Dublin Event Guide 565: One City One Book, MusicTown Festival, Lots of talks and gigs

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.

MusicTown from 13-22 April is intended to be a celebration of Dublin’s rich music heritage and lively contemporary music scene. When the festival was proposed by Ray Yeates (Dublin City Arts Officer) four years ago, it was suggested that it should focus only on classical music, but he had invited a large group of people with an interest in music and events who thought it should be a lot more than classical music. Initially this was heard, but I see this year, that the festival is getting a more and more classical music schedule.

In addition it unfortunately turned from a “mainly free” festival to a “mainly NOT free”.

A re-think is required!!

All Musictown events are listed on www.musictown.ie/schedule/

“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.

National Botanic Gardens Head Guide and author Glynn Anderson will bring you on a guided bird walk, uncovering the rich bird life of the Gardens. If you have, bring your binoculars for a closer look.

Admission is free, but booking is required via 01 804 0319

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

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

The 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.

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.

Pet Sitters Ireland is inviting to a meet up at Marley Park on Saturday for all Pet Lovers in the local and surrounding area. At the meet up you will meet other dog and cat owners and you will be able to ask questions about your pets and get advice on new pet ownership.

If you have a Puppy then feel free to bring them along, there will be someone to chat about Puppy Socialisation. There will also be some free goodies and pet owners of all types of pets are welcome.

The organisers asked to register via the link below, but the registration has ended now. If you are interested in this event, I would still go there and just ask nicely if you are allowed to join without a registration.

Meeting point is Marlay Park House.

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.

A pop-up Yoga class will take place in St. Anne’s Park at the Red Stables Farmer’s Market.

It is weather dependent and updates will be on the Facebook Page (link below) where you should also indicate that you want to join. Bring a mat, water and warm clothes.

Admission is free. Donations in aid of the Dog’s Trust are welcome.

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 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.

Qigong is a traditional Chinese form of meditation coordinating slow flowing movement, deep rhythmic breathing, and a calm state of mind.

Come to this gentle Qigong practice outdoors on the Roof Top Garden of the Library (weather permitting) or indoors with a view of the roof garden. Suitable for all ages.

Admission is free and no booking required, but numbers are limited.

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 guided tour “The National Library’s History & Heritage” will let you explore the Library’s rich architectural history and heritage. The tour begins in the main hall of the Library and includes a visit to the Library’s iconic reading room.

Admission is free.

Join tour guide Mary Dowling for an explcitly slow-paced tour of the collection involving close-looking and discussion on Slow Art Day. The Slow Art Day is a global event with the intention to encourage us to slow down in art museums and to discover the joy of looking closely at art.

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

In the DocSpot Documentary Film Club, Pearse Street Library will screen Atapuerca (1997, 95min, Director: Javier Trueba).

The Sierra Atapuerca in Spain contains limestone caves used by humans for almost a million years. The film, using 3D graphics, presents archaeological discoveries made over the last twenty years.

In Spanish with English subtitles

Admission is 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

The Art of Anthology is a panel discussion Sinéad Gleeson, Declan Meade and Kerrie O’Brien. They will examine the passions, philosophies and realities of curating the short fiction anthology.

Admission is free, but booking is required via the link below. The event is part of the One City One Book series of events.

Boom Child are playing an acoustic gig in the Workman’s Club. They will be supported by Shrug Life and Empathy.

Admission is free.

Thin Lizzy Tribute Band “Shades of Lizzy” will play a gig in the Mezz on Saturday. Support will come from Sugar Dave.

Admission is free.

The Surfing Champions of Mexico are playing uptempo Blues, Rock and Soul at this gig.

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.

Indie electro-pop band “My Tribe Your Tribe” will play a gig in Sin E.

Admission seems to be free, but I couldn’t find a 100% confirmation.

The Soul Foolishness will play Blues and Funk in Bray.

Admission is free.

A gig night takes place in the Bowery with the following live line-up

+ After The Ibis 22:00-23:30
+ CC BREZ 00:00-01:30

Admission is free before 22:00.

