Inspired by the collection and the exhibitions in the National Gallery, these workshops are suitable for all ages from approx. 18 months to age 8. You can choose to stay for as long or as short a time as works for you.

The space will be divided by age and ability, and each child will be encouraged by Artist and NGI Education Assistant Caomhán Mac Con Iomaire and the week’s guest artist to create their own work on the week’s theme.

Admission is free and no booking required. Numbers are limited to 40 people at any one time but you can drop in and out whenever it suits you and as long as there is still space. Children have to be supervised at all times. The event takes place in the Atrium.

This week’s theme is: Artist vs Artist

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.

This National Gallery tour will introduce you to some fascinating stories behind the National Gallery’s conservation and refurbishment project and will then show you key works from the newly conserved and hung National Collection.

Admission is free. Meet at the Merrion Square Information Desk.

The In-Spire Galerie in Gardiner Street is inviting to an Art & Craft Mini-Market on Saturday and Sunday.

There will be prints, shabby chic furniture, ceramics, jewellery, home accessories and more. On Saturday a wine reception will take place from 18:00.

Admission is free.

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

Some Puppet Show events take place on Saturday and Sunday:

“Children’s Puppet Playtime” is your chance to perform your own puppet show at Famleigh House. Admission is free and access is on first come, first served basis. The time slos are 12:00-13:00 and 14:30-15:30.

At 13:30 and at 16:00 a Puppet Show with Julie Rose McCormick will take place. Admission is free for that as well and access is also on first come, first served basis.

On Sunday there is also Music on the Bandstand with the Blanchardstown Brass Band.

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

Admission is free.

The exhibition “SOUND CHECK” (09 June – 24 September) in the Science Gallery is looking the influence sound has on our life. THe exhibition looks at lots of interesting ways to create sound.

It is highly interactive exhibition with lots of oppoertunities to create sound/make noise. Some of the main exhibits are a big sound pinball table, a synthesiser on a bike, musical swings, a room full of Moog Synthesiser equipment, a Uranium controlled Xylophone and there are fice “Sonic Bikes” that you cyn pre-book and loan out for a 1 hour guided tour in Dublin.

The exhibition is suitable for ALL ages, even younger children will be able to take part and nobody will be bored.

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

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

Admission is free.

The 98Fm Big Slide is a 80 metres long water slide on Winetavern Street (that’s the street from Christ Church Catehdral to the Liffey). Sounds cool, but if you think you will be able to have a go, forget it!!!! Only ticket holder will get a chance to use the slide and tickets were given out on 98FM.

In fact this event was sooo disappointing last year that I wouldn’t even mention it if not one big change had been made. This year, there is a little festival at the Amphitheatre in the park between Christ Church and Dublin City Council HQ, just next to Winetavern Street with performances from Hit Machine Drummers, stilt walkers, jugglers, a circus skills workshop, a dunk tank with Jump Juice, a free fitness class with Ger Conroy and an outdoor screening of The LEGO Batman Movie.

So forget the slide and go to these events on Sunday:
12:30-13:30 Ger Conroy Fitness Class
13:30-15:30 Circus Skills Workshop
15:30-17:00 Movie Screening: The Lego Batman Movie
17:00-18:30 Hit Machine Drummers

Admission to the festival events is free and no booking required.

As part of the current “Sound Check” exhibition in the Science Gallery you can rent out a bike to experience Dublin in a completely different way:

Ya slip ta bang is an interactive composition mapped over the streets of Dublin that will unfold for you as you ride ‘sonic bikes’ along specific routes of the city. Accompanied by electronic music, the composition tells the story of recovering he roin addict Lucy Dolan as she returns to the city, revisiting important places in her life.

The sonic bike is a bicycle with frame-mounted speakers that plays different sounds and music dependent on where the cyclist goes and how fast they ride, via a mounted location-sensitive system.

The bikes can be rented for free for up to 1 hour on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturday and Sunday between 12:30 and 16:00. The rules and conditions are on the website below and that is also where you book the bikes.

