Dublin Event Guide 567: Dublin Flea Market, Pets in the City, Bealtaine Festival, Bray Jazz 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.

“Dublin: One City, One Book” is an initiative by Dublin City Council that encourages everyone to read a book connected with the capital city during the month of April every year.

The One City, One Book choice for 2018 is “The Long Gaze Back” edited by Sinéad Gleeson has the subtitle “An Anthology of Irish Women Writers”. The book is a collection of thirty stories from writers from the 18th Century to now.

Throughout April there will be numerous events in connection with this literature event. The website is below and if you want to download the programme, you can do that here.

A good number of events are free, but often booking is required and the tickets will go faster than you think, so don’t delay.

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

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

A whole range of Parkruns take place every week (and if you know some more, please tell me):
+ Malahide Park, Dublin Road, Malahide, Co. Dublin
+ Cabinteely Park, Old Bray Road, Cabinteely, Dublin 18
+ Shanganagh Park, Shankill, Co. Dublin
+ Marlay Park, Grange Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin, Co. Dublin
+ St. Anne’s Park, Raheny, Dublin 5
+ Father Collins Park, Donaghmeade/Clongriffin, Dublin 13
+ Tymon Park, Tallaght, Dublin 24
+ Bushy Park, Terenure, Dublin 6
+ Corcagh Park, Clondalkin, Dublin 22
+ Tolka Valley Park, Finglas South, Dublin 11
+ Porterstown Park, Castleknock, Dublin 15

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

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

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

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

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

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.

A Jobs Expo will take place in the Hogan Suite of the Croke Park Conference Centre. There will be lots of employers present, Seminars will help you with job/application related questions and Career Coaches are available.

Admission is free.

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 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 2018.

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

Áras an Uachtaráin is the residence of the President of Ireland in the middle of Phoenix Park. It started as a modest brick house for the Phoenix Park Chief Ranger in 1751, was then turned into th ‘occasional residence’ for the Lords-Lieutenant and gradually evolved into a huge mansion. After Ireland gained independence it was turned after 1937 into the residence of the Irish president.

Every Saturday a number of public tours take place and admission is free. Tickets will be issued at the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre on the day, on a first come, first served basis. Group and/or advance booking is not possible.

The tours will be at 10:15, 11:30, 12:45, 14:00 and 15:15 and take approx. 1 hour.

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

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

Admission is free.

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

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 current exhibition in the Science Gallery is called “FAKE” and it will run from 08 March until 03 June.

The exhibition is looking at everything Fake from fake meat and fake cheese to fake emotions. In both the natural world and human society, faking, mimicking and copying can be a reliable strategy for success, a fake may be just as valuable as the real thing. But what about replicating taste, emotions, chemical signatures, facts and trademarks? When is authenticity essential and when is copying cool?

Some of the most interesting exhibits are:

+ synthHAsizer will let you record your own fake laugh and use sonic filters to remix it from fake to real.
+ Mississippi Swan: Daybew! will create fake music: A new album of songs every fifteen minutes or around 700 unique songs every day. You can trigger the creation of a unique album at any time.
+ Altered historic figures from the Daily Herald show the beginning of fake news
+ There is even a deli where you can buy fake food samples for EUR 2. For example they have fake cheese, fake meat or “Dubliner Red Cheddar” cheese that is neither manufactured in Dublin nor is it Red Cheddar, it is coloured white cheddar manufactured in Cork.

The website below lists all exhibits and provides some explanation so that you can either before or after your visit check further details.

All Science Gallery exhibitions are suitable for ALL ages, even younger children will be able to take part/follow. Some of the exhibits need a bit more of an age-appropriate explanation for younger kids than others, but nearly everything can be simplified for kids.

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

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

Admission is free.

The Fashion Revolution Market is an extension or add-on to the Hapenny Market this week. It will take place in the Loft area upstairs in the Grand Social and you will find Vintage, Preloved, Upcycled and Ethical fashion.

Admission is free.

This is a Flea Market in the Workman’s Club where all stall fees will go to the organisation “Together for Yes”.

Please note: There is a suggested donation of EUR 1 per person at the door.

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.

This is a Fashion Upcycle event during Fashion Revolution Ireland Week and all details are on the website below.

The event is booked out, but often at free events there are no-shows, so there is a small chance that you can still get in if you ask nicely on the day.

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 Life and Work of Margaret Stokes – Antiquarian and Artist” is a tour in the National Museum in Kildare Street.

Margaret McNair Stokes was one of the leading female Irish antiquarians of the 19th century. She wrote extensively on the Early Christian art of Ireland, examining some of the iconic objects now housed in the National Museum of Ireland Archaeology (e.g. the Ardagh Chalice, ‘Tara’ Brooch and Cross of Cong).

At this tour with Annie Birney, you will explore the life and work of Margaret Stokes through the objects she studied and drew.

Admission is free, but booking is required via educationarch@museum.ie or 01 6486 334. Meet at Reception. Suitable for adults.

An Open Day is taking place at the Nutgrove Fire Station with entertainment for the whole family, Face Painters, Balloon Modelling, cool Firetrucks to admire, cool Firemen to talk to ;-) and refreshments for super low prices. All proceeds will go to the organisation “Suicide or Survive”.

A free anticlastic jewellery demonstration from gold and silversmith Jason MacGabhann of Casúr Óir (www.casuroirjewellery.com) will take place. Watch Jason make a piece of jewellery from start to finish with just a few tools and years of experience. This demonstration is part of the “A Little Nonsense Now & Then is Relished by the Wisest Men” Jewellery exhibition in the Fumbally Exchange (21-29 April).

The website below is the Eventbrite site, but I am not sure if registration is required and it doesn’t seem like it is.

And if you have never heard the term “anticlastic”, here is what it means: “having opposite curvatures at a given point. Specifically: curved convexly along a longitudinal plane section and concavely along the perpendicular section”.

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

This is an Intercultural Tour in Arabic Language with Community Ambassador Bayan Musallam.