Huntings, a 2-piece rock band from Dublin and The Motives, 3 guitars and drums, will play a gig in Whelan’s.

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.

MusicTown from 13-22 April is intended to be a celebration of Dublin’s rich music heritage and lively contemporary music scene. When the festival was proposed by Ray Yeates (Dublin City Arts Officer) four years ago, it was suggested that it should focus only on classical music, but he had invited a large group of people with an interest in music and events who thought it should be a lot more than classical music. Initially this was heard, but I see this year, that the festival is getting a more and more classical music schedule.

In addition it unfortunately turned from a “mainly free” festival to a “mainly NOT free”.

A re-think is required!!

All Musictown events are listed on www.musictown.ie/schedule/

“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.

A new weekly Car Boot Sale will take place in Dun Laoghaire just at the fromer Ferry Terminal. It is a huge car park and there will be a Carboot Sale and a Gourmet Market with spaces for small businesses, antiques & collectibles, gourmet food vendors and people clearing out their home and selling things from their car.

Admission is free (for buyers).

On Sunday the Great Ireland Run will take place in Phoenix Park. It is not a free event and registration is long closed, BUT you might want to cheer on the runners OR you might want to go to Phoenix Park and then should know that most streets and gates are closed for the race.

The 5km race starts at 09:30 and the 10km race starts at 11:00.

There will be street and gate closures from 08;30-15:00.

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.

“Make a mini raft” by the children’s nature charity OWLS is an opportunity to design and build your own raft using materials you find around the park. Then enter your brand new boat in the OWLS boat race around the lake. Suitable for all the family!

The activity happens in Bushy Park on Sunday. Admission is free, but registration is required. Send an e-mail to Turtle at education@owls.ie

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.

Kids Guide Dublin is inviting to their first Kids Guide Summer Camp Fair in 2018. For the first time there will be two Summer Camp Fairs this year, The first is in the Trinity College Sports Centre at the corner of Westland Row with Pearse Street and the second one is in May in South County Dublin.

Come to this event and find out about all the great summer camps for your kids in 2018. Summer camps for the age category 4-16 will be featured.

Over 50 Summer Camp organisers will showcase their programmes, so you should definitely find something suitable for children and you can book it immediately at the event. Camps for Sports, Art, Music, Kayaking, Languages, Animals, Academic, Legos, Coding and more will be available. And while you are checking out the summer camp options, your kids can have some fun in the Kids’s area.

Admission to the event is free, but the organisers recommend that you register via the link below, That way you will have a chance to win one of several prizes, like free camps for the kids and prizes for mum and dad!

More info can be found at www.kidsguide.ie/summer-camp-fair

and on the Facebook Page here www.facebook.com/events/706531032838104/

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

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:
Sunday 11:00, 11:30, 15:00, 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.

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

The 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.

This week’s Drop-in family session on Sunday is entitled “Spring in Nolde’s garden”.

Come to this art-making workshop where children and their parents/guardians/carers are encouraged to work together on creative projects. This week’s workshop will be led by artist Fala Buggy and will take the works of Emil Nolde as inspiration.

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.

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.

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 Royal Irish Academy of Music invites to “My First Concert”, where a host of very young musicians take their first steps onto the concert platform for their début concert performance.

The event is part of the Music Town Festival.

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

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 Deirdre Moynihan soprano, Alec O’Leary guitar, performing “Songs Rich and Strange”.

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.

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.

As part of the public programme of events in association with the exhibition “Emil Nolde: Colour is Life”, artist Imogen Stuart RHA will be in conversation with Donal Maguire (National Gallery of Ireland). The conversation will be preceded by a screening of “Imogen Stuart: Dealbhóir” by Sharon Whooley.

Admission is free.

The Japan Film Festival Screening of “Lu Over the Wall” will take place.

Following his parents’ divorce, loner teenager Kai moves with his father from Tokyo to the declining fishing town of Hinashi to live with his grandfather. When his classmates discover his online identity they want him to join their band. Kai decides to join them when he hears they practise on the local remote and allegedly haunted Merfolk Island. 2017, PG (112 min)

Admission seems to be free.