The cemetery at Arbour Hill is the last resting place of 14 of the leaders of the 1916 Rising. Among those buried there are Pádraig Pearse, James Connolly and Thomas Clarke. This tour every Sunday will focus on the context of the Rising and explore in detail the wording of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic.

No booking necessary. The meeting point is inside the cemetery gates.

The “Dublin Sketchers” is an informal group of (hobby) artists who go somewhere different in Dublin every Sunday (e.g. National Museum, Maritime Museum, Dublin Flea Market, Farmleigh, Botanic Gardens, Dublin Castle, Science Gallery, …), sketch for one to two hours and then meet up for coffee afterwards and discuss their sketches.

There are some hugely talented people among them and it is a great idea to meet up with others who have the same hobby. Find out on their website below or on their Facebook Page where they will meet and join them if you do some sketching/drawing yourself. I know that the Dublin Sketchers often use the Dublin Event Guide to find interesting free events and I am delighted to be able to help!

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

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

An Intercultural Tour in Japanese with Community Ambassador Hiromi Anzai will take place in the Chester Beatty Library.

Admission is free. Meeting point is in the atrium of the Library.

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 Family Portrait Workshop is a special family art workshop inspired by the exhibition “Portrait of a Century”. Create your own interpretation of a portrait with artist Deirdre Rogers and an array of unusual and tactile materials from ReCreate. All art materials will be provided. Suitable for families with children 6-12.

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

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

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

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

This is a family tour of the iconic treasures in the National Museum, including the ‘Tara’ Brooch and the Ardagh Chalice.

Admission is free. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Meet at Reception. Suitable from Age 7.

City Kayaking, who run Kayak tours on the Liffey came up with an interesting idea: To get people to book their tour on the Liffey on Sunday afternoon, they are providing a unique music experience with “Music Under the Bridges”.

There will be a music performance under some of Dublin’s Liffey bridges and if you have booked a Kayak, you can “sit in the front row” and be in the exclusive audience. You can do that on the website below (but it is not free.)

There is a free component to it though: Even if you are on land at the bridge where the performance takes place, you will probably hear the music and can listen to the performance. Not in the front row, but better than not at all. ;-)

The performers listed are Pia Dunne, Fin Divilly, Bradley Girls.

The performances will be 20 minutes long and will take place under bridges near Ha’Penny Bridge. The Kayak tour will start at 16:30 so the first performance will be somewhat later.

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

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

The “outdoor” version of the weekly dance continues in the Summerhouse at the lake in St. Stephen’s Green.

The social dance wills tart at 18:00 and a “Advanced Dances & Teaching Practice” will precede this from 17:00: www.facebook.com/events/859739147528485

The New Breadwinners are a 3-piece Bluegrass band and they are playing every Sunday in the Leeson Longe.

Admission is free, donations are appreciated.

Every Sunday evening from 18:00-20:00, the Wiley Fox is hosting a trad session, where some of Ireland’s finest traditional musicians will play for you.

Admission is free.

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

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

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

The Ones to Watch Summer Festival “Summer Watch 2017” will bring over 20 bands of new Irish talent to Whelan’s. From 13-16 July the over 20 of the best and brightest emerging acts will perform and admission to all gigs is free.

On Sunday, the line-up will be:

20:30-21:00 Montauk Hotel
21:15-21:45 Rosborough
22:00-22:30 ROGUE
22:45-23:15 Long Tail
23:30-00:00 Military Road

The Smokehouse Blues Band with Noel Bridgeman, Lee Meehan and Tommy Moore will be in the Bowery for a gig.

Admission is free.

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.

Singer/Songwriter Brian O’Brien will play a gig in the Harbour Bar.

Admission is free.

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

“Rhythm Rocker at The Globe” is a weekly event on Sunday night in The Globe with live music (Rockabilly) and DJs. Admission is free.

The Rock ‘n’ Rock and Swing Band “The Jive Cats” will perform in the Mercantile every Sunday from 22:00.

Admission is free.