Admission is free and meeting point is in the atrium of the Library.

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.

The Howlin Hawks, a 4 piece Blues/ Soul/Jazz cover band will play a gig in Bray.

Admission is free.

Zombie Picnic is a four-piece, prog/post-rock instrumental band from Limerick and they will play a gig in Sin E. Support band will be “The Dead Sets”.

Admission seems to be free.

Crowhammer call themselves “Dublin’s premier narrative driven sci-fi/fantasy stonerrock/krautrock music group”, whatever that is. :-O They will play a gig in Whelan’s on Saturday. Support group will be “The Disco Participation Matrix”.

Admission is free before 22:30.

At the Slipped Disk Indie Disco on Saturday in The Underground at Peadar Kearney’s you will hear and can dance to upbeat classics from the likes of The Jam, Clash, Specials, Undertones, Stranglers, Joy Division, Blondie, Cranberries, Elvis Costello, Depeche Mode and the B52s. The 70s, 80s and 90s will be covered. The Deck Doc will be your DJ for the night.

Admission is free.

Supafreak will play a Funk / Soul / Disco gig on Saturday.

Admission seems to be free.

Rock Tribunal will play a gig in the Porterhouse in Temple Bar.

Admission is free.

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

Admission for buyers is free.

“Dublin: One City, One Book” is an initiative by Dublin City Council that encourages everyone to read a book connected with the capital city during the month of April every year.

The One City, One Book choice for 2018 is “The Long Gaze Back” edited by Sinéad Gleeson has the subtitle “An Anthology of Irish Women Writers”. The book is a collection of thirty stories from writers from the 18th Century to now.

Throughout April there will be numerous events in connection with this literature event. The website is below and if you want to download the programme, you can do that here.

A good number of events are free, but often booking is required and the tickets will go faster than you think, so don’t delay.

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

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

Since 1988, the Irish Army doesn’t use the Fort anymore and gave it back to the Office of Public Works (OPW), but not much good has happened to the Fort in the last 30 years (!!) and there were numerous speculations about the reasons for that.

Finally since 2016, guided tours are provided and this year from April until end of October there will be three tours every Sunday at 10:00, 12:00 and 14:00. Only 20 places are available on each tour and if there is a big event in Phoenix Park the tour will be cancelled.

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

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

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

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

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

Admission is free.

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

There will be fun activities in the dedicated Children’s Garden. Sow seeds, make seed bombs, design bug hotels and re-use everyday items to create your own piece of eco art. Suitable from age 4. All children must bring their own grown up.

The event times are:
11:00, 11:30, 15:00, 15:30

Admission is free.

The next Dublin Flea Market is taking place on Newmarket Square and in the Green Door Market Hall at 18 Newmarket, just off Cork Street, Dublin 8 on Sun from 11:00-17:00. The flea market takes place every last Sunday of the month and admission is free. For more information or if you want to sell your own stuff, check out www.dublinflea.ie

“A bizarre bazaar of vintage clothing, bric-a-brac and what nots, old and new. Stalls include hand-made goods, art, jewelry, furniture, records and lots more unwanted items that may just be your treasure!”

Admission is free.

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

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

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

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

The Kilkenny Shop Cafe is inviting to a Jazz Brunch Sunday every Sunday from 11:00-14:00 and from 14:30-16:30 a Bluegrass Band is taking over. Unfortuantely they don’t specify who the bands are.

Admission is free.

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

The tour “Art in Literature” will explore artworks with literary connections. This tour is part of a series of events organised to celebrate the Dublin: One City One Book festival.

Admission is free. Meet at the Merrion Square information desk.

This is a Drop-in family session, a free art-making workshop where children and their parents/guardians/carers are encouraged to work together on creative projects.

Drop-in and stay for as long (or as little!) as you wish! The workshops are suitable for children of all ages.

Admission is free and no booking is required.

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.

Pets in the City is an event at Smithfield for Animal Lovers. There will be

+ Dog Show & Dog Agility
+ Reptile Corner
+ Small Animal Farm
+ Children’s Talks & Entertainment
+ DSPCA microchipping (you ust bring ID and proof of address i.e. utility bill) & pet health advice
+ Retail & exhibition stalls

The schedule of events can be found here.

Admission is free and the event is suitable for the whole family including your pets!

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

The current exhibition in the Science Gallery is called “FAKE” and it will run from 08 March until 03 June.

The exhibition is looking at everything Fake from fake meat and fake cheese to fake emotions. In both the natural world and human society, faking, mimicking and copying can be a reliable strategy for success, a fake may be just as valuable as the real thing. But what about replicating taste, emotions, chemical signatures, facts and trademarks? When is authenticity essential and when is copying cool?

Some of the most interesting exhibits are:

+ synthHAsizer will let you record your own fake laugh and use sonic filters to remix it from fake to real.
+ Mississippi Swan: Daybew! will create fake music: A new album of songs every fifteen minutes or around 700 unique songs every day. You can trigger the creation of a unique album at any time.
+ Altered historic figures from the Daily Herald show the beginning of fake news
+ There is even a deli where you can buy fake food samples for EUR 2. For example they have fake cheese, fake meat or “Dubliner Red Cheddar” cheese that is neither manufactured in Dublin nor is it Red Cheddar, it is coloured white cheddar manufactured in Cork.

The website below lists all exhibits and provides some explanation so that you can either before or after your visit check further details.

All Science Gallery exhibitions are suitable for ALL ages, even younger children will be able to take part/follow. Some of the exhibits need a bit more of an age-appropriate explanation for younger kids than others, but nearly everything can be simplified for kids.

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

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

Admission is free.

A Family Fun Day will take place in the National Print Museum. Children can become a mini printer for the day and there will be printing demonstrations, face painting, mini children’s workshops and self-guided arts and crafts activities in the Education Area.

Admission is free.

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

Admission is free.

