Dublin Event Guide 535: BlueFire Street Festival, IFI Open Day, Oktoberfest, Culture Night

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.

Sculpture in Context is back!! It is Ireland’s largest outdoor sculpture exhibition and it is a brilliant exhibition in the beautiful surroundings of the National Botanic Gardens. Some of Ireland’s best artists are showing new work and the sculptures are displayed throughout the gardens, ponds, Great Palm House and Curvilinear Range, with the smaller works exhibited in the in the gallery in the Visitors Centre.

The exhibition will be open form 07 Sept and will run until 20 October.

Admission is free and apart from seeing some very interesting sculptures, it is also fun to go on a “treasure hunt” for these sculptures which are sprinkled throughout the Botanic Gardens.

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.

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

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

Admission is free.

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

IFI Open Day is a day full of films to celebrate the 25th birthday of the Irish Film Institute in Temple Bar.

Admission to all films is free and tickets will be distributed in the IFI Foyer one hour before each screening starts. Limited tickets for the Gala Cine-concert will be available from the IFI Foyer at 18.30.

A list of all films can be found on ifi.ie/openday

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 every day of the week. Currently there is at least one free tour every day. Check their website for details. Some special events will be listed separately.

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

The 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 hugely popular Oktoberfest in Dublin takes place from 14 Sept – 01 Oct again. It is a German Beer Festival with Erdinger Weissbräu Beer (including alcohol-free wheat beer), lots of German Bavarian Food and authentic Bavarian music.

There are “Themed Nights” on Monday (“Industry”), on Tuesday (“Pink Tuesday” for the LGBT* community) and on Wednesday (“Whacky Wednesday”) and there is dodgy but authentic ;-) Bavarian Music every evening in the festival tent. The food is also authentic and delicious (at least for a German like me). The beer is not cheap but you expected that. 1 Litre costs EUR 12 and 0.5 Litre is EUR 6.50

Opening hours are Mon-Thu: 12:00-23:30, Fri+Sat: 12:00-16:30+17:30-23:30, Sun 12:00-22:30.

The best place to experience the festival is in the Festival Tent on the platform in George’s Dock. But because the yearly festival is soo popular, there are at times long queues due to severe admission restrictions (quantity of people) to the Festival Tent. Luckily around George’s Dock are more food and drink stalls so that you don’t HAVE to be in the Festival tent to enjoy the event. There are changes to the opening hours (much more restricted) and the admission system (admission charge on Friday and Saturday evening).

Admission is free apart from the evening slot on Friday and Saturday when admission costs EUR 10 and that includes a EUR 5 meal voucher. This is a big change from previous years when admission was always free, but a meal voucher had to be bought after 22:00. The (nonsensical!!) meal voucher system still applies from Sunday until Thursday after 22:00: If you want to buy beer after 22:00 you will have to have a wristband which you will only get if you have paid for a meal for EUR 6. This is allegedly due to licensing laws. Why nonsensical? Firstly because nobody checks if you actually ate the meal. Then nobody checks who you buy the beer for once you have a wristband and thirdly because no pub makes you buy a meal voucher.

Only one more week:

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.

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.

As an add-on to the weekly Bushy Park Market in Terenure, this week the yearly Family Fun Day takes place on Saturday.

It takes place on the roadside pitch next to the market and consists of 6 bouncy castles, a Zip Line experience, 4 face painters and live music all day long.

Admission is free. Free parking is available in the Our Lady’s Senior School on Rathfarnham Road.

The Blue Fire Street Festival is back in its fifth year and it will be bigger and better than ever before.

It is a family-friendly “Street Festival” featuring some of Ireland’s best musicians, artists and street performers, youth talks, poetry and live street art, dance and drumming workshops and children’s and teenager activities. In addition there will be a food & craft market.

On the Main Stage, the line-up will be Jiggy, Kiruu, Farah Elle, Rhythm Africana, Basork, Ronix feat. AllegroAndante Show Band. The schedule is here: www.bluefirestreetfest.ie/lineup/mainstage/

And on the street/plaza, performances from Ukulele Tuesday, The Vulture Collective, Bollywood Beats, Alma Boliviana Dance Ballet in Ireland, Zouk Ireland, Forró Dublin, Felispeaks, Carlinhos Cruz, Casa Peru Ireland, Venezuelan Folklore, Morro 16, Ben Bernie, Stacey Lotsy, James Moran, Kevin Higgins, Nita Mishra, Gabriel Sam, Niveta, Grim Squeaker, Circus Tricks will take place. www.bluefirestreetfest.ie/lineup/street-performers/

And the workshops are DIT Break Dance Society, Casa Peru Ireland, Forró Dublin, Bollywood Fusion Ireland, Bam Bam Boogie, Dance Fitness, Dublin School of Capoeira, Jabba Jabba Jembe, Ugandan Dance, Yoga. www.bluefirestreetfest.ie/lineup/workshops/

The activities for kids and teens AND all Other schedules are summarised in this picture. I hope you will be able to open that and read it even while out and about on Smithfield Plaza.