The Liberties Festival 2017 runs from 17-22 July and the great news is that 80% of the events are free events! Some events are booked out already, so you better check them out soon. All can be found at www.libertiesfestival.ie

Here is a selection of free events:
Mon 17 July: The Big Launch in the Digital Hub 19:30-21:30 with music and burlesque dancing
Tues 18 July: Walk, Talk & Sing Tour from Marsh’s Library at 16:00 – History tour of the liberties through song.
Tues 18 July: Trad Rocks the Liberties @ Stage 19, 18/19 Francis Street, Dublin 8 from 21:00
Wed 19 July: Liberties Block Party @ Molyneux Yard, Dublin 8 from 14:00-18:00
Wed 19 July: Garda V Street Traders Football Match @ Oliver Bond Sports Pitch from 19:30
Thur 20 July: Walk, Talk & Sing Tour from Marsh’s Library at 16:00 – History tour of the liberties through song.
Thur 20 July: Liberties Fun Run @ Royal Hospital Kilmainham from 19:45
Thur 20 July: Trad Rocks the Liberties @ Tom Kennedys Pub, 65 Thomas Street, Dublin 8 from 21:00
Fri 21 July: Liberties Song Contest @ The Lark Inn, 81 Meath Street, Dublin 8 from 21:30
Sat 22 July: Family Fun Day @ Patrick’s Park, Dublin 8 from 12:00-17:00
Sat 22 July: The Big Ceili @ The Merchant, 12 Lower Bridge St, Merchants Quay from 21:00.

Find all the details on the website including information about some non-free events.

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

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

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!

Arts and Crafts expert Susan Boyle is running a craft workshop for children aged 8 to 12 years. Admission is free, but booking is required via 01-4973539

The workshop is “Candle Decoration – Design striking individual candles which will give hours of pleasure with their happy glow”

‘Choose, Catch, Snap! Get a Glimpse, a Glance, a Flash! Of directions you may wish your life to take! And discover decisions you may desire to make!’

Emily Gallagher will run a ‘just for fun’ photo trail weekly, involving participants following instructions for hunting for various specific snaps around the city centre, after which interpretations of the symbolic significance to the snaps will be shared!

Admission is free, but donations are welcome and booking is required via chooseyourowntracks@gmail.com or 085-2725095. Meeting Point is the Meeting House Square.

Arts and Crafts expert Susan Boyle will run a Caraft Workshop for kids aged 7 to 12 years in Rathmines Library.

It is “Monster Hand Puppets – Create fantastic hand puppet monsters inspired by “Where The Wild Things Are”.”

Admission is free, but booking is required via 01-4973539

The Bowery Stand-up Comedy Night with David Hynes and Danny O Connor will feature guest performers Julie Jay, Mustafa Saed, Terry Oneil, David Mallaghan.

Admission is free.

This is a weekly gig with authentic old-time fiddle tunes and Appalachian music.

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

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

Admission is free.

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

Admission is free.

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

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).

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

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

Admission is free.

The Liberties Festival 2017 runs from 17-22 July and the great news is that 80% of the events are free events! Some events are booked out already, so you better check them out soon. All can be found at www.libertiesfestival.ie

Here is a selection of free events:
Mon 17 July: The Big Launch in the Digital Hub 19:30-21:30 with music and burlesque dancing
Tues 18 July: Walk, Talk & Sing Tour from Marsh’s Library at 16:00 – History tour of the liberties through song.
Tues 18 July: Trad Rocks the Liberties @ Stage 19, 18/19 Francis Street, Dublin 8 from 21:00
Wed 19 July: Liberties Block Party @ Molyneux Yard, Dublin 8 from 14:00-18:00
Wed 19 July: Garda V Street Traders Football Match @ Oliver Bond Sports Pitch from 19:30
Thur 20 July: Walk, Talk & Sing Tour from Marsh’s Library at 16:00 – History tour of the liberties through song.
Thur 20 July: Liberties Fun Run @ Royal Hospital Kilmainham from 19:45
Thur 20 July: Trad Rocks the Liberties @ Tom Kennedys Pub, 65 Thomas Street, Dublin 8 from 21:00
Fri 21 July: Liberties Song Contest @ The Lark Inn, 81 Meath Street, Dublin 8 from 21:30
Sat 22 July: Family Fun Day @ Patrick’s Park, Dublin 8 from 12:00-17:00
Sat 22 July: The Big Ceili @ The Merchant, 12 Lower Bridge St, Merchants Quay from 21:00.