The 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 Redmond O’Toole on 8-string guitar, playing:

F.J. Haydn – Allegro Moderato (Sonata in Ab),
Rodrigo – Invocation y Danza
M.M. Ponce – Variations and Fugue on ‘La Folias Espagnol’,
Carlo Domeniconi – Koyunbaba Suite

This Family Tour is specially designed for children and their guardians, parents and carers to make the works on display in the National Gallery fun and engaging for kids.

Admission is free. Meet at the Merrion Square information desk.

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 tour “Art in Literature” will explore artworks with literary connections. This tour is part of a series of events organised to celebrate the Dublin: One City One Book festival.

Admission is free. Meet at the Merrion Square information desk.

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!

As part of the public programme for the exhibition “Emil Nolde: Colour is Life”, the GUM Collective, a group of Dublin based visual artists, is engaging with and respond to the exhibition. They will be based in the Millennium Wing Studio and will investigate the life and work of Emil Nolde through their individual art practices and via an evolving programme of education and public engagement activities.

On Sunday they will run an Open Studio event. You are invited in to take a look around their work space in the Millennium Wing Studio and to chat to the artists about their work.

Admission is free

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Admission is free.

This is a tour of “Recovered Voices”, exploring the experience of Irish men and women during World War I.

Admission is free and the event is suitable for adults and children from 12+. places will be allocated on a first-come basis 15 minutes before tour starts.

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

Families are invited to explore and respond together the gallery’s collection and temporary exhibitions through discussion and drawing. Bring your own sketchbook along or use the drawing materials provided.

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

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. Donations are appreciated.

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 High Leeson is a Bluegrass band that plays every Sunday in the Leeson Longe.

Admission is free, donations are appreciated.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pete Cummins, Grammy award winning songwriter will play a gig in the Leeson Lounge.

Admission is free.

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

Jared Dylan from New Jersey, USA will be in the Harbour Bar for gig. His styles are Pop & Alternative.

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.

“Dublin: One City, One Book” is an initiative by Dublin City Council that encourages everyone to read a book connected with the capital city during the month of April every year.

The One City, One Book choice for 2018 is “The Long Gaze Back” edited by Sinéad Gleeson has the subtitle “An Anthology of Irish Women Writers”. The book is a collection of thirty stories from writers from the 18th Century to now.

Throughout April there will be numerous events in connection with this literature event. The website is below and if you want to download the programme, you can do that here.

A good number of events are free, but often booking is required and the tickets will go faster than you think, so don’t delay.

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

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

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

Monday at the Cinema is a series of screenings dedicated to Italian contemporary cinema. The next film is the documentary “Terra di Transito” (2014, 52 min). The screening will be in Italian with English subtitles.

“After a dangerous journey from the Middle East, Rahell arrives in Italy. From there he plans to reach Sweden, the country where his family obtained political asylum years before and lives happily. But Rahell finds out very soon that, according to the European asylum regulations, his destiny will always be bound to the country where his finger prints were first taken. Rahell finds himself stuck in a “land of transit” without means to start a decent life.”

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

“Letters of Distinction: Somerville and Ross” is a talk with Martina Devlin (novelist and journalist) and she discusses the fascinating letters from The Irish RM and The Long Gaze Back authors Somerville and Ross, to their literary agent in the early 1900s.

“Letters from Somerville and Ross to their literary agent show how ‘The Irish R.M.’ authors were not just talented writers, but business-minded – quick with suggestions about how their books should be marketed in the crowded marketplace of the early 1900s. They took their craft seriously but also wanted to earn a living from it. Key to that was their lengthy collaboration with one of the first literary agents, Mr. J.B. Pinker of London, who was on the receiving end of a stream of letters from two extremely determined ladies. They never lost their sense of fun and, as well as reminding him about royalties due, Mr Pinker was inundated with invitations to go hunting or buy horses from them. He may have been agent to luminaries including Henry James and Joseph Conrad, but it’s easy to see he met his match in the irrepressible Somerville and Ross.”

The event is in partnership with Dublin: One City, One Book

Admission is free.

“The 1918 Conscription Crisis” is a talk by Cormac Moore (Historian in Residence with Dublin City Council). The talk marks the 100th Anniversary of the Conscription Crisis which saw nationalist Ireland vigorously oppose the British Government’s plan to introduce conscription to Ireland.

Admission is free, but booking is required via 01-8315521

The next lecture at the irish Astronomical Society will be about “Archaeoastronomy” by Dr Frank Prendergast.

Admission is free.

Song Cycle is a weekly Singer/Songriter showcase in Wheelan’s.

Admission is free.

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

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

Admission is free.

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

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

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

Admission is free.

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

Guitarist Jimmy Smyth will play a regular gig on Mondays in the Leeson Lounge with band Organised and occasional guests.

Admission is free.

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

The band “10,000 Hours” is playing a gig in Porterhouse Temple Bar.

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.

It is an extremely stubborn myth in Ireland that Summer starts on 01 May. Primary teachers were and are still (!!) teaching it, despite Met Eireann’s repeated attempts to correct this misinformation.

It is true that the Celts started their “summer” on 01 May, but they lived by a completely different calendar: For the Celts the Dark half of the year started on 01 November and the light half started on 01 May. So strictly speaking it wasn’t even their start of summer, it was just the start of the light half of the year. In addition their day started at sunset!

So, if you live like the Celts, your year starts on 01 November and your day starts at sunset, then for you, 01 May is a good day to start the summer. ;-)

If, however, you have adjusted to a modern calendar – unlike your primary teacher!? – then the start of summer is on 01 June as Met Eireann confirms to us. And if you use a thermometer to determine the seasons then you KNOW anyway that this weather outside just CAN’T be summer!

So have a great May Day and look forward to the start of summer in 31 days.

The Alliance Française Dublin’s Comic Book Festival is taking place from Tuesday 01 May until Saturday 05 May. There will be readings, signings, screening, exhibition, a book fair, round table interviews and workshops and 86 year old well-known French illustrator Tomi Ungerer will also be in Dublin for this event.