That is SOME busy event! Don’t miss it! All details are on the website below and admission is completely free!

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The events on Smithfield Plaza ends at 20:00, but the festival is not over at that point. Bluefire After-Hours is just getting started then. There will be

+ Instagramers Dublin Photo Exhibition from 20:00 in Jameson Distillery Bow St.
+ Comedy Night at 20:00 in The Generator Hostel
+ Community Ted-Talk at 20:00 in Third Space Smithfield
+ Spoken Word at 20:00 in The Cobblestone
+ BlueFire’d Up After-Hours Party at 22:30 in The Generator Hostel

Unfortunately it is not completely clear if the After-Hours events are free or if some have an admission charge, but I would expect that most are free.

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

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

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

The tour will focus on World War I, in which so many Irishmen died. You will also hear about the main features of the gardens at this tour.

Meeting point is the car park at 14:00 (next to the Trinity College Boat Club). For further information and to check that it is taking place, contact 01-8155914 (Farmleigh House).

Ten Piece World Culture Fusion Orchestra Basork and Farah Elle are two of the performers at the Blue Fire Festival this weekend. But if you missed them or can’t get enough of them, Sin E is bringing them back in the evening.

Admission is free.

Johnny Fean (Horslips) will be in The Leeson Lounge for a night of Rock and Blues with James Delaney, Noel Bridgeman and John Quearney.

Admission is free.

The Porterhouse in Bray will be the venue for a gig by Bunty & The Bristlehounds.

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.

Pointbreak are playing Surf Rock in the Harbour Bar.

Admission is free.

The Irish “Indie Chill Pop” duo “A Dream, The Night” from Limerick will play a gig in Whelan’s. There will also be another band playing the support slot, but they have not been anounced yet.

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

10-piece Funk band Quangodelic from Cork will play a gig in the Bowery.

Support will be provided by the Headtrip Acoustic Project.

Admission is free before 23:00 and will be EUR 5 thereafter.

Revolver will play the late gig in the Porterhouse in Temple Bar.

Admission is free.

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

Admission for buyers is free.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour are running a treasure hunt on Sunday. It is a family event that encourages children and their families to learn more about the harbour during its 200th year.

14 Questions have been created by the harbour master and and the questions will be available on the website below on Sunday. All answers can be found on the East Pier.

Admission is free and you can win some nice prizes.

Funny side note: have a look at the Terms & Conditions where it says “All 14 answers must be illegible and correct”. Ohhh! It is indeed a challenge to make the answers UNreadable AND at the same time correct. But I am sure you will be able to find a way OR realise that they really wanted to write “All 14 answers must be legible and correct” as they have in the previous section. ;-)

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.

Sculpture in Context is back!! It is Ireland’s largest outdoor sculpture exhibition and it is a brilliant exhibition in the beautiful surroundings of the National Botanic Gardens. Some of Ireland’s best artists are showing new work and the sculptures are displayed throughout the gardens, ponds, Great Palm House and Curvilinear Range, with the smaller works exhibited in the in the gallery in the Visitors Centre.

The exhibition will be open form 07 Sept and will run until 20 October.

Admission is free and apart from seeing some very interesting sculptures, it is also fun to go on a “treasure hunt” for these sculptures which are sprinkled throughout the Botanic Gardens.

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

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

Admission is free.

The 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:
13 August Paint a Summer Scene
20 August Medieval Life
27 August Farmer Ann
03 September Farmer Ann
17 September Medieval Life
24 September Paint an Autumn Scene

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.

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

Meeting point is at the entrance of the Four Courts Dublin. The tour is free but donations are welcome and booking is required via email to jsfolkloregirl024@gmail.com or – if you can’t book beforehand – just show up on the day.

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

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

The Rumble in the Jumble Flea, Craft, etc market is back.

Admission is free.

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

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.