Find all the details on the website including information about some non-free events.

The Drop in Activity “Japanese and Celtic knots” will be an opportunity to learn how to tie a range of traditional Japanese and Irish knots with the Maker-in-Residence, creative technologist Corinne Okada Takara.

Admission is free. Materials will be provided.

Rainbow Music is a fun music workshop for children to discover their singing voice through games, dances and songs. Children will learn some fun songs and understand how to play along to them with percussive instruments. Sing and dance to musical beats and rhythm. Admission is free, but booking is required via 01-8749619

There will be two sessions. The one at 10;30 for children 1-3 years and the one at 11:15 is suitable for children 3-5 year.

A demonstration against the cruel exports of greyhounds to countries where little to no welfere laws are in place to protect greyhounds. 50 Dublin buses will carry the End Exports posters on the sides.

The protest will take place outside the Department of Agriculture and more detail can be found on the Facebook event page below.

A Storytelling Workshop for kids will take place. Would you like to learn the skills and techniques to become a storyteller? Bring along your favourite books and use your new storytelling skills to develop your creativity and confidence. Suitable for children 7 – 12 years.

Admission is free, but booking is required via 01-8344906

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.

Arts and Crafts expert Susan Boyle will run a Craft Workshop for kids aged 7 to 12 years in Terenure Library.

It is “Create your very own balloon mobiles or balloons in watercolours and oil pastels, based on Oh’ the places you’ll go! by Dr. Seuss.”

Admission is free, but booking is required via 01-4907035

“How to Access the Hidden Jobs Market” is a talk with careers expert Sinéad English from www.wearehilt.com

Admission is free, but booking is required via 01 8733996 or businesslibrary@dublincity.ie

“These Are a Few of My Favourite Things” is the title of a Walking Tour that Emily Gallagher runs on Tuesday and Saturday. It is 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!”

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

This is a tour of the exhibition “Yeats: The Life and Work of William Butler Yeats”. It looks in particular at his great contribution to the Irish Cultural Revival. Highlights will include his involvement in the foundation of the Abbey Theatre and partnership with Lady Gregory, the influence of Douglas Hyde, and his promotion of Irish history, culture, art and folktales throughout his life.

Admission is free.

A Family Drop-in event will happen every Tuesday in July in the National Library. On 4, 11, 18, 25 July a fun afternoon of trails with stories and drawings that brings the National Library to life for all ages will be provided for you.

Admission is free and no booking is required.

Arts and Crafts expert Susan Boyle is running a craft workshop for children aged 8 to 12 years. Admission is free, but booking is required via 01-4558159

The workshop is “Willy Wonka Yoghurt. Combining science and food, children will make their own Willy Wonka yoghurt using dry ice. Tasty and fizzy treats await.”

Whelan’s never had a regular Trad Session, but this is about to change: a new Trad Session called “Call the Dancers” will take place and no other than well known musicians Ronan Ó Snodaigh, Eoin Dillon & friends will perform.

Admission is free.

Synesthesia is a talk series about our senses and at the 5th event the topic will be Agony or Nociception (Sense of Pain).

How do we deal with pain, both personally and professionally? What are some unexpected things that both cause and relieve pain? And how can we move through the pain we experience?

Our senses tell us about the world around us and this talk series investigates our senses through discussions about design, science, and creativity. The speakers are a combination of designers from the Fumbally Exchange and entrepreneurs from the creative industries in Dublin. A full list of speakers at this event can be found on the website below.

Admission is free, but tickets have to be booked via the same website below.

