Dublin Event Guide 585: National Service Day, Liffey Swim, Eid Fest, India Day

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

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

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

A whole range of Parkruns take place every week:
+ 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
+ Bricksfield Park, Crumlin Road, Dublin 12

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 an indoor food/Farmer’s Market that many know from when it was located at Newmarket Square. Due to the redevelopment at Newmarket Square it had to move and is now on the Old Naas Road, opposite the entrance to the Royal Liver Retail Park. At the new location they are also open on Sundays.

Opening hours are Tue-Fri 12:00-19:00, Sat 09:30-16:00 and also Sunday 11:00-17:00.

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

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

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

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

The 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.

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.

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.

“Eid” means celebration in Arabic and the Eid Fest in Herbert Park is a celebration of “Under One Tent” for the muslim and non-muslim communities in Ireland.

There will be a BBQ, Food Stalls, a Market, Henna Tattoos, Inflatable Games for grown ups and kids, Football and Open Mic Comedy.

Admission is free, it says. But then it also says that there is an Unlimited Pass for EUR 7 for unlimited activities. So my interpretation is that admission is free to the event/festival but if you want to have a go on the Inflatable Games etc then you pay per use unless you have an unlimited pass. I hope that makes sense.

This year’s National Services Day will take place on Saturday and will consist of a Parade and a Skills Display.

The Skills Display will start at 11:00 in the grounds of Dublin Castle. You are invited to watch how Emergency & Security Services put their skills and equipment to best use. From abseiling from buildings to bomb disposal you will see a wide variety of activities,

From the National Ambulance Service via Civil Defence to An Garda Siochana and the Fire Brigades all Frontline Emergency & Security Services will be represented at the National Services Day.

There will also be face painting and food stalls.

Admission is free.

A parade will take place from Parnell Square to Dublin Castle and it will start at 12:00. The parade is listed separately in this Dublin Event Guide.

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.

Dublin’s Fabulous Market will bring you Irish Design, Free Tarot Reading, Music, Cocktails and more.

The current exhibition in the Science Gallery is called “Life at the Edges” and it will run from 22 June until 30 September,

The exhibition is looking at space travel, Mars exploration and it also looks at other hostile or difficult environments like antarctica, volcanoes and living in a floating city.

Some of the most interesting exhibits are:

+ Habitat of a simluated Mars mission
+ Creating souvenirs from Lava
+ Process of creating an iron ring from grass that grew on iron polluted soil
+ Animals that travelled to space
+ A plant growing in Mars atmophere
+ A planet to be built from dead bodies

It is a fascinating exhibition, but take your time to understand the exhibits and think a little more about some of them! It is worth it!

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.

This year’s National Services Day will take place on Saturday and will consist of a Parade and a Skills Display.

The Parade will start at Parnell Square at 12:00. Thousand Frontline Emergency & Security Personnel with their trucks and vehicles and a range of marching bands will take part in the parade and will make their way to Dublin Castle where a Skills Display will take place.

From the National Ambulance Service via Civil Defence to An Garda Siochana and the Fire Brigades all Frontline Emergency & Security Services will be represented at the National Services Day.

Admission is free.

The Skills Display at Dublin Castle will start at 11:00 and it is listed separately in this Dublin Event Guide.

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 Blackrock Shopping Centre is inviting to a BBQ on Saturday with great food (tokens for free food are available via website below and in store), live music, facepainting and balloon modelling

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

For the 99th time, the Dublin City Liffey Swim will take place. It is the swim that was famously depicted in Jack B. Yeats painting (www.nationalgallery.ie/liffey-swim-jack-b-yeats) in the National Gallery.

The men’s race will start at 15:00 and the women’s race at 16:00. It will start at the Rory O’Moore Bridge near the Guinness Brewery, St. James Gate, Dublin 8 and the finish is at Customs House, Dublin 1.