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

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

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

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 hugely popular Oktoberfest in Dublin takes place from 14 Sept – 01 Oct again. It is a German Beer Festival with Erdinger Weissbräu Beer (including alcohol-free wheat beer), lots of German Bavarian Food and authentic Bavarian music.

There are “Themed Nights” on Monday (“Industry”), on Tuesday (“Pink Tuesday” for the LGBT* community) and on Wednesday (“Whacky Wednesday”) and there is dodgy but authentic ;-) Bavarian Music every evening in the festival tent. The food is also authentic and delicious (at least for a German like me). The beer is not cheap but you expected that. 1 Litre costs EUR 12 and 0.5 Litre is EUR 6.50

Opening hours are Mon-Thu: 12:00-23:30, Fri+Sat: 12:00-16:30+17:30-23:30, Sun 12:00-22:30.

The best place to experience the festival is in the Festival Tent on the platform in George’s Dock. But because the yearly festival is soo popular, there are at times long queues due to severe admission restrictions (quantity of people) to the Festival Tent. Luckily around George’s Dock are more food and drink stalls so that you don’t HAVE to be in the Festival tent to enjoy the event. There are changes to the opening hours (much more restricted) and the admission system (admission charge on Friday and Saturday evening).

Admission is free apart from the evening slot on Friday and Saturday when admission costs EUR 10 and that includes a EUR 5 meal voucher. This is a big change from previous years when admission was always free, but a meal voucher had to be bought after 22:00. The (nonsensical!!) meal voucher system still applies from Sunday until Thursday after 22:00: If you want to buy beer after 22:00 you will have to have a wristband which you will only get if you have paid for a meal for EUR 6. This is allegedly due to licensing laws. Why nonsensical? Firstly because nobody checks if you actually ate the meal. Then nobody checks who you buy the beer for once you have a wristband and thirdly because no pub makes you buy a meal voucher.

Only one more week:

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 Sundays at Noon Concert Series continues in the Sculpture Gallery at the Hugh Lane Gallery. This series of free (mainly classical) concerts continues to present the best of Irish and International music and musicians. Concerts run from September to June.

The next concert will feature Elisaveta Blumina on piano, playing works from Sergei Prokofjew, Mieczyslaw Weinberg, Giya Kancheli, Valentin Silvestrov, Galina Ustvolskaya and Grigori Frid.

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 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.

At this Salsa Bachata Practice evnet there will be a Demonstration of basic steps for beginners from 13:00-13:40 and then from 13:40-16:00 a Social Practice for all levels will take place.

Admission is free.

Allegedly Ireland’s largest Flash Mob will happen in Grafton Street on Sunday. It is daring claim considering that the organisers probably have no clue what other Flash Mobs took place in Ireland before, but let’s not be too critical. ;-)

The Flash Mob will be with the Dublin Rock Line Choir and you will sing Queen’s “We Will Rock You”.

It will all take place in Grafton Street, but there is no information where the meeting point is. In addition there is no advance information about what is happening, instead the organisers explian that “Director of the event is Hez from LA, California. She is an experienced cinematographer and will give you all information you need on the day.” So the “Flash Mob” might not be that Flash, but will be a many time rehearsed performance?

Could be fun nevertheless, so if you like singing go to Grafton Street. Or just go there to watch.

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 informal get-together of the Brazilian community in Dublin will take place on Sunday in the form of a Mateada (informal meeting where you drink Mate tea). More than 180 people have declared that they will go, so if they all stick to their promise, it will be a busy enough meetup.

Admission is free.

There will be a Jazz gig with “Carnivale” in the bandstand of Farmleigh House.

Admission is free.

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

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

Families are invited to explore and respond together the gallery’s collection and temporary exhibitions through discussion and drawing. Bring your own sketchbook along or use the drawing materials provided. There will be a different topic every week and all topics until 28 Jan are listed on the website below.

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

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

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

Coem to this special family art workshop inspired by the exhibition Portrait of a Century. Create your own portrait with artist Joe Caslin. Art materials provided. Suitable for Families with children 7+.

Admission is free, but booking required via 01 6777444

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.

“Stuck at the keyboard: music in Vermeer’s world” is a talk about music in Vermeer’s world and in the Dutch Golden Age. This talk will be given by Adrian Le Harivel, curator of British art at the National Gallery of Ireland.

Admission is free.

The Sunday Melt Sessions in the Mezz is a whole afternoon of bands, acoustic acts, spoken word, DJs and more. The line up is available via the FB Event Page below.

Admission is free.