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

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

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

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

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

The Shipstern Open Session is the Open Mic night in the Bowery in Rathmines. A weekly event where everyone is invited to take part, sing, play an instrument of even tell some jokes. And anybody who will perform on stage will get a cocktail voucher. Sometimes even big names come in to try out their new material.

The night is hosted by Cian from the tband MKAI.

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

The Lounge Quintet plays this gig every Tuesday: Jazz Standards, Latin and Bebop. Often guest musicians and singers join them. Admission is free, donations are welcome.

The Trad Stage is a weekly Open Mic event in the Tivoli Backstage venue. Musicians are invited to perform live in front of an interested audience. Performances are primarily of Irish Traditional Music and Folk Singing, however it is possible to also see performances of traditional music from all over the world as well as performances of original compositions from local and international musicians.

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.

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

Admission is free. Max team size is 6 people.

The Liberties Festival 2017 runs from 17-22 July and the great news is that 80% of the events are free events! Some events are booked out already, so you better check them out soon. All can be found at www.libertiesfestival.ie

Here is a selection of free events:
Mon 17 July: The Big Launch in the Digital Hub 19:30-21:30 with music and burlesque dancing
Tues 18 July: Walk, Talk & Sing Tour from Marsh’s Library at 16:00 – History tour of the liberties through song.
Tues 18 July: Trad Rocks the Liberties @ Stage 19, 18/19 Francis Street, Dublin 8 from 21:00
Wed 19 July: Liberties Block Party @ Molyneux Yard, Dublin 8 from 14:00-18:00
Wed 19 July: Garda V Street Traders Football Match @ Oliver Bond Sports Pitch from 19:30
Thur 20 July: Walk, Talk & Sing Tour from Marsh’s Library at 16:00 – History tour of the liberties through song.
Thur 20 July: Liberties Fun Run @ Royal Hospital Kilmainham from 19:45
Thur 20 July: Trad Rocks the Liberties @ Tom Kennedys Pub, 65 Thomas Street, Dublin 8 from 21:00
Fri 21 July: Liberties Song Contest @ The Lark Inn, 81 Meath Street, Dublin 8 from 21:30
Sat 22 July: Family Fun Day @ Patrick’s Park, Dublin 8 from 12:00-17:00
Sat 22 July: The Big Ceili @ The Merchant, 12 Lower Bridge St, Merchants Quay from 21:00.

Find all the details on the website including information about some non-free events.

The Family Workshop “Hanging Sculptures” will take place in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Take inspiration from the beautiful sculptures in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and design your own hanging mobile. Suitable for ages 5-12.

Admission is free, but booking is required via the website below. The workshop will take place at 10:30 and again at 12:30.

Did you ever want to give drawing a go? Or maybe you are a budding artist looking for like-minded people to draw with? The Creative Den in Rua Red runs free weekly drawing sessions on Wednesdays at 11:00.

“Stories from Around the World” with Roisín Murphy is a Storytelling event that will include Japanese, Persian, Native American and Chinese stories. Suitable for children aged 7 to 10 years.

Admission is free, butbooking is required via 01-6689575.

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

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

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!

“Medieval Breads and Baking” is a talk with archaeologist Maeve L’Estrange. She gives an insight into the fascinating process of bread making in the Middle Ages. Take a closer look at the grains and finished product and discover the tricks and tools of medieval bakers.

Admission is free, but booking is required via educationarch@museum.ie or 01 6486 334. Suitable from Age 14+.

“Women in the writings of Jonathan Swift” is a lunchtime talk in the Royal Irish Academy.

Dr Aileen Douglas will give the third and final lecture in the talk series on Jonathan Swift which accompanies the Library exhibition “To please and to reform mankind” a life of protest: Jonathan Swift, 1667-1745.

Admission is free.

At this Paper Puzzles Drop-in Activity you will restore some archaeological objects like the Ardagh Chalice and the Loughnashade Trumpet by piecing the paper ‘fragments’ together.

Admission is free and the event is suitable for Ages 6+. Located in the Kildare Room.