Over 500 swimmers will compete. Wetsuits are not allowed and the race is 2.2km long. A handicap system is applied that allows weaker swimmers to start before the official start time and strong swimmers even a few minutes after the official start time. That way there is only one race independent of skills and the first person arriving at the finish line is the race winner.

You can cheer on the swimmers along the Liffey or from one of the 12 bridges.

The swim is sponsored by Jones Engineering.

This is a talk by the architectural and social historian David Hicks, in conjunction with the ‘Face to Face’ exhibition.

Admission is free, but places are limited. You were asked to book a place via farmleighevents@opw.ie but when you get this Dublin Event Guide it is too late for an email, so the remaining option is to go to Farmleigh House and to hope for some no-shows, which is highly likely.

Ray Butler, astronomy lecturer at NUI Galway, will give a talk about the skies over Ireland at the Dunsink Observatory. From comets and visible planets to galaxy sightings and star clusters, he will explain the night sky and what there is to be seen in the coming months. You will also hear about the history of the observatory and their telescope dome.

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

Crystal Skull is a band competition in the Bowery and on Saturday a winners night takes place with gigs by the winning bands,

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.

Parchman Farm will play Chicago- and Texas-style Blues at this gig in the Harbour Bar,

Admission is free.

The Albert Ross Foundation will play Classic Rock, Rhythm & Blues and Rock n’ Roll in the Bowery.

Admission is free before 22:00.

TAYNE is a experimental, noise-pop band from London and they will play a gig in Whelan’s. They will be supported by 80s, New Wave, Electronica, Indie, Folk, Gothic band “End of Now”.

Admission is free before 22:30. The gig will start at midnight.

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

Admission for buyers is free.

The Totally Terrific Tomato Festival is an exhibition of more than 200 tomato cultivars to demonstrate the sheer diversity of this amazing fruit. The diversity display will run daily in the Teak House during opening hours until Sunday 2nd September.

Admission is free.

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

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

A Farmers Market will take place at Farmleigh House,

Admission is free.

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

The 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.

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

The theme for the workshop this week is “Music with Tanya”.

The brochure is here.

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.

India Day is a celebration of India and of Indian Independence Day in Ireland. You will get a chance to experience Indian Culture, Heritage, Music, Dance, Art & Craft, Meditation and also Indian & Continental food at this Family Day in the gardens of Farmleigh House.

There will be Indian Folk, Classical & Bollywood dances. Food, Indian Ethnic Dresses and Jewelry and lots of Indian music.

A rough schedule for the day is here:
11:15-12:00 Yoga & Meditation
12:00-13:00 Cultural Programme
13:00-14:00 Opening Ceremony
14:00-16:30 Cultural Programme
16:30-17:00 Closing Ceremony

Admission is free and everybody is invited.

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 Irish Wildlife Trust invites to this rockpool event, a popular event with with younger ecologists and their parents.

Meeting point is on Portmarnock Beach near the artello Tower. Every child needs an adult supervisor, adults DO NOT need a child. :-)

Admission is free.

The Green Door Market is an indoor food/Farmer’s Market that many know from when it was located at Newmarket Square. Due to the redevelopment at Newmarket Square it had to move and is now on the Old Naas Road, opposite the entrance to the Royal Liver Retail Park. At the new location they are also open on Sundays.

Opening hours are Tue-Fri 12:00-19:00, Sat 09:30-16:00 and also Sunday 11:00-17:00.

A Drop-in family workshop will take place in the Naational Gallery every Sunday.

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. These workshops are suitable for children of all ages, and take place in the Maples and Calder Creative Space in our Atrium.

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.

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

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

Admission is free.

The current exhibition in the Science Gallery is called “Life at the Edges” and it will run from 22 June until 30 September,

The exhibition is looking at space travel, Mars exploration and it also looks at other hostile or difficult environments like antarctica, volcanoes and living in a floating city.