On Sunday the All Ireland Senior Football Final between Dublin and Mayo will take place in Croke Park and nearly every pub in town will screen the match.

Admission in normal pubs is free.

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

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

The event takes place every Sunday in the Cobblestone Pub.

Blues Got Soul, a four-piece blues band from Dublin is performing the music of the founding fathers of blues and blues masters in the International Bar every Sunday. Admission is free, but donations are welcome.

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

One man band Steve Strong, playing guitar, loop machine and drums more or less at the same time, will be in the Bowery for a gig on Sunday. He will be supported by progressive post-punk/math rock trio Tribal Dance from Dublin.

Admission is free.

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

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

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

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 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.

Colm Quearney, Graham Hopkins, Keith Duffy, Justin Carroll & Conor Brady are the Square Pegs. They will play Chicago Blues, 50s R&B, New Orleans Blues.

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 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 RDS Library & Archives Book Sale is a yearly event where over one week (Monday to Friday) the RDS Library is selling off old books for low prices.

You can be lucky and get something interesting, but often the books are more old than interesting. ;-) More interesting is that also members of the RDS are invited to bring their books to be sold there.

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

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

The hugely popular Oktoberfest in Dublin takes place from 14 Sept – 01 Oct again. It is a German Beer Festival with Erdinger Weissbräu Beer (including alcohol-free wheat beer), lots of German Bavarian Food and authentic Bavarian music.

There are “Themed Nights” on Monday (“Industry”), on Tuesday (“Pink Tuesday” for the LGBT* community) and on Wednesday (“Whacky Wednesday”) and there is dodgy but authentic ;-) Bavarian Music every evening in the festival tent. The food is also authentic and delicious (at least for a German like me). The beer is not cheap but you expected that. 1 Litre costs EUR 12 and 0.5 Litre is EUR 6.50

Opening hours are Mon-Thu: 12:00-23:30, Fri+Sat: 12:00-16:30+17:30-23:30, Sun 12:00-22:30.

The best place to experience the festival is in the Festival Tent on the platform in George’s Dock. But because the yearly festival is soo popular, there are at times long queues due to severe admission restrictions (quantity of people) to the Festival Tent. Luckily around George’s Dock are more food and drink stalls so that you don’t HAVE to be in the Festival tent to enjoy the event. There are changes to the opening hours (much more restricted) and the admission system (admission charge on Friday and Saturday evening).

Admission is free apart from the evening slot on Friday and Saturday when admission costs EUR 10 and that includes a EUR 5 meal voucher. This is a big change from previous years when admission was always free, but a meal voucher had to be bought after 22:00. The (nonsensical!!) meal voucher system still applies from Sunday until Thursday after 22:00: If you want to buy beer after 22:00 you will have to have a wristband which you will only get if you have paid for a meal for EUR 6. This is allegedly due to licensing laws. Why nonsensical? Firstly because nobody checks if you actually ate the meal. Then nobody checks who you buy the beer for once you have a wristband and thirdly because no pub makes you buy a meal voucher.

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 Bowery Film Club is inviting to a screening of American Horror Story (Season 7 Episodes 1 + 2) followed by the cult movie (from 21:00) The Big Lebowski.

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).

Great news the great duo of Donal Kirk and Anto Drennan have found a new home. Originally they played a weekly gig in JJ Smyth’s until it closed and now they will perform in the Leeson Lounge and the same day as before. This week Jimmy Smyth will take Anto Drennan’s place, it seems.

They will play music from Lowell George Little Feat, Bonnie Raitt, Free, Bad Company, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Beatles, Bobby Bland, Vince Gill, Ray Charles, Etta James, Elvis, Ry Cooder, Dobie Gray, Guy Clarke, early ZZ Top, Dave Edmunds, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Willie Nelson.

Admission is free.

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

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

A Kizomba evening will take place in Madigan’s. There will be classes from 19:00-21:00 which are not free, but for the club afterwards from 21:00-23:00 admission will be free.

The name of the event comes from the music types that will feature: Salsa, Bachata, Zouk, Kizomba and more.

Find all details via the link below.

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

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

Admission is free.

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

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

The hugely popular Oktoberfest in Dublin takes place from 14 Sept – 01 Oct again. It is a German Beer Festival with Erdinger Weissbräu Beer (including alcohol-free wheat beer), lots of German Bavarian Food and authentic Bavarian music.