The Temple Bar “Night” Market is more an afternoon and evening market (14:00-20:00) and it takes place every Wednesday until September.

You can buy Arts & Crafts at this market.

In previous years the missing food and drink stalls (probably to protect the pubs and restaurants in Temple Bar) was mentioned by visitors as a critique.

This is an informal workshop for adults and young people to look at different areas of life drawing – including portraits, colour and capturing movement. All materials are provided. Beginners and improvers are welcome.

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.

A City of old songs: Poems and songs- an Evening with Catherine Ann Cullen. Catherine Ann will read poems inspired by Dublin from her latest collection, The Other Now (Dedalus, 2016) and her two other collections, A Bone in My Throat (2007) and Strange Familiar (2013).

Admission is free.

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

It takes place every Wednesday and admission is free.

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

Admission is free.

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

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

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

Funk You will play RNB, Funk and Jazz in the Liquor Rooms.

Admission is free.

Jona Xhepa who lives in Ireland, was born in Albania and grew up in Candad, will be reading bits of her novella and playing a few songs. Audiovisual ruminations to follow readings and songs. She will will be sharing some comic/philosophy tidbits on screen and off as well.

Admission is free but donations are welcome.

jonaxhe.wixsite.com/quetzalfiach

The Anseo Comedy Club 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 Resident Open Mic is a new weekly open mic on Wednesdays with a bit of a difference: Each week a different established artist will go back to their roots by not just playing at the open mic but by hosting it. This gives the artists a chance to try out new songs, play some of their classics and most importantly it gives a chance for new songwriters to play their music in front of some of their favorite songwriters.

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

Admission is free.

The Liberties Festival 2017 runs from 17-22 July and the great news is that 80% of the events are free events! Some events are booked out already, so you better check them out soon. All can be found at www.libertiesfestival.ie

Here is a selection of free events:
Mon 17 July: The Big Launch in the Digital Hub 19:30-21:30 with music and burlesque dancing
Tues 18 July: Walk, Talk & Sing Tour from Marsh’s Library at 16:00 – History tour of the liberties through song.
Tues 18 July: Trad Rocks the Liberties @ Stage 19, 18/19 Francis Street, Dublin 8 from 21:00
Wed 19 July: Liberties Block Party @ Molyneux Yard, Dublin 8 from 14:00-18:00
Wed 19 July: Garda V Street Traders Football Match @ Oliver Bond Sports Pitch from 19:30
Thur 20 July: Walk, Talk & Sing Tour from Marsh’s Library at 16:00 – History tour of the liberties through song.
Thur 20 July: Liberties Fun Run @ Royal Hospital Kilmainham from 19:45
Thur 20 July: Trad Rocks the Liberties @ Tom Kennedys Pub, 65 Thomas Street, Dublin 8 from 21:00
Fri 21 July: Liberties Song Contest @ The Lark Inn, 81 Meath Street, Dublin 8 from 21:30
Sat 22 July: Family Fun Day @ Patrick’s Park, Dublin 8 from 12:00-17:00
Sat 22 July: The Big Ceili @ The Merchant, 12 Lower Bridge St, Merchants Quay from 21:00.

Find all the details on the website including information about some non-free events.

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

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

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 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.

As part of the current “Sound Check” exhibition in the Science Gallery you can rent out a bike to experience Dublin in a completely different way:

Ya slip ta bang is an interactive composition mapped over the streets of Dublin that will unfold for you as you ride ‘sonic bikes’ along specific routes of the city. Accompanied by electronic music, the composition tells the story of recovering he roin addict Lucy Dolan as she returns to the city, revisiting important places in her life.

The sonic bike is a bicycle with frame-mounted speakers that plays different sounds and music dependent on where the cyclist goes and how fast they ride, via a mounted location-sensitive system.

The bikes can be rented for free for up to 1 hour on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturday and Sunday between 12:30 and 16:00. The rules and conditions are on the website below and that is also where you book the bikes.

Relatively Speaking is the guided walking tour that takes place across two of Dublin’s contemporary art galleries, Temple Bar Gallery + Studios and Gallery of Photography. Last year there were still four galleries involved, but now the pool has shrunk to two.