Admission to all events will be free, but booking is required,

Here are some of the events, a fulll list and detailed descriptions of all events are available on the website below and you can book there as well.

+ Tues 01 May: Tomy Ungerer – Talk & Screening
+ Wed 02 May: Live Readings + Pop-up Comics Fair
+ Thu 03 May: Round Table: The Future of Comics
+ Sat 05 May: Workshop: Create a comic strip (for kids)

Every May the Bealtaine Festival takes place all over Ireland and it “Celebrates arts and creativity as we age”.

This is a difficult description as everybody ages and therefore the tagline doesn’t make THAT much sense. In essence, the organisers “Age & Opportunity” actually want to address the “older age”. Ok, that helps a little, but not too much either as nobody still really knows what the target age is. In previous years, a guidance of 55+ was given but that has disappeared and in all honesty most 55-60 year olds wouldn’t be close to insulted if they were classified as “older age”. ;-)

So where does that leave us? We don’t know really know!! So I guess if you feel older, this festival is for you and if you don’t, then the festival is not for you. ;-) I hope that explanation helps a little.

There will be many events throughout May and a good few of them are free. The website has a good enough search facility, although I never understand why event organisers subdivide Dublin into four or five “territories”. You can also download the brochure via this page (look for the Download link at the bottom – it is currently disabled, but I will try to get them to enable it next week).

To find events go to the WHAT’S ON page

In “Dublin City” there are approx. 72 events, but as I said, not all are free. Oddly, the events are sorted in reverse order, starting with the 30 May. Talk about confusing “older” users!?

Over the coming 4 weeks, I will include a number of free Bealtaine events in the Dublin Event Guide for Free Events, but I won’t be able to include all events, so please check the Bealtaine website here: www.bealtaine.ie

The PhotoIreland Festival will run from 01-31 May. It is a month full of contemporary photo exhibitions, book launches etc. All details are in the website below and there is also a downloadable Catalogue available and all the online resources you need.

Admission to all events is free – as far as I can see.

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.

“Conversations on Art: Dementia-friendly tour” is an interactive tour specially designed for people living with dementia and their loved ones.

“Take a break from the everyday and enjoy an afternoon of conversations on art and life in general. Join us for a relaxing tea or coffee in the Silk Road Café before we take you on a tour of our beautiful collections. Limited to 10 Participants per tour.”

Admission is free, but booking is required via Heidi Campbell on 01 4070766.

The pop-up talk “A Vanitas Fruit-piece” in Room 39 with Valerie Moffatt will be about Jan Davidsz de Heem’s painting “A Vanitas Fruit-piece”.

Admission is free.

The theme of this “Quantified Self Meet Up” is “Quantified Wellness & Assisted Living”.

Do you track personal information, hoping to gain insights into yourself or your surrounding world? The Dublin Quantified Self group (#QSelfDublin) is for anyone interested in self-tracking.

And about this month’s event:

“New digital devices allowing self-tracking of health are gaining popularity. This ‘self-monitoring’ approach is changing how health care delivery is managed, and how health related information is shared with others and used. In this session, we will discuss issues and demonstrate technology pertaining to monitoring and evaluating wellness for older people with different levels of ability and care support, domicile in diverse community settings (home, assisted living community, residential home). In aged care, the point of reference for monitoring, evaluating and reporting on wellness can be usefully extended to include other actors (care assistants, nurses, family members) and sensors. Critically, wellness monitoring and evaluation should span all three pillars of wellness (i.e. physical, psychological and social).”

Admission is free, but booking is require via the website below, where you will also find the list of speakers.

The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) continues to bring you Dublin Green Drinks on the first Tuesday of every month in J.W. Sweetman’s. Green Drinks is a monthly event in 711 cities around the world to bring people with an interest in green issues together.

The topic this month is: “The Great Spotted Woodpecker”

Declan Murphy will talk about one of Ireland’s newest arrivals, the Greater Spotted Woodpecker.

Meet up on the top floor of J.W. Sweetman’s. Doors open at 18:30 and the talk is at 19:00. Admission is free.

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.

Ben Prevo will play a solo acoustic gig on Tuesday. Expect Blues, Folk & Country, Originals, Covers and Jams.

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.

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.

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.

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 Alliance Française Dublin’s Comic Book Festival is taking place from Tuesday 01 May until Saturday 05 May. There will be readings, signings, screening, exhibition, a book fair, round table interviews and workshops and 86 year old well-known French illustrator Tomi Ungerer will also be in Dublin for this event.

Admission to all events will be free, but booking is required,

Here are some of the events, a fulll list and detailed descriptions of all events are available on the website below and you can book there as well.

+ Tues 01 May: Tomy Ungerer – Talk & Screening
+ Wed 02 May: Live Readings + Pop-up Comics Fair
+ Thu 03 May: Round Table: The Future of Comics
+ Sat 05 May: Workshop: Create a comic strip (for kids)

Every May the Bealtaine Festival takes place all over Ireland and it “Celebrates arts and creativity as we age”.

This is a difficult description as everybody ages and therefore the tagline doesn’t make THAT much sense. In essence, the organisers “Age & Opportunity” actually want to address the “older age”. Ok, that helps a little, but not too much either as nobody still really knows what the target age is. In previous years, a guidance of 55+ was given but that has disappeared and in all honesty most 55-60 year olds wouldn’t be close to insulted if they were classified as “older age”. ;-)

So where does that leave us? We don’t know really know!! So I guess if you feel older, this festival is for you and if you don’t, then the festival is not for you. ;-) I hope that explanation helps a little.

There will be many events throughout May and a good few of them are free. The website has a good enough search facility, although I never understand why event organisers subdivide Dublin into four or five “territories”. You can also download the brochure via this page (look for the Download link at the bottom – it is currently disabled, but I will try to get them to enable it next week).

To find events go to the WHAT’S ON page

In “Dublin City” there are approx. 72 events, but as I said, not all are free. Oddly, the events are sorted in reverse order, starting with the 30 May. Talk about confusing “older” users!?