There are “Themed Nights” on Monday (“Industry”), on Tuesday (“Pink Tuesday” for the LGBT* community) and on Wednesday (“Whacky Wednesday”) and there is dodgy but authentic ;-) Bavarian Music every evening in the festival tent. The food is also authentic and delicious (at least for a German like me). The beer is not cheap but you expected that. 1 Litre costs EUR 12 and 0.5 Litre is EUR 6.50

Opening hours are Mon-Thu: 12:00-23:30, Fri+Sat: 12:00-16:30+17:30-23:30, Sun 12:00-22:30.

The best place to experience the festival is in the Festival Tent on the platform in George’s Dock. But because the yearly festival is soo popular, there are at times long queues due to severe admission restrictions (quantity of people) to the Festival Tent. Luckily around George’s Dock are more food and drink stalls so that you don’t HAVE to be in the Festival tent to enjoy the event. There are changes to the opening hours (much more restricted) and the admission system (admission charge on Friday and Saturday evening).

Admission is free apart from the evening slot on Friday and Saturday when admission costs EUR 10 and that includes a EUR 5 meal voucher. This is a big change from previous years when admission was always free, but a meal voucher had to be bought after 22:00. The (nonsensical!!) meal voucher system still applies from Sunday until Thursday after 22:00: If you want to buy beer after 22:00 you will have to have a wristband which you will only get if you have paid for a meal for EUR 6. This is allegedly due to licensing laws. Why nonsensical? Firstly because nobody checks if you actually ate the meal. Then nobody checks who you buy the beer for once you have a wristband and thirdly because no pub makes you buy a meal voucher.

This is a pop-up talk with Valerie Moffat in front of the painting “An Indian lady” in Room 21

The Wilde Shamrock Touring Theatre is performing “Delightful Dublin” every Tuesday in September. So you have two more opportunities to see that performance!

It is described as a “quirky and entertaining guide to the history and culture of Dublin. Told through story, song and dance.”

Admission is free.

The next event in the Synesthesia Talk Series is a talk about “Balance” and it will take place on Tuesday in the Liquor Rooms. Speakers will be Foxy P.Cox, Owen Harris, Aine Molloy and Clare Fox.

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

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.

“All Aboard! An open mic night on a Pirate Ship.” is the name of the Bowery’s Open Mic Tuesday.

Each week there will be an array of music, comedy, spoken word and all things in between.

Admission is free.

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

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

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.

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.

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

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

The hugely popular Oktoberfest in Dublin takes place from 14 Sept – 01 Oct again. It is a German Beer Festival with Erdinger Weissbräu Beer (including alcohol-free wheat beer), lots of German Bavarian Food and authentic Bavarian music.

There are “Themed Nights” on Monday (“Industry”), on Tuesday (“Pink Tuesday” for the LGBT* community) and on Wednesday (“Whacky Wednesday”) and there is dodgy but authentic ;-) Bavarian Music every evening in the festival tent. The food is also authentic and delicious (at least for a German like me). The beer is not cheap but you expected that. 1 Litre costs EUR 12 and 0.5 Litre is EUR 6.50

Opening hours are Mon-Thu: 12:00-23:30, Fri+Sat: 12:00-16:30+17:30-23:30, Sun 12:00-22:30.

The best place to experience the festival is in the Festival Tent on the platform in George’s Dock. But because the yearly festival is soo popular, there are at times long queues due to severe admission restrictions (quantity of people) to the Festival Tent. Luckily around George’s Dock are more food and drink stalls so that you don’t HAVE to be in the Festival tent to enjoy the event. There are changes to the opening hours (much more restricted) and the admission system (admission charge on Friday and Saturday evening).

Admission is free apart from the evening slot on Friday and Saturday when admission costs EUR 10 and that includes a EUR 5 meal voucher. This is a big change from previous years when admission was always free, but a meal voucher had to be bought after 22:00. The (nonsensical!!) meal voucher system still applies from Sunday until Thursday after 22:00: If you want to buy beer after 22:00 you will have to have a wristband which you will only get if you have paid for a meal for EUR 6. This is allegedly due to licensing laws. Why nonsensical? Firstly because nobody checks if you actually ate the meal. Then nobody checks who you buy the beer for once you have a wristband and thirdly because no pub makes you buy a meal voucher.

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 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.

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.

“Celebrating Poetry: 10 years of Poetry Aloud” is a talk by Prof Margaret Kelleher, Chair of Anglo-Irish Literature and Drama, UCD. With an introduction by Niall MacMonagle who started Poetry Aloud as an in house school competition in 1993.