For more information about the Festival go to www.jff.ie

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

The lecture “One City One Book 2018” by Jessica Fahy will discuss portraits of Irish women authors in the Gallery’s collection. This year’s “One City One Book” book is “The Long Gaze Back, An Anthology of Irish Women Writers”.

Admission is free.

The Family-suitable tour “Treasures of the National Museum” will take place and will introduce you to the iconic treasures in the National Museum, including the ‘Tara’ Brooch and the Ardagh Chalice.

Admission is free. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Meet at the reception. Suitable for Age 7+.

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.

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.

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.

Away With The Birds will play “Covers with a twist” in Bray.

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).

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.

MusicTown from 13-22 April is intended to be a celebration of Dublin’s rich music heritage and lively contemporary music scene. When the festival was proposed by Ray Yeates (Dublin City Arts Officer) four years ago, it was suggested that it should focus only on classical music, but he had invited a large group of people with an interest in music and events who thought it should be a lot more than classical music. Initially this was heard, but I see this year, that the festival is getting a more and more classical music schedule.

In addition it unfortunately turned from a “mainly free” festival to a “mainly NOT free”.

A re-think is required!!

All Musictown events are listed on www.musictown.ie/schedule/

“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.

For men and women across Africa, marriage is nearly universal. However, the duration of marriage is far from equal. Large age gaps and lower rates of remarriage after divorce and widowhood mean that women’s married lives are much shorter. One in ten African women above the age of 14 is a widow, and six percent are divorcees.

Dominique van de Walle is a Lead Economist in the World Bank’s Research Department and she will talk about the findings from a small but growing number of rigorous descriptive and quantitative studies that investigate welfare and marital shocks.

Admission is free. The event will take place in the TRISS Seminar Room.

“Healthy Food Made Easy” is a 6-week course on Mondays from 16 April to 28 May in Ballyfermot Library

If you are interested in healthy eating, then this course is for you. The project has been running in Ballyfermot/Chapelizod for the past 11 years and is a great success.

The course is free and if you want to take part contact Tina Daly via 01 6238088 or tdaly@ballyfermotpartnership.ie

L’accabadora (2015, 97min, Drama) is an Italian-Irish co-production set in rural Sardinia and its largest city Cagliari during the Second World War, L’Accabadora tells the story of Annetta, a woman whose fate has been written in stone since her birth. After a tragic event, when she is called upon to give her sister a ‘good death’, Annetta must confront her own fate in order to help her sister’s troubled daughter.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with lead actor Barry Ward and director of photography Piers McGrail

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

Bernard O’Donoghue will read from his poetry, before an interview with Martin Dyar, which will explore the concerns of and intersections between the various strands of O’Donoghue’s work in literature: as a poet, a translator, a critic, and an editor.

Admission is free, but registration is required.

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).

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.

MusicTown from 13-22 April is intended to be a celebration of Dublin’s rich music heritage and lively contemporary music scene. When the festival was proposed by Ray Yeates (Dublin City Arts Officer) four years ago, it was suggested that it should focus only on classical music, but he had invited a large group of people with an interest in music and events who thought it should be a lot more than classical music. Initially this was heard, but I see this year, that the festival is getting a more and more classical music schedule.

In addition it unfortunately turned from a “mainly free” festival to a “mainly NOT free”.

A re-think is required!!

All Musictown events are listed on www.musictown.ie/schedule/

“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.

This public lecture will be presented by Amanda Clifford and Orfhlaith Ni Bhriain of the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance (University of Limerick) on “Dance and Health and Wellness.” Prof Desmond O’Neill of the National Centre for Arts and Health,Tallaght University Hospital, will be the discussant.

The lecture will take place in the Neill Lecture Theatre with a live link to clinical sites. This will be the final Medical and Health Humanities seminar for 2017-2018.