Some of the most interesting exhibits are:

+ Habitat of a simluated Mars mission
+ Creating souvenirs from Lava
+ Process of creating an iron ring from grass that grew on iron polluted soil
+ Animals that travelled to space
+ A plant growing in Mars atmophere
+ A planet to be built from dead bodies

It is a fascinating exhibition, but take your time to understand the exhibits and think a little more about some of them! It is worth it!

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 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 Meave Gilchrist playing Celtic Harp. Maeve Gilchrist is a Brooklyn-based Scottish harpist.

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!

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

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

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

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

Brazilica will perform Jazz, Soul, Latin & Bossa Nova in the Tram Cafe. Brazilica are Luisa Moreira (Vocals) and Jonathan Batista (Guitar/Vocals).

Admission is free.

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.

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

Brian Meaking will play a gig in the Harbour Bar.

Admission is free.

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

The Dublin Blues Cartel will be in Whelan’s again and will perform mostly a version of New Orleans R’n’B with a classic Rock twist, sandwiched with Swing, Rock’n’Roll, Soul, Funk, Blues and Rap of all eras.

Admission is free.

The 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.

This is an “evening workshop where we will investigate beliefs about our bodies using the simple yet profound questions of The Work of Byron Katie. By meeting thoughts about the body with understanding and curiosity, let’s see if we can have compassion and kindness for the body we live in, in sickness, health, age, youth, pain, ease, ugliness and beauty. Come join us for this adventure into exploring what we really are, beyond our body image.”

Admission is free, but booking is required via e-mail to rathmineslibrary@dublincity.ie

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.

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” is a Dementia-friendly tour in the Chester Beatty Library.

The interactive tour is specially designed for people living with dementia and their loved ones. It will be an afternoon of conversations on art and life in general and starts with a relaxing tea or coffee in the Silk Road Café before the tourthe Chester Beatty collections.

Admission is free, but limited to 10 Participants per tour and booking is required via 01-4070766

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!

A Pop-up talk will take place in front of the painting “The Artist’s Wife, Constance, Comtesse de Markievicz (1868-1927)” in the Shaw Room. Catherine O’Donnell will talk about this portrait that was painted by Kasimir Dunin Markievicz.

Admission is free. Meet in front of the portrait in the Shaw Room.

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: “Bees and other Pollinators – A vital Role”

At this month’s Dublin event “Orla ní Dhúill of the Irish Wildlife Trust and DCU will give a talk on the role bees and other pollinators play in maintaining a healthy environment around us. The declining numbers of bees internationally has starting to break into mainstream news stories, but many people do not know much about the various species of bees and pollinators that are effected or what’s causing these declines. Orla will talk about what’s going wrong and what can be done to help.”

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.

“The Harbour Ukuleles” is a group of ukulele enthusiasts and they meet every Tuesday in The Harbour Bar in Bray to jam and learn new songs.

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.

Ben Prevo will be for his weekly gig in the Bowery. Expect Blues, Funk, Jazz and even Country.

Admission is free.

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

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

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.

Diarmuid from Good Vibrationz is inviting to a “Dublin Night Photography & Sunrise Photowalk” on Wednesday super early in the morning. If you are an early riser, come to the Spire and explore Dublin at darkness and at sunrise.

There will also be “Lightpainting” and a “Model” Photoshoot (a person posing with fairy lights).

Admission is free.

We once had this brilliant monthly event called “First Wednesday” or then “Free Wednesday”, when on the first Wednesday of the month all state owned Irish heritage sites waived all admission charges for the day. Unfortunately this super popular opportunity to bring culture closer to people in Ireland has been cancelled for nearly all Dublin sites and for other popular sites in other parts of Ireland, which was a very bad decision.

But there is ONE single site left in Dublin that currently offers free admission on the first Wednesday of the month and that is Rathfarnham Castle! Tickets will be limited, so it is strongly recommended to go there early.

To find the list of participating sites go to this PDF document.

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 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.

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).

Startup Boost is an intensive global pre-accelerator program that helps entrepreneurs and pre-seed startups prepare for accelerators, investment and revenue.