Poetry Aloud is an All-Ireland poetry speaking competition for post-primary schools organised by the NLI and Poetry Ireland.

Admission is free

Candlelit Tales are hugely popular master storytellers and their focus is on the telling of legends and mythological stories. At this event, they are looking at stories that have echoes.

“These stories resonate around the world, and the same patterns, the same motifs, even the same heroes seem to reverberate through different cultures. We hear stories, repeat them and recreate them to fit our own culture…and then they create our culture as they are passed on. Find the echoes of some of the greatest Irish tales in the mythology of Europe. Or is it the Irish tales that are echoes of foreign voices?”

Admission is free and donations are welcome.

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.

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.

Ben Prevo will be in the Bowery for a Solo Gig. He will play Blues, 50s and 60s songs, own compositions and more.

Admission is free.

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

Traditional Irish Music Session in Hedigan’s (The Brian Boru) in Phibsborough from 21:30 every Wednesday. If you play an instrument you are especially welcome (all levels are welcome).

Sculpture in Context is back!! It is Ireland’s largest outdoor sculpture exhibition and it is a brilliant exhibition in the beautiful surroundings of the National Botanic Gardens. Some of Ireland’s best artists are showing new work and the sculptures are displayed throughout the gardens, ponds, Great Palm House and Curvilinear Range, with the smaller works exhibited in the in the gallery in the Visitors Centre.

The exhibition will be open form 07 Sept and will run until 20 October.

Admission is free and apart from seeing some very interesting sculptures, it is also fun to go on a “treasure hunt” for these sculptures which are sprinkled throughout the Botanic Gardens.

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 every day of the week. Currently there is at least one free tour every day. Check their website for details. Some special events will be listed separately.

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

The hugely popular Oktoberfest in Dublin takes place from 14 Sept – 01 Oct again. It is a German Beer Festival with Erdinger Weissbräu Beer (including alcohol-free wheat beer), lots of German Bavarian Food and authentic Bavarian music.

There are “Themed Nights” on Monday (“Industry”), on Tuesday (“Pink Tuesday” for the LGBT* community) and on Wednesday (“Whacky Wednesday”) and there is dodgy but authentic ;-) Bavarian Music every evening in the festival tent. The food is also authentic and delicious (at least for a German like me). The beer is not cheap but you expected that. 1 Litre costs EUR 12 and 0.5 Litre is EUR 6.50

Opening hours are Mon-Thu: 12:00-23:30, Fri+Sat: 12:00-16:30+17:30-23:30, Sun 12:00-22:30.

The best place to experience the festival is in the Festival Tent on the platform in George’s Dock. But because the yearly festival is soo popular, there are at times long queues due to severe admission restrictions (quantity of people) to the Festival Tent. Luckily around George’s Dock are more food and drink stalls so that you don’t HAVE to be in the Festival tent to enjoy the event. There are changes to the opening hours (much more restricted) and the admission system (admission charge on Friday and Saturday evening).

Admission is free apart from the evening slot on Friday and Saturday when admission costs EUR 10 and that includes a EUR 5 meal voucher. This is a big change from previous years when admission was always free, but a meal voucher had to be bought after 22:00. The (nonsensical!!) meal voucher system still applies from Sunday until Thursday after 22:00: If you want to buy beer after 22:00 you will have to have a wristband which you will only get if you have paid for a meal for EUR 6. This is allegedly due to licensing laws. Why nonsensical? Firstly because nobody checks if you actually ate the meal. Then nobody checks who you buy the beer for once you have a wristband and thirdly because no pub makes you buy a meal voucher.

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 Fridays, Saturday and Sunday between 14:30 and 16:00. The rules and conditions are on the website below and that is also where you book the bikes.

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.

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

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

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

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

Admission is free.

CC Adock will be for a gig in the Leeson Lounge: “Solo performance from the the rocking heart of Louisiana. Take some zydeco, electric blues and swamp pop and add a dash of Cajun hot sauce.”

Admission is most likely free, but the Facebook page doesn’t declare it, so better ask.

The Harbour Bar is running a Ska Fest from Thursday until Sunday. There will be two bands every evening and on Thursday the line-up is:

+ Rewind 20:00-21:30
+ Trenchtown 22:00-23:30

Admission is free.

The Backroad Smoers Club will perform Funk, Hip Hop, Soul and Disco. They will be supported by Chasing Felix.

Admission is free.

The Red Hot Chilli Peppers Tribute Band “Red Hot Copy Peppers” will play a gig at the Red Hot Chilli Peppers Aftershow in the Mezz on Thursday.