Over the coming 4 weeks, I will include a number of free Bealtaine events in the Dublin Event Guide for Free Events, but I won’t be able to include all events, so please check the Bealtaine website here: www.bealtaine.ie

For years, this event was one of the most popular monthly events with a HUGE amount of people taking part. But since Kevin Moran became the Junior Minister in charge of the OPW last year, it got more or less terminated for all of us in Dublin.

The Free Wednesday (currently) still continues in some locations outside of Dublin, but the interesting heritage sites in Dublin have been removed from the list. “Free Wednesday” is the first Wednesday every month when entry charges at some state-owned heritage sites are waived.

The sites are all owned by the state and managed by the Office of Public Works (OPW). Many OPW managed sites can already be visited for free (e.g. Farmleigh House, Phoenix Park, National Botanic Gardens, Pearse Museum, etc), but some sites that normally charge a fee will be free every first Wednesday as well.

Regrettably Kilmainham Gaol and Dublin Castle were removed from this great initiative and The Casino in Marino is still closed for an indefinite period of time, so the only site in Dublin that is still taking part (for another bit!?) is Rathfarnham Castle. More recently the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre at Newgrange also has been removed from the list and therefore I will include this event this month for the last time.

Outside but near to Dublin, you can still visit the Glendalough Visitor Centre in Wicklow free of charge on Wednesday, but that’s not much. The full list of sites in Ireland is here.

The PhotoIreland Festival will run from 01-31 May. It is a month full of contemporary photo exhibitions, book launches etc. All details are in the website below and there is also a downloadable Catalogue available and all the online resources you need.

Admission to all events is free – as far as I can see.

The Rediscovery Centre is a new eco destination for Dublin. It is based in the old Boiler House in Ballymun and hosts courses in Furniture Upcycling, Fashion Upcycling, Childrens Workshops and Bike Maintenance Workshops.

On the first Wednesday of each month, they invite to a information tour of the revamped Boiler House.

“The Centre is a unique educational space and an innovative experience that will demonstrate excellence in reuse for Ireland. It challenges conventional thinking about how we live, stimulates positive behavioural change and highlights how we can use our resources wisely to achieve a low carbon, sustainable society.”

Admission is free, but booking is required.

Did you ever want to give drawing a go? Or maybe you are a budding artist looking for like-minded people to draw with? The Drawing Group for Adults in Rua Red runs free weekly drawing sessions on Wednesdays from 11:00-12:00. Materials are provided.

The theme of this week’s Wednesday Walk in Phoenix Park is the “Phoenix Park Murders”. It is a walk to the location of the 1882 Phoenix Park Murders, featuring the history of this tragic event.

Admission is free.

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

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

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

Fuss on the Bus is a musical play that will be performed three times in May. The first performance will be in Rathmines Library. Admission is free, but booking is required via 01-4973539.

The play by Carnation Theatre tells the story of life by way of a bus journey. Nell and her best friend, Rita take the 33 bus each year to Balbriggan. A whole life will be lived and loved from school days to free travel. An invitation to remember shops, pubs, characters and local history along the journey. Comedy, drama, music, soundscapes, colourful costumes and sets.

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

The tour will focus on World War I, in which nearly 50,000 Irish soldiers died. You will also hear about the main features of the gardens at this tour.

Meeting point is the car park at 14:00 (next to the Trinity College Boat Club). For further information and to check that it is taking place, contact 01-6770095 (Phoenix Park Visitor Centre).

The Philosophy Department at Trinity College Dublin is screening a documentary film about the Nuremberg Trials.

The International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg (1945-1946) established the ‘Nuremberg Principles’ – the foundation of all subsequent trials for crimes against peace, war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. It led to the formation of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

The film “Nuremberg: Its Lessons for Today” was shown in Germany in 1948-1949 as part of the denazification programme but US officials prevented its subsequent release to American theatres for political reasons.

Admission is free.

This is an evening discussing the Moon as a myth and a symbol, with readings from different cultures, involving a number of contributors organised by Roberto Bertoni (Trinity College Dublin, Department of Italian).

Admission is free but booking is required (see website) and the full programme is on the website below.

In a series of history talks about 1918 the first talk is “Food Rationing and the Spanish Influenza” in Coolock Library.

Dublin City Council’s Historians in Residence, Cathy Scuffil and Donal Fallon will give this talk.

Admission is free, but booking is required via 01-8477781.

A talk about wrtiers Calvino, Sciascia and Giufà by Prof. Joseph Francese (in English) will take place.

Admissionis free, but registration is required via the website below where you will also find more details about the talk.

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.

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

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

It takes place every Wednesday and admission is free.

The Wow Wignal Sessions is a weekly gig night in Bagots Hutton. The line up is usually announced just a few days before on the Facebook Page below.

Admission is free.

The Anseo Comedy Club takes place every Wednesday in Anseo (upstairs).

Admission is free, donations are welcome.

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

Dance Forro every week at this “Forro Wednesday” in the Woolshed for free.

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

Candlelit Storytelling will come to the Harbour Bar in Bray with their new storytelling programme “Mighty Mythic Mammies”. Irish mythology is full of stories about Irish mothers and at this event you will hear the best of them.

Admission is free.

“Shipwrecked” is the name of the Bowery’s Open Mic on Wednesdays.

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

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 Alliance Française Dublin’s Comic Book Festival is taking place from Tuesday 01 May until Saturday 05 May. There will be readings, signings, screening, exhibition, a book fair, round table interviews and workshops and 86 year old well-known French illustrator Tomi Ungerer will also be in Dublin for this event.

Admission to all events will be free, but booking is required,

Here are some of the events, a fulll list and detailed descriptions of all events are available on the website below and you can book there as well.