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 lecture series “Irish Women and the First World War” explores different aspects of Irish women from anti-enlistment activism to working in munition factories and war-time nursing. The final lecture assesses the legacy and long-term impact of the war on the role of women in Irish society. In parallel there is also the exhibition “Doing their Bit: Irish Women and the First World War” on display at Dublin City Library and Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2 until 28 April 2018.

Admission to the talks is free and on first-come, first-served basis. The Council Chamber seats 110 people and you can bring earphones for enhanced sound. Doors open at 12:30.

The lectures are:
03 April Dr. Bernard Kelly: “Enlistment, conscription and Irish women during the First World War”
10 April Dr Yvonne McEwen. “Irish Nurses and the Politics of Casualty Care in World War 1”
17 April Hugh McGuinness “Women and the Munitions Industry in Ireland during World War I”
24 April Dr. Fionnuala Walsh “Impact of the First World War on women in Ireland”

The Pop-up talk “Portrait of Katarina Knoblauch” will take place in Room 29. Jenny Duffy will talk about this portrait by Conrad Faber.

Admission is free.

The workshop “Jobseekers Supports” will give advice and guidance on CV writing, the job application process and ways to successfully access the Irish jobs market.

Rowan Manahan, Career Advicer & Management Specialist will assist participants with updating their skills to meet the changing needs of national and international employers. He will offer motivation and direction and an opportunity for participants to voice concerns.

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

“Does Irish History have a Future?” is a symposium hosted by the Irish Historical Society.

Four decades ago, Robert Dudley Edwards published ‘An Agenda for Irish History, 1978–2018’, laying down various prescriptions for younger historians which, he indicated, they would ignore at their peril.

His far-sighted agenda raises two broad issues for the rising generation of Irish historians. First, to what extent have Irish historians achieved what Edwards considered essential for the survival of the profession? Second, what prescriptions would it be reasonable and desirable to propose for the future of Irish historical practice over the next four decades, assuming (as Edwards posited) that ‘mankind has successfully avoided the danger of destroying all life upon earth’.

Four historians will be invited to offer their views on these issues in presentations of 15 minutes, to be followed by an open discussion.

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

“The Humble Science of Predicting our Energy Future” is a talk with Dr Paul Deane, UCC.

He will examine what Ireland might look like in the year 2050. What types of lifestyles will we lead? How much energy will we need and where will it come from? Will our energy be cleaner and more sustainable? Today, powerful computer models allow us to simulate many different futures and help us understand how our decisions today can shape tomorrow. Examining the future however is a humble science as history has shown that the future doesn’t reveal its secrets easily. This interactive talk explores the past and future of energy and shows how science can help us understand how to create a future we want. You are invited to bring your smartphone to contribute to this interactive talk.

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

For more than twenty years a number of Italian writers have been digging deep into the dirt of society. In their crime novels, authors such as Massimo Carlotto, Carlo Lucarelli and Giancarlo De Cataldo do not hesitate to paint a dark portrait of the Belpaese, one in which the conventional divisions between good and evil, fiction and reality are blurred. These are the writers of Italian Noir, whose stories aim at exploring the black heart of Italy. Between April and June 2018 the Italian Institute of Culture will host the three mentioned noir writers.

Massimo Carlotto is one of the major figures of Italian noir. He was born in Padua in 1957. He began his literary activity with Il fuggiasco (The Fugitive, 1995) but his most famous character is the Alligator, alias Marco Buratti, an original private detective. His books have been translated into many languages and his novels, challenging the conventional divisions between fiction and reality, depict a world in which injustice is a given fact and the Belpaese shows its black heart.

The event will be introduced and moderated by Dr. Marco Amici (University College Cork).
The conversation will be both in English and in Italian.

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

“Women of the Brigade: St John Ambulance & the First World War” is the full title of this talk by Padraig Allen (Honorary archivist and project manager with St John Ambulance).

The lecture complements the new exhibition “Doing their Bit – Irish Women and the First World War” on display at Dublin City Library and Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2 until 28 April 2018.

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 Blues, Folk & Country, Originals and Covers at this gig.

Admission is free.

Camden Comedy is a weekly comedy night on a Tuesday.