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 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.

Sculpture in Context is back!! It is Ireland’s largest outdoor sculpture exhibition and it is a brilliant exhibition in the beautiful surroundings of the National Botanic Gardens. Some of Ireland’s best artists are showing new work and the sculptures are displayed throughout the gardens, ponds, Great Palm House and Curvilinear Range, with the smaller works exhibited in the in the gallery in the Visitors Centre.

The exhibition will be open form 07 Sept and will run until 20 October.

Admission is free and apart from seeing some very interesting sculptures, it is also fun to go on a “treasure hunt” for these sculptures which are sprinkled throughout the Botanic Gardens.

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

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

Visiting the People’s Art Exhibition is free and you will be able to admire (and buy) a huge amount of great art works from the artists themselves. The event starts close to 11:00 and typically finishes around 17:00, it runs from Friday until Sunday with the main activity on Saturday and Sunday. This Friday it coincides with the Culture Night and it is possible that the Artists will display their art for longer than usual.

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 every day of the week. Currently there is at least one free tour every day. Check their website for details. Some special events will be listed separately.

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

The hugely popular Oktoberfest in Dublin takes place from 14 Sept – 01 Oct again. It is a German Beer Festival with Erdinger Weissbräu Beer (including alcohol-free wheat beer), lots of German Bavarian Food and authentic Bavarian music.

There are “Themed Nights” on Monday (“Industry”), on Tuesday (“Pink Tuesday” for the LGBT* community) and on Wednesday (“Whacky Wednesday”) and there is dodgy but authentic ;-) Bavarian Music every evening in the festival tent. The food is also authentic and delicious (at least for a German like me). The beer is not cheap but you expected that. 1 Litre costs EUR 12 and 0.5 Litre is EUR 6.50

Opening hours are Mon-Thu: 12:00-23:30, Fri+Sat: 12:00-16:30+17:30-23:30, Sun 12:00-22:30.

The best place to experience the festival is in the Festival Tent on the platform in George’s Dock. But because the yearly festival is soo popular, there are at times long queues due to severe admission restrictions (quantity of people) to the Festival Tent. Luckily around George’s Dock are more food and drink stalls so that you don’t HAVE to be in the Festival tent to enjoy the event. There are changes to the opening hours (much more restricted) and the admission system (admission charge on Friday and Saturday evening).

Admission is free apart from the evening slot on Friday and Saturday when admission costs EUR 10 and that includes a EUR 5 meal voucher. This is a big change from previous years when admission was always free, but a meal voucher had to be bought after 22:00. The (nonsensical!!) meal voucher system still applies from Sunday until Thursday after 22:00: If you want to buy beer after 22:00 you will have to have a wristband which you will only get if you have paid for a meal for EUR 6. This is allegedly due to licensing laws. Why nonsensical? Firstly because nobody checks if you actually ate the meal. Then nobody checks who you buy the beer for once you have a wristband and thirdly because no pub makes you buy a meal voucher.

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.

Canalaphonic is a festival with music, cultural activities a market and kids entertainment. The festival will run from Friday 22 until Sunday 24 September and will happen in Portobello, Rathmines, Ranelagh and in The Vaults in Harcourt Street.

On Friday it starts with this:

+ 12:00 Suso Youth Choir at The Vaults off Harcourt Street
+ 17:00-20:00 Bog Meditation, World Music Session and Music & Words in Rathmines Library.
+ 17:00-20:00 art, music, poetry and film in Ranelagh Arts Centre

Admission is free.

Ireland’s Culture Night, the best event of the year, where everybody who takes part afterwards suggests that it should take place AT LEAST twice every year, will happen this coming Friday. On 22 Sept, from 17:00-22:00 (or 23:00), Dublin will be buzzing with cultural activities.

Museums, Galleries and all sorts of other cultural venues will be open in the evening and will run special programmes, concerts, performances. talks, Open Door events, exhibitions etc. It is an event you CAN NOT miss if you are interested in culture in the slightest.

There are hundreds of events in Dublin alone (the event is nationwide!) and some people find it difficult to get a handle of the day, so let me help you!

There are different strategies and I suggest you chose one of them or alternatively use a combination of them:

1) There is a Culture Night app for Android and iPhone in the respective app/play stores. Download the app and plan your night. Alternatively you can download the programme for Dublin here and for Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown here. On about 100 pages the Dublin events are explained in detail and you can plan your whole night. There is a free Shuttle Bus Service on four routes (see Page 5 of the brochure) to help you get around. Otherwise stay in one or two areas.