On Wednesday, an Info Night, will happen to give you more information about the Programme, selection criteria etc.

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

15 different taster classes for dance and movement will invite you to join them for a one-night-only event in Dance House in Foley Street.

There will be Jazz Dance, Hip Hop, Ballet, Zumba, Aikido, Bulgarian Folk Dance, Tai Chi, Barre, Urban Flow, Burlesque, Nia, Contemporary, Expressive Dance and Pointe Work.

Admission is free and the programme is on the Facebook Page below or on this website here.

The Musical Soirée with Jean Claude Thibaud entitled “Paris in Songs” will take place in the United Arts Club.

Admission is free, donations are welcome.

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

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

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

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

Admission is free, donations are welcome.

The storytellers from Candlelit Tales will be in the Harbour Bar on Wednesday.

The warrior’s code is uncompromising, forging boys into killing machines. When two great warriors come together and conceive a child, they are both determined that he will carry on their legacy and finish the fight they started. Hear the tale of a boy caught up in a struggle not of his own making and the terrible geasa he is given by his father, Cuchulainn.

Admission is free.

“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.

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.

A Cloud breakfast at the IBM Innovation Centre will take place with speakers

Noel Crawford, IBM Cloud Channel Manager
Dave Moore, IT Director, Blues Insurance
Declan Hussey, Principal Cloud Solutions Director, DNA IT Solutions

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

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

The exhibition will be open form 06 Sept and will run until 19 October.

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

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

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

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 In Focus Tour “Chester Beatty’s Biblical Papyri” will take place and will be guided by Kurt Kullmann who will explain the history and importance of the Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri and also their value for theological and linguistic scholars.

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

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”. ;-)

This is a 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.

This is a talk on Traveller History and Culture in tandem with Seamus Nolan’s exhibition by the expert and member of the Traveller community Michael McDonagh.

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.

“What is Space? A Light Year Away in Under an Hour Flat” is an event in the Science Gallery where you find out everything about space.

Our universe is, at the very least, 100 billion light years across. But where does this number come from, and what does that really mean? In under an hour flat, British science writer, Jim Baggott will tell the story of our universe from Newton to Einstein and from the Big Bang to the latest theories of quantum space.

Admission is free, buit booking is required via the website below. If the event is booked out, check the Science Gallery Facebook Page at the time of the event because the Science Gallery often lifestreams events there.

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.

Crystal Skull Sessions is a band competition in Sin E and the next heat takes place on Thursday. The audience votes for the winner.

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.

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 gigs on Thursdays in Whelan’s.

Admission is free.

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

The exhibition will be open form 06 Sept and will run until 19 October.

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

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

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

Dan Barry, a Music and Media Technology expert, founded Riffstation, an app that gives you chords for any song in the world synched with a video or audio and he sold his company to Guitar manufacturer Fender.

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

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.

The TramCafe is the venue for Dublin’s only after work Jazz event on a Friday. Lulu Kumama will perform Jazz & Soul Standards wth a Funky Twist.

Admission is free.

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.

Farmleigh House writer in residence Philip St John will talk about people that are normally behind the scenes at drama performances:

+ Fishamble’s director Jim Culleton and dramaturge Gavin Kostick
+ Rough Magic director Lynne Parker
+ Set and costume designer Maree Kearnes
+ Lighting designer Sinead McKenna
+ Sound designer Sinead Diskin, whose band will also provide music.

How did these artists establish their place in theatre and developed their craft. What were the high-points, and what is their dream-show? What were their major influences? And where is theatre headed now?

Admission is free but booking is required via the link below. Doors open at 19:00 and the event starts at 20:00.

The 10th Lucan Festival starts on Friday and it starts in style with a Fireworks.

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.

The Deep Funk Project is a funk band from Dublin and they will play a gig in the Bowery on Friday.

Admission is free.

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

Admission is free.

Rock Band “The Lennon Effect” from Meath is playing a gig in Whelan’s.

Admission is free before 22:30.