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.

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.

MusicTown from 13-22 April is intended to be a celebration of Dublin’s rich music heritage and lively contemporary music scene. When the festival was proposed by Ray Yeates (Dublin City Arts Officer) four years ago, it was suggested that it should focus only on classical music, but he had invited a large group of people with an interest in music and events who thought it should be a lot more than classical music. Initially this was heard, but I see this year, that the festival is getting a more and more classical music schedule.

In addition it unfortunately turned from a “mainly free” festival to a “mainly NOT free”.

A re-think is required!!

All Musictown events are listed on www.musictown.ie/schedule/

“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.

This conference will look back on the history of conscription in 1918 and its impact on modern day life.

Admission is free but registration is required via dublincitypubliclibraries@dublincity.ie

The conference will start at 10:30 and throughout the day until 15:00, there will be 12 talks and discussions. The full schedule can be found on the website below.

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.

“Wild Flowers of the Phoenix Park” is a talk about the many different species of wild flowers in the Phoenix Park.

It will take place in the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre on Wednesday.

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.

Alan McMonagle will be in conversation with Elizabeth Reapy (Dublin City Writer in Residence). Alan’s debut novel Ithaca was published in 2017 and he has also written for radio and published two collections of short stories: Liar, Liar and Psychotic Episodes.

Admission is free, but booking is recommended via (01) 873 4333 or centrallibrary@dublincity.ie

Crypto Currency World invites you to “Rise of the ICO”, a journey into the world of initial coin offerings. Blockchain experts Max Garza III and Dean Anastos will be in Dublin and will talk about decentralised token plaforms and about the development of Dragon Coin.

Admission is free, but there is limited space and therefore booking is required via eugene@cryptocurrencyworld.com

For more information, check this PDF

Please note: This is an event in French language.

Ali Benmakhlouf is a Professor of philosophy at the Université de Paris Est-Créteil. His research interests include medieval Arabic philosophy and the philosophy of logic and he conducted the intercultural philosophical dialogue between the Arab and the Asiatic world. He is also particularly involved in the questions of bioethics as a former member of the French National Ethics Advisory Committee.
His most recent book “La conversation comme manière de vivre” (2016), takes us from Montaigne to Lewis Carroll on the art of conversation, exploring the links between oral and written word from the antiquity until today.

He will talk about his work in French. A Q&A will follow.

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

SIGNAL is a series of discussions and interactive demonstrations focused on cutting-edge technology, creativity and music, featuring artists, educators and creative thinkers. The series is a collaboration between the Science Gallery and Martin Clancy, a music researcher at the Trinity College Dublin’s Long Room Hub.

The third SIGNALS event is “SIGNALS: VISUALS” and it will explore the rise of visuals and its importance to the live music experience. Host Martin Clancy will discuss with Ant O’Brien and Ronan McGrath of Generic People how to create immersive live performance using Resolume 6.

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

“Speaking Words: Poetry and prose readings of writers own work” will take place

Arthur Sheridan’s one-woman play tells Christyna’s story. She’s a young woman who has been working as a prost itute on Dublin’s streets from an early age. Performed by actress Caoimhe Cooke.

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.

The talk “Birds and Habitats in the Cooley Mountains” with Derek Watters will take place on Wednesday. He will talk about the County Louth mountains, birds, wildflowers and conservation.

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.

“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.

MusicTown from 13-22 April is intended to be a celebration of Dublin’s rich music heritage and lively contemporary music scene. When the festival was proposed by Ray Yeates (Dublin City Arts Officer) four years ago, it was suggested that it should focus only on classical music, but he had invited a large group of people with an interest in music and events who thought it should be a lot more than classical music. Initially this was heard, but I see this year, that the festival is getting a more and more classical music schedule.

In addition it unfortunately turned from a “mainly free” festival to a “mainly NOT free”.

A re-think is required!!

All Musictown events are listed on www.musictown.ie/schedule/

“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.

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.