The whole tour will stay in Temple Bar and will take about 45 minutes with 15-20 minute tours taking place in each gallery.

Beginning at Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, you will be introduced to Camille Norment’s solo exhibition Prime. And after that in the Gallery of Photography the exhibition ENGAGE, a new collaboration between Belfast Exposed Futures programme and Gallery of Photography will be presented.

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

The Wood Quay Summer Sessions are back, a series of four lunchtime gigs/concerts in the Amphitheatre at Wood Quay. This year, the four weeks will bring four different musical styles.

The third event on Thursday will feature Rock and the performers will be
+ Fontaines
+ Loah

Admission is free.

There are lots of newspapers in the National Library and in this workshop you will be looking at the funny pages, the cartoons! You will learn a little about the library too and then become a newspaper cartoonist and create your own catchy caption and cartoon.

Admission is free and no booking required. For more information ring 01 6030346 or learning@nli.ie

The Science Gallery will run a number of guided tours of the current SOUND CHECK exhibition during the Festival of Curiosity from Thursday until Sunday.

The Tour times are:
Thurs 20 July: 17:30 + 18:30
Sat 22 July: 15:30
Sun 23 July: 13:30 + 15:30

Admission is free, but tours are limited top 15 people per tour and booking is required viat the link below.

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

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

On other days and other times, admission is EUR 7 for adults and admission is by guided tour only.

The Colombian Film “El abrazo de la serpiente” from 2015 will be screened in the Instituto Cervantes. (in Spanish with English subtitles)

This National Gallery tour will introduce you to some fascinating stories behind the National Gallery’s conservation and refurbishment project and will then show you key works from the newly conserved and hung National Collection.

Admission is free. Meet at the Merrion Square Information Desk.

“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

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

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

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

THe Thursday Night Board Gaming event is running for more than 10 years already and it is a weekly event for all Board Game enthusiasts. But even if you are a Board Game newbie, you are welcome. Just come along!

Admission is free.

Orla Gartland and RUTH are performing at the next IMRO First Cuts Showcase at Abner Brown’s. The July edition of the monthly showcase, will take place on Thursday.

Admission is free, but booking is required via events@imro.ie (max 2 tickets per person).

The Backroad Smokers Club will be in the Bowery for a gig with Funk / Hip Hop / Soul / Disco.

Admission is free.

Rising Appalachia is a sister duo from Atlanta, Georgia. They are performing a folk/roots gig in Bray.

Admission is free.

The New Love & Terror Cult presents: Safari/ Rabble Babble/ Pearl

The New Love & Terror Cult is a music collective set up by the Irish psychedelic and experimental artists “Magic Moogle’s Vintage Psycho Arrangement”, “Free Sunshine Acid”,”the Black Temple Shrines” and “Tuath” to showcase their own music and to also help strengthen the Irish psych scene by inviting bands of a similar vein to play.

Admission is free.

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

The Luna Boys are in the Mercantile for a gig every Thursday night.

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.

Admission is free.

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

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

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

The Liberties Festival 2017 runs from 17-22 July and the great news is that 80% of the events are free events! Some events are booked out already, so you better check them out soon. All can be found at www.libertiesfestival.ie

Here is a selection of free events:
Mon 17 July: The Big Launch in the Digital Hub 19:30-21:30 with music and burlesque dancing
Tues 18 July: Walk, Talk & Sing Tour from Marsh’s Library at 16:00 – History tour of the liberties through song.
Tues 18 July: Trad Rocks the Liberties @ Stage 19, 18/19 Francis Street, Dublin 8 from 21:00
Wed 19 July: Liberties Block Party @ Molyneux Yard, Dublin 8 from 14:00-18:00
Wed 19 July: Garda V Street Traders Football Match @ Oliver Bond Sports Pitch from 19:30
Thur 20 July: Walk, Talk & Sing Tour from Marsh’s Library at 16:00 – History tour of the liberties through song.
Thur 20 July: Liberties Fun Run @ Royal Hospital Kilmainham from 19:45
Thur 20 July: Trad Rocks the Liberties @ Tom Kennedys Pub, 65 Thomas Street, Dublin 8 from 21:00
Fri 21 July: Liberties Song Contest @ The Lark Inn, 81 Meath Street, Dublin 8 from 21:30
Sat 22 July: Family Fun Day @ Patrick’s Park, Dublin 8 from 12:00-17:00
Sat 22 July: The Big Ceili @ The Merchant, 12 Lower Bridge St, Merchants Quay from 21:00.