2) The first option requires meticulous planning. The second option uses creative drifting! ;-) You just go into one of the areas that has plenty of events and follow your nose. Enjoy what you come across and don’t worry about what you might miss. A good area to start is “Temple Bar & Creative Quarter”. But you could also focus on “Phoenix Park & Museums Quarter” or “Liberties & Historic Quarter” or “Monto & North Georgian Quarter” or Trinity & South Georgian Quarter”.

There will be hundreds of events and I will mention a few (but just a fraction of the total amount) here in the Dublin Event Guide.

If you wonder what I will do, this is my approach: I usually chose a combination of 1) and 2). I will probably start at Merrion Square. A number of buildings are open around Merrion Square. Then onwards to Kildare Street with the Alliance Francaise and the National Library and the Royal College of Physicians (look at their library). Now over to the Science Gallery and their main event will be in the Chartered Accountants Building across the street. If you have never seen the Freemason’s Hall in Molesworth Street, join the super long (but usually relatively fast moving) queue. It is worth it! The Mansion House will have guided tours, the Makeshop opposite the Clare Street Entrance of the National Gallery will be open and you should check out what they do, Sweny’s bar on Lincoln Place (James Joyce!) is open and if you have never been, you can even join the queue for Trinity College and the Book of Kells.
After that it is down to Temple Bar. Meeting House Square will have a dance party, the Irish Whiskey Museum and the Irish Rock ‘n’ Roll Museum will have free guided tours. The New Theater will do readings, Filmbase will screen some films, the Contemporary Music Centre will focus on opera, the Quakers open their door in Eustace Street and the Temple Bar Gallery & Studios are open:
If you still have time, not it is onwards to Dublin Castle where a big RTE organised concert takes place. It is an Open Air concert from 19:00-22:00 in the Upper Court Yard. Expect classical music, theatre, comedy and poetry. On the way, you can pop into City Hall and afterwards St. Patrick’s Cathedral or Chester Beatty Library could be an interesting stopover. You are probably extremely close to 22:00 now and it is time to turn back home. A busy night but sooo worth it!

All events are free. But some venues are so popular that there will be queues outside.

I am a huge fan of Culture Night and wouldn’t miss it. I will probably post some pictures from my tour through Dublin on the Dublin Event Guide Facebook group and let me know there what you have done/seen(experienced!

For Culture Night, there will be an interactive playground at Smithfeld with a big family-friendly programme.

The square will come alive with an array of performances, workshops and demos. Come enjoy grafitti walls, circus shows and drumming workshops. Try out taster classed in dance and fencing, and take part in some make-and-do.

Admission is free.

A Comedy night called “No Bones about it” is taking place every Friday in the Generator Hostel and admission is free.

Find out more details and line-up on the Facebook 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.

“Coastal Notes” is a Music Festival in Dun Laoghaire on 22 and 23 September. Events will take place in DLR Lexicon, The Maritime Museum, Gilbert & Wrights, The Purty Kitchen, The Lighthouse & The Methodist Church.

All events on Friday are – in the spirit of Culture Night – free and the list is here:

+ The Purty Kitchen: The Hounds – Album Launch – 21:30 Tickets here.
+ Glibert & Wright – Whole Lotta Voltage – AC/DC Tribute Band – 20:00 No Tickets required
+ The Lighthouse – Coverstone – 20:00. No Tickets required.

Bella A GoGo or Azaria Starfire will do a burlesque performance and a walk about every second Friday around 21:00.

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.

Sister Ghost is a garage punk band from Belfast and they will play a gig in Sin E. Support comes from “The False and the Fair” and “Chinese Newspaper”.

That’s what it says on the Sin E website below. BUT it is also possible that this is all a lie and instead they just used a previous event notice as a spaceholder. Because TMFML who run that slot suggest here www.facebook.com/events/120987668623158 that the performers will be Leila Jane & The Healers with support from from Mike Paterson and Eoin Martin.

Looks like a battle of bands!? WHo will fin? FIGHT!!!! :-) …for you, I suggest that you check again the Sin E website a little closer to Friday. Check this one sin-e.ie/events/

Admission is free.

The Harbour Bar is running a Ska Fest from Thursday until Sunday. There will be two bands every evening and on Friday the line-up is:

+ Clandestinos 21:00-22:30
+ Gangsters 23:00-00:30

Admission is free.

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

Admission is free.