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 lunchtime tour “Photo Detectives” will take place in Irish language.
Learn about this exhibition that celebrates the work and play of the online community who investigate the National Library’s photographs on Flickr.

“Ceiliúrann an taispeántas seo obair an phobail bheoga ar líne a fhéachann go géar ar ár ngrianghraif ar Flickr. Ach cé hiad ár mBleachtairí Grianghraf? Cad a fhaigheann siad amach? Conas a oibríonn sé? Bí i dteannta Niamh Ní Riain ar thuras Gaeilge saor in aisce, chun an scéal iomlán a fháil.”

Admission is free

“The Victorian Global Bookshelf: Asian Literature in English Translation, 1845-1915” is a lecture followed by a workshop.

In the late 18th + 19th centuries, most of the canonical poetry and fiction, philosophy and scripture in Persian, Sanskrit, Arabic, Chinese and other Asian languages was translated into English. But in addition to academic translations made for the use of scholars, missionaries, and colonial officials, hundreds of editions were also created for the general, non-expert reader.

During this lecture and workshop, you will find out who produced these translations and who published them. And you will discover how they were read and used, based on personal copies owned and annotated by Victorian readers.

The event will start with a lecture in the Long Room Hub, given by Dr Alexander Bubb, followed by a books workshop in the Henry Jones Room of the Old Library. Both events are free and open to all, but pre-registration is required for the workshop and numbers are limited.

All details and pre-registration are on the website below.

The In Focus Tour “The Art of Edo Japan” with Diana Delia, Guide will take place in the Chester Beatty Library.

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

An original composition Make It Shine by Andy Smith will unite the talented musicians of Music Together. This performance will use an accessible music sequencer to manipulate images, and at the same time playing improvised solos by moving the body in time.

Admission is free and no booking required.

The event is part of the MusicTown Festival.

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 Thursday 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

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.

The RIAM Young Scholars Programme is an immersive music education programme to support highly motivated and exceptionally talented school-age students.

On Thursday you can attend their concert, which is part of the MusicTown festival.

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

“Aspettate, adesso canto!” is a performance of Italian vocal duets of the 17th century presented by Chant 21.

The singers and players of Chant 21 are delighted to present you with a blooming bouquet of musical performance. Among the 17th centurt Italian music genres, the secular chamber cantata is the least well known. The typical cantata begins with a recitative and the appearance on stage of a pastoral character who alternates bewtween the role of the narrator and his own character by switching btween recitatives and arias. This fascinating evening of lute music and human voice will feature masters such as Claudio Monteverdi, Luigi Rossi, Antonio Cesti among others.

The concert will be performed by the three artists of Chant 21: Abbi Temple (soprano), Jaceck Wistocki (tenor) and Jerzy Zak (theorbo).

Admission is free, but booking is required.

Explore some of the highlights of the National Gallery exhibitons at this evening tour.

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

Lisa Coen, Louise Kennedy and Diarmuid Peavoy discuss the forgotten writings of Charlotte Riddell, Norah Hoult and Mary Lavin. The event is chaired by One City One Book editor Sinéad Gleeson. With dramatised readings by actor Ger Ryan.

Admission is free, but booking is required via this link here. Followed by tea/coffee and cake.

The event is part of the Dublin: One City One Book event programme.

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

The talk “What makes a Steinway grand?” will take place in the Shaw Room of the National Gallery.

“Ulrich Gerhartz, Director of Concert and Artist Services at Steinway & Sons, London prepares pianos for world-famous performers across the globe. In this talk, he will reveal the secrets behind his fascinating and meticulous work, using the Grand Piano on loan to the Gallery from the Royal Irish Academy of Music.”

Admission is free.

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 talk “Plants and Gardens at Home and Abroad” with Frances MacDonald will take place on Thursday.

“Frances MacDonald is the Garden Tours Manager for the travel agency “Travel Department” and she guides the majority of their garden tours each year both at home and abroad. This talk shows some of the gardens she has visited and plants she has seen but also indicates how lucky we are to live in the temperate climate of Ireland where we can grow those same plants from all over the world.”

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.