Find all the details on the website including information about some non-free events.

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

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

Since 1988, the Irish Army doesn’t use the Fort anymore and gave it back to the Office of Public Works (OPW), but not much good has happened to the Fort in the last 28 years (!!) and there were numerous speculations about the reasons for that.

Finally since last year, guided tours were provided and were meant to run for three months until end of October 2016. But the interest was so great that the OPW decided to continue the tours with a reduced schedule over the winter. And since 02 April there will be tours again every Friday and Sunday at 10:00, 12:00, 14:00 + 15:00 and only 20 places are available on each tour.

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

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

To celebrate the Easter Rising Anniversary, admission to that exhibititon was free in 2016, but lucky for us, Dublin City decided to also waive the admission charge for 2017.

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

Six times will the “People’s Art 2017″ exhibition take place this year. It is an art exhibition by private artists on the rails/fence of St. Stephen’s Green.

(If you want to exhibit at one of the events in the future, check the website for cost and conditions.)

Visiting the People’s Art Exhibition is free and you will be able to admire (and buy) a huge amount of art works. The event starts close to 11:00 and typically finishes around 17:00, it runs from Friday until Sunday with the main activity on Saturday and Sunday.

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

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 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.

As part of the current “Sound Check” exhibition in the Science Gallery you can rent out a bike to experience Dublin in a completely different way:

Ya slip ta bang is an interactive composition mapped over the streets of Dublin that will unfold for you as you ride ‘sonic bikes’ along specific routes of the city. Accompanied by electronic music, the composition tells the story of recovering he roin addict Lucy Dolan as she returns to the city, revisiting important places in her life.

The sonic bike is a bicycle with frame-mounted speakers that plays different sounds and music dependent on where the cyclist goes and how fast they ride, via a mounted location-sensitive system.

The bikes can be rented for free for up to 1 hour on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturday and Sunday between 12:30 and 16:00. The rules and conditions are on the website below and that is also where you book the bikes.

A short and informal talk will take place in front of Jan Weenix’s “Game-piece in the garden of a Chateau”, with Dr Kathryn Milligan.

Admission is free.

The Science Gallery is inviting to a late-night party at the current SOUND CHECK exhibition. Visitors will link up with musicians, makers and producers to explore the technologies changing how we hear, experience, and make music.

To celebrate the Festival of Curiosity, this party “THE ART OF THE SAMPLE”, a special sample and looping performance with leading producers will happen. With music, making and some noisey electronic surprises, we’ll celebrate the Festival of Curiosity with all things sound.

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

“MY ART Exhibition!” by the Mind Blow Cew is an exhibition of “artwork, activism and other creative nonsense.” Exploring themes like death, enlightenment, rock ‘n’ roll, madness, embracing the moment and bodybuilding it is a one-evening event with additional live performances by poets Hazel Hogan, Raven Aflakete, singer Sean Fitzgerald and jazz guitarist Ev O’Brien.

Admission is free. Find out more via the Facebook Page or Eventbrite Page below.

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

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.

Pete Pamf will play funk and alternative at this gig.

Admission is free.

Cover Band Poplife will play a gig in the Liquor Rooms.

Admission is free.

The double act Reverend JM’s Panic Worship + Poison Hearts will play a gig in the Patriot’s Inn.

Admission is free.

Punk Rock band Checkpoint will play this gig and they will be supported by Bullet Girl.

Admission is free before 22:30 or if you sign up for the guest list.