+ Tues 01 May: Tomy Ungerer – Talk & Screening
+ Wed 02 May: Live Readings + Pop-up Comics Fair
+ Thu 03 May: Round Table: The Future of Comics
+ Sat 05 May: Workshop: Create a comic strip (for kids)

Every May the Bealtaine Festival takes place all over Ireland and it “Celebrates arts and creativity as we age”.

This is a difficult description as everybody ages and therefore the tagline doesn’t make THAT much sense. In essence, the organisers “Age & Opportunity” actually want to address the “older age”. Ok, that helps a little, but not too much either as nobody still really knows what the target age is. In previous years, a guidance of 55+ was given but that has disappeared and in all honesty most 55-60 year olds wouldn’t be close to insulted if they were classified as “older age”. ;-)

So where does that leave us? We don’t know really know!! So I guess if you feel older, this festival is for you and if you don’t, then the festival is not for you. ;-) I hope that explanation helps a little.

There will be many events throughout May and a good few of them are free. The website has a good enough search facility, although I never understand why event organisers subdivide Dublin into four or five “territories”. You can also download the brochure via this page (look for the Download link at the bottom – it is currently disabled, but I will try to get them to enable it next week).

To find events go to the WHAT’S ON page

In “Dublin City” there are approx. 72 events, but as I said, not all are free. Oddly, the events are sorted in reverse order, starting with the 30 May. Talk about confusing “older” users!?

Over the coming 4 weeks, I will include a number of free Bealtaine events in the Dublin Event Guide for Free Events, but I won’t be able to include all events, so please check the Bealtaine website here: www.bealtaine.ie

For the month of April the GUM Collective, a group of Dublin-based visual artists, were artists-in-residence in the Gallery, investigating the life and work of Emil Nolde through their individual art practices.

Their work, created in response to the exhibition, will be on view in the Millennium Wing Studio all day.

Admission is free.

The PhotoIreland Festival will run from 01-31 May. It is a month full of contemporary photo exhibitions, book launches etc. All details are in the website below and there is also a downloadable Catalogue available and all the online resources you need.

Admission to all events is free – as far as I can see.

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

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

Grangegorman Military Cemetery is in Blackhorse Avenue just outside Phoenix Park. It is the largest military cemetery in Ireland. It was first opened in 1876 to serve as a graveyard for the soldiers of what was then Marlborough Barracks, now McKee Barracks, and their families. Specific zones were laid out for English, Canadian, New Zealand, and Australian service men. The cemetery’s pedestrian gate is open from 10:00-16:00 seven days a week.

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

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

“Studio Manager, David McGinn will give a short history of the Black Church Print Studio and a guided tour over the three floors of the printmaking facility. He will provide an explanation of the various printmaking processes including screenprinting, etching, lithography, relief and digital printing. There will be a wide selection of Studio members work on view throughout the Studio demonstrating various styles and printmaking processes which will be referenced as part of the tour. Established artist and Studio Member, Vincent Sheridan, will provide a printmaking demonstration on the etching floor. Visitors will get to experience first hand the precision and skill involved in making a print. It will give participants a comprehensive understanding of the printmaking process and hopefully a deeper appreciation of this art form.”

Admission is free. Part of the Bealtaine Festival.

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

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

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

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

www.bookdepository.com?a_aid=dubevg

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

This is a lunchtime song recital with sopranos Tara Lacken and Amy Conneely. They will perform a mix of oratorio, aria and song.

Admission is free.

The Temple Bar Craft Market during the week is back and it has moved to Thursdays in 2018. Organised by the Temple Bar Company the market will bring handcrafted jewellery, wood design, handmade soaps, original art, photography, fashion, specialised cards and stained-glass crafts.

The market starts at 14:00 and finishes at 20:00, but is still carrying the totally nonsensical and completely misleading name “Temple Bar NIGHT Market”. I will just ignore this unsuitable and incorrect name and will rename it to “Temple Bar Craft Market”. ;-)

Come to this tour of the exhibition “Yeats: The Life and Works of William Butler Yeats”. The tour introduces William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) – one of the great poets of the twentieth century – and his many interests, including literature, folklore, theatre, politics, the occult, and Irish cultural identity. After the tour, you can listen to a selection of voices speaking some of his best loved poems, including Easter 1916.

Admission is free.

“Did you ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes – now’s your chance to find out! Project Arts Centre is offering you the chance to take an exclusive look backstage. Get a birds-eye view of the stage, find out how everything works and stand on the stage where U2 played one of their first gigs. Take an exclusive guided tour of the centre and learn about the history of an organisation that helped to launch the career of some Ireland best loved artists. The tour also includes with a voucher for discounted tickets so you can experience one of our many shows and plus a free cup of tea and chats with the Artistic Director in the bar afterwards.”

Admission is free.

“Grandchildren, bring your grandparents! Come and take part in A Life of Play where everyone can create, anyone can dance, and all can play. Use your body, move to music, dress up and explore in a playground of the imagination – a place of mischievous, magical invention where fun feels right at home.

A Life of Play is a creative dance and play project for children aged 5–10 and their older family members aged 50+. Pair up and join Emma O’Kane on 3, 4 or 5 May at Project Arts Centre. Then on Sunday 6 May, everyone is invited to PLAY outdoors together in Meeting House Square, all as part of Bealtaine @ Temple Bar (3–7 May).”

Admission is free, but booking is required.

You are invited to come to this Bealtaine Tea Party after a busy day enjoying the sights and sounds of Temple Bar. Enjoy a chat over tea while listening to live music. Or take part in our speaker’s corner where you’ll have the change to talk about a topic of your choice.

Admission is free. To reach Crampton Court look for the entrance via Dame Stret by the side of the Olympia Theatre.

This is a pop up talk about the work the GUM Collective have been making in response to the exhibition “Emil Nolde: Colour is Life”.

Admission is free. Meet in the Millenium Wing Studio, Level 1.

A weekly Jazz Club event with live band is taking place at J.W. Sweetman’s.

Admission is free.

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

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

On other days and other times, admission is EUR 10 for adults and admission is by guided tour only.