The Crystal Skull Sessions is a band competition in Sin É where the audience is voting for their favourite act.

Admission is free.

The gig “Electric Company with *Rogue!” will take place and the music will be Indie Rock + Electro Soul Rock.

Admission is free.

At Rockstar Karaoke, you will sing with a band behind you Karaoke style. Experience is not necessary and people with any level of singing/performance are invited. Confidence coaching and singing lessons are available.

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.

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 BIMM Music College is organising the Midnight Hour on Thursdays in Whelan’s. The line-up has not yet been announced.

Admission is free.

MusicTown from 13-22 April is intended to be a celebration of Dublin’s rich music heritage and lively contemporary music scene. When the festival was proposed by Ray Yeates (Dublin City Arts Officer) four years ago, it was suggested that it should focus only on classical music, but he had invited a large group of people with an interest in music and events who thought it should be a lot more than classical music. Initially this was heard, but I see this year, that the festival is getting a more and more classical music schedule.

In addition it unfortunately turned from a “mainly free” festival to a “mainly NOT free”.

A re-think is required!!

All Musictown events are listed on www.musictown.ie/schedule/

“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.

To celebrate the publication of the essay collection “Twenty-First Century Popular Fiction”, the School of English is hosting a day-long symposium on the theme of ‘Popular Fiction in Transition.’

Since the 1990s, the study of popular fiction has been transformed from a relatively niche topic into one of the most vibrant and rapidly expanding areas of inquiry within contemporary literary studies.

The symposium will bring together academics, fans and authors in lively discussion panels to consider current and future trends in popular fiction, including increasing genre hybridity, new and emerging genres and popular fiction’s relationship to transmedia elements such as film, TV and podcasts.

Admission is free, but booking is required.

All details about the event are on the website below.

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.

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 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.

A concert by pianist Billy O’Brien will take place in the series of lunchtime performances that feature the six Irish competitors who will take part in this year’s Dublin International Piano Competition. (in the Shaw Room)

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!

Dun Laoghaire’s Local Enterprise Office is inviting to a 2.5km walk along the pier for businesses to network with each other. Last time more than 300 businesses took part.

Admission is free and all the details are on the website below.

The Lagunitas Brewery Company is inviting to the “Hunt for the Waldos Special Ale Party”.

The line-up is

+ Markas Carcas & The Trail Gang
+ Stitch Jones

The start time is 16:20, but the event will go until late.

Heartbreakers is a tale of life, love and sibling rivalry in Dublin city and it has been made by Brainy Films. The screening of the Heartbreakers sitcom pilot will happen in the Science Gallery.

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

This celebration of Orchids in Botanical Art is through the talk “The RHS Orchid Committee and its artists – a history of the RHS orchid award paintings” with Clare Hermans.

Clare Hermans is Chairman of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Orchid Committee, author of many articles and co-author of “Orchids of Madagascar” and a research fellow of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Her talk will be followed by a wine reception and tour of ‘Three threads – of the orchid tapestry created by Frederick William Moore’ an exhibition in the National Botanic Gardens.

The event is organised by the ISBA in association with the Dublin Orchid Fair, which will happen on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free, but booking is required via isba.committee@gmail.com

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 Dublin Sidewalk Astronomers meet at the Martello Tower car park in Sandymount for a public star-gazing. Members bring along their telescopes and share the wonders of the night-sky with you. Admission is free.

This event happens regularly on a Friday and is followed by a similar evening in Clontarf on Saturday.

The Public Star Party is weather dependent, so check www.irishastrosoc.org/events/events.htm after 18:00 on the night in the case of poor weather, to see if it is going ahead.

Ben Reel will play Acoustic / Rock / Blues / Soul / Roots.

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.

WOB! is a live Drum and Bass duo and they will perform their “Live & Liquid” show with dance music played live on drums and synths in Whelan’s Midnight Hour on Friday.

Admission is free before 22:30.

Upbeat Generation are playing a gig in the Grand Social. Soul, Funk. Disco and R&B is their thing!

Admission is free.