This is an information event for people living with psoriasis and their families in the #AskHowIFeel series of evnts.

Dr Eddie Murphy, Clinical Psychologist and Nicola Ralph, Consultant Dermatologist; Caroline Irwin, Irish Skin Foundation Board Member and Psoriasis Patient Advocate; and Dr Clodagh Loftus, GP Clinical Expert in Psoriasis, to share practical techniques and advice for living with the condition.

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

The tour “Baroque Art and Guercino” with Jessica Fahy will focus on baroque art in the collection, including the work of Guercino.

Admission is free. Meeting point is the Merrion Square information desk.

Following the event with Massimo Carlotto, the Italian Noir series continues in the Italian Institute of Culture with Carlo Lucarelli.

Carlo Lucarelli is an Italian crime-writer, TV presenter and journalist. He was the presenter of a popular Italian crime television programme (Blu notte misteri d’Italia). He has written more than twenty novels and numerous short stories, including Almost Blue and Day after Day. Lucarelli also co-wrote the scripts of Detective De Luca, a crime fiction TV series released in 2008, which was adapted from his trilogy of novels set during Italy’s fascist era.

The event in English and Italian.

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

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

The next series will take place on Thursdays from 18:30-20:00 between 05 April and 10 May.

Admission is free, but booking is required via 01-8733996 or businesslibrary@dublincity.ie. All topics and speakers are listed on the website below and to make it easier for you, they are also here:

05 Apr: Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur – How You Can Create and Produce Ideas
12 Apr: Creating the best Business Plan for your Business
19 Apr: Market Research Skills – What You Need To Do To Be Successful
26 Apr: Managing your Online Presence – Having A Digital Plan To Help You Increase Sales
03 May: Financial Support and Grants for Entrepreneurs
10 May: Essential Supports and Services for Entrepreneurs – Who’s Out There To Help You

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

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

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

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

Admission is free.

The Shogunz of Stank with Mik Pyro and Pete Pamf among others will be in the Bowery every Thursday for a gig. They will play Funk, Hip Hop and Groove.

Admission is free.

A Table Quiz takes place in the Grand Social. On Thursdays teams of 4 people (or at least 2 people) will compete against each other over questions from the areas of General Knowledge, Music, Film, Sports & Entertainment.

Admission is free.

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

A Fun Pub Quiz takes place in Brady’s in Terenure on Thurs. The quiz will be on every Thursday night in the Lounge at Brady’s. Keith McLoughlin is the Quiz Master.

There will be six rounds of the quiz with picture questions, audio questions and general knowledge questions. Admission to the quiz is free and therr will be free drink vouchers for the winning and runner up teams. (No phones to get answers allowed.)

Every Tuesday and Thursday the International Bar invites to a Jazz night in the Lounge.

Groups led by Cote Calmet, Sean Maynard Smith, Dominic Mullan, Paddy Groenland, Georgia Cusack & Alex Mathias are performing regularly with occasional guest players, but there are also other bands from all over.

Admission is free, with a suggested donation of EUR 5. The website clearly says that there is no entry fee, but – and that makes a lot of sense – that your donations are very much appreciated (Musicians need to pay for rent and food too!) Be generous after the gig if you liked it, but if someone wants to charge an admission charge, please point out that the “rules” as described on their website are like I have explained.

The Bray Jazz Festival is happening from Thursday until Monday and the Long Beach Jazz Band will be in the Harbour Bar as part of the “Wicklow Wolf Jazz Trail”.

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.

Every May the Bealtaine Festival takes place all over Ireland and it “Celebrates arts and creativity as we age”.

This is a difficult description as everybody ages and therefore the tagline doesn’t make THAT much sense. In essence, the organisers “Age & Opportunity” actually want to address the “older age”. Ok, that helps a little, but not too much either as nobody still really knows what the target age is. In previous years, a guidance of 55+ was given but that has disappeared and in all honesty most 55-60 year olds wouldn’t be close to insulted if they were classified as “older age”. ;-)

So where does that leave us? We don’t know really know!! So I guess if you feel older, this festival is for you and if you don’t, then the festival is not for you. ;-) I hope that explanation helps a little.

There will be many events throughout May and a good few of them are free. The website has a good enough search facility, although I never understand why event organisers subdivide Dublin into four or five “territories”. You can also download the brochure via this page (look for the Download link at the bottom – it is currently disabled, but I will try to get them to enable it next week).

To find events go to the WHAT’S ON page

In “Dublin City” there are approx. 72 events, but as I said, not all are free. Oddly, the events are sorted in reverse order, starting with the 30 May. Talk about confusing “older” users!?

Over the coming 4 weeks, I will include a number of free Bealtaine events in the Dublin Event Guide for Free Events, but I won’t be able to include all events, so please check the Bealtaine website here: www.bealtaine.ie

The PhotoIreland Festival will run from 01-31 May. It is a month full of contemporary photo exhibitions, book launches etc. All details are in the website below and there is also a downloadable Catalogue available and all the online resources you need.

Admission to all events is free – as far as I can see.

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

To celebrate the Easter Rising Anniversary, admission to that exhibititon was free in 2016, but lucky for us, Dublin City decided to also waive the admission charge for 2018.

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

At the “Hugh Lane First Friday Culture Club” on Friday, you will look at Sculpture in the Hugh Lane Gallery with Liliane Puthod.

In collaboration with Dublin’s Culture Connects, the Hugh Lane Gallery’s First Friday Culture Club offers the opportunity for engaging with the Gallery’s education, collection, conservation and temporary exhibitions programmes in a fun and relaxed way. Each talk is followed by tea/coffee and further discussion.

Admission is free but booking is required via cultureclub@dublinscultureconnects.ie

The film “Pathways: Irish Routes to the Art of the Matter” is a documentary about successful Irish creatives who are making it abroad. It uncovers the story of how they got there and looks at where and when the seeds for their success were sown. Filmed in London, Malmo, New York, Los Angeles, Belfast, Dublin and Kerry. The film is by radio presenter, photographer and film maker Donal Dineen and there will be a post screening interview with him.

Admission is free. The event is part of the Bealtaine festival.

Relatively Speaking is a guided tour through three art galleries. It will will begin at Project Arts Centre with Agnieszka Polska’s exhibition Softly Spoken. Then the walk will go to the Gallery of Photography for Kenneth O’Halloran’s Modern Ruins and other stories. And the tour will finish with Hannah Fitz’ solo exhibition at Temple Bar Gallery + Studios.

Admission is free, but booking is required. The event this month is part of the Bealtaine festival.

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.

Spain is a very different country from that of just a few years ago. The economic crisis and the recovery, the political changes and Spain’s relationships with Europe and the rest of the world are all transforming our country, with new challenges and opportunities opening up.

Josep Piqué, Jordi Casas and Paddy Woodworth will discuss the situation.

In Spanish and English with simultaneous translation,

The Contemporary Music Centre is inviting to a ‘pop up’ opera for the Bealtaine Festival, called “Bealtaine@Templebar”. The composers of the opera will work collaboratively with each other and with specialist performers to explore new approaches to the opera form.

The performance is at 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00

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.

This Lunchtime Piano Concert with Peter Regan in the Shaw Room is part of a series of events that features the six Irish competitors who will take part in this year’s Dublin International Piano Competition.

Admission is free.

The Pop-up talk “Guercino and Denis Mahon” in Room 31 with Jessica Fahy will discuss the art historian Denis Mahon and the Italian artist Guercino.

Admission is free.

The Cemetery at Arbour Hill is the last resting place of 14 of the leaders of the 1916 Rising. Among those buried there are Pádraig Pearse, James Connolly and Thomas Clarke. This tour every Friday introduce the Cemetery and will also explain the background and the event of the Easter Rising.

Admission is free and no booking necessary. The meeting point is inside the cemetery gates.

“Did you ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes – now’s your chance to find out! Project Arts Centre is offering you the chance to take an exclusive look backstage. Get a birds-eye view of the stage, find out how everything works and stand on the stage where U2 played one of their first gigs. Take an exclusive guided tour of the centre and learn about the history of an organisation that helped to launch the career of some Ireland best loved artists. The tour also includes with a voucher for discounted tickets so you can experience one of our many shows and plus a free cup of tea and chats with the Artistic Director in the bar afterwards.”

Admission is free.

“Collaboration and Film” is a workshop with filmmaker Eoin Heaney.

As well as hearing about Eoin’s work and some of the practice and theory behind collaboration and film, Eoin will be showing some as yet unseen work. This is an opportunity to get ‘behind the scenes’ and meet a filmmaker whose work celebrates the poetry of cinema while reflecting more civic minded topics.

Admission is free, but booking is required. Check the website below for details.

“Grandchildren, bring your grandparents! Come and take part in A Life of Play where everyone can create, anyone can dance, and all can play. Use your body, move to music, dress up and explore in a playground of the imagination – a place of mischievous, magical invention where fun feels right at home.

A Life of Play is a creative dance and play project for children aged 5–10 and their older family members aged 50+. Pair up and join Emma O’Kane on 3, 4 or 5 May at Project Arts Centre. Then on Sunday 6 May, everyone is invited to PLAY outdoors together in Meeting House Square, all as part of Bealtaine @ Temple Bar (3–7 May).”

Admission is free, but booking is required.

You are invited to come to this Bealtaine Tea Party after a busy day enjoying the sights and sounds of Temple Bar. Enjoy a chat over tea while listening to live music. Or take part in our speaker’s corner where you’ll have the change to talk about a topic of your choice.

Admission is free. To reach Crampton Court look for the entrance via Dame Stret by the side of the Olympia Theatre.

“Out Thinkers” showcases the talent of LGBT+ researchers, providing a platform where people can talk about their scientific work while truly being themselves. This Out Thinkers event will feature a range of phenomenal speakers talking about their research and experiences as LGBT+ individuals in academia.

Find more information and register for this free event via the website below.

The Bray Jazz Festival will run from Thursday until Monday this weekend with the main days of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There are plenty of non-free events taking place, but in addition to that the “Wicklow Wolf Jazz Trail” is a series of free Jazz events in pubs and restaurants in Bray.

On Friday the line up is:

+ Ocean Bar and Grill: Mike Nielsen Duo 19:30
+ The Hibernia Inn, Quinsboro Rd: Dermot Byrne & Danny Tobin 22:00
+ The Martello, Strand Rd: Country & Delta Blues 22:00
+ The Coach Inn, Dublin Rd: Jacob Dunlop 4tet 22:00
+ The Royal Hotel: Firm Roots 22:00
+ Butler and Barry: ÄTSCH 22:00

Apolgies for the odd way of putting this list together with location at the front and the perfomer at the back, but that’s how the Jazz Trail website shows it and I didn’t fancy re-organising everything.

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 19th Bray International Jazz Festival is happening from Thursday until Monday and there will be two gigs on Friday as part of the “Wicklos Wolf Jazz Trail”:

+ Riona Sally Hartman 20:15-21:45
+ Trainman Blues 22:30-00:30

Admission is free.

Homebrew & the Bad Examples are an Outlaw Country bands, playing everything from Hank Williams and George Jones and Faron Young to Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash, Western swing to psychobilly.

They will be supported by Bróna Keogh and her band. Brona writes songs about personal experience and observation and her sound reminds of 60s era singer Joni Mitchell.

Admission is free.

The Stillorgan Orchard has live music every Friday and Saturday. Many of the performers are established and very good bands. The upcoming gigs are detailed on the website below. Admission is always free.

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.

McGowans in Phibsborough run a monthly Singles Night. There will be music, games and ice breakers.

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

The Hillbilly Casino are playing American blues with hardwood Honky Tonk, Rock N’ Roll, Rockabilly and some DIY Punk Rock at this gig.

Admission is free.