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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The yearly Sand Scultpures exhibition will be in the Upper Courtyard of Dublin Castle again.

“Emotional States” is the theme this year and the carving started on 27 July and is now completed. The artists are from Fleeting Sculpture. The exhibition will run until 25 August and admission is free.

People ask usually how the sand withstands the rain and want to know if something is mixed in, but it is just normal sand with no added stuff. Once the carving is finished the “skin” will be sprayed with something to make it a little harder, but the holding together of the sculpture is purely down to the compacting of the sand.

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.

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.

After the success of the first market at the Canalaphonic Festival in May, it has been decided to run another Canal Bank Market on Portobello Square this Saturday. There will be Vintage Clothing, Vinyl Records, Arts & Crafts, Jewellery, Books and Live Music.

Admission is free.

A packed programme is planned at this Family Day in the LexIcon Library in Dun Laoghaire. There will be both indoor and outdoor events including circus skills workshops, children’s theatre, storytime, writing & illustration workshops, family & laughter yoga and magical storytelling.

Admission is free and no booking required.

You can download the brochure in PDF format here.

The National Gallery still runs an intensive programme of daily Family Workshops, lots of talks and Documentary screenings. Have a look at their website nationalgallery.ie/whatson

Here are some of the Family workshops for this week:
+ 15 Aug: Inspired by…the Renaissance
+ 17 Aug: Inspired by…Cubism
+ 18 Aug: Inspired by…Pointillism
+ 19 Aug: Inspired by…the Baroque
+ 20 Aug: Inspired by…Abstract Art
+ 21 Aug: Inspired by…Costume

All workshops are suitable for ages 4-10. Materials will be provided. Admission is free and no booking required, but places are limited.

The Irish Wildlife Trust is inviting to a Grand Canal Walk on Saturday from 11:00. Join Sean Meehan (IWT) for this walk along the banks of the Grand Canal to explore the aquatic and canal-side wildlife found both in and along the waterway.

Admission is free, but booking is required. However when you get this information it will be too late to register, so I suggest you go to the meeting point at Baggot Street and ask if you can join even without having registered.

Admission is free, but donations are welcome. More information is on the website below.

Every Saturday at 11:00 until 29 August an Open Air Pilates class, followed by a Coaching session with a Life Coach takes place in Blanchardstown. Organised by Pace Pilates and supported by Fingal County Council. Find all details on the Facebook page below. Admission is free.

Every Saturday (until 28 August) the Yoga Hub will run an Outdoor Yoga Class in St. Stephen’s Green near the bandstand.

Each class is donation based and the money you donate (each and every Euro!) will go directly to a different charity every week.

No booking required. Bring your own matt or towel. (If it rains, the bandstand will be used.)

The Terenure Village Market has moved to Bushy Park and is from now on a weekly market.

The market has now grown to 40 stalls offering a whole variety of foods and crafts.

Admission is free.

The Dublin Zine Fair is a gathering of independent publishers, artists, writers, poets and comic makers for a 2-day event. There will be workshops, readings, screenings and live music.

Admission to the fair is free, different fees apply for the workshops. Find out all details on the website below.

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.

Military Guard CeremonyThe National Monument

A Ceremonial Military Guard will parade at the site of the “National Memorial to Members of the Defence Forces who died in the Service of the State”, at Merrion Square during July and August. Ceremonies will take place at the pyramid at Merrion Square opposite the back entrance to the Dail, every Saturday from 18 July to 22 August 2015.

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

The current exhibition in the Science Gallery (08 Aug – 01 Nov) is called “SECRET – Nothing To See Here” and explores Privacy, Surveillance and Espionage.

Once again it is a really interesting exhibition, that has some intriguing, fascinating and revealing exhibits. Be prepared to do a good bit of reading to understand the background of the exhibits OR get one of the well informed and extremely helpful mediators to explain the details to you.

I would say that SECRET is for a slightly older audience (maybe 16+), but there are plenty of things that younger children will get as well if you make the effort to explain it to them.

From an airport-style security conveyor belt that records what you have in your pocket; via a Wifi traffic eavesdropping device (Transparency Grenade); a secret handshake training device; books full of stolen passwords (you might find yours!?); a Crypto Bar where you can download cryptographic software, a privacy wall that hides your identity to an installation with notepads where the lines are microprinted lists of Iraqi civilian victims of the Iraq war, you will find lots of interesting secrets.

The Science Gallery has very visitor friendly opening hours of Tue-Fri 12:00-20:00 and Sat+Sun 12:00-18:00, so there are no excuses! ;-) Admission is free.

Tallafest is a free Community Festival for the whole family with lots of activities like Sports, Entertainment, Culture, Nature, Kids Zone, Walking and more. There will be free workshops, nature walks, art classes, storytelling, farmyard, live stage, craft market, history walks etc. And it all starts with a parade down Main Street at 12:00.

The full programme is here.

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.

“These Are a Few of My Favourite Things” is the title of a Walking Tour that Emily Gallagher will run every Saturday. It will be an Alternative Arts and Culture Trail and she will bring you to “Dublin’s Best Cafes, Bars, Markets, Unusual Stores, Galleries, Theatres, Arts Spaces, and more! And hear some tales you’ve never heard before!”

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

The CineCafe Club in Pearse Street Library (in cooperation with the Instituto Cervantes) is screening the documentary/drama “Un sitio donde quedarse” in Spanish with English subtitles. Admission is free.

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

Today: 15:00-15:30 “Costumes in Art”

Shakespeare in Iveagh Gardens is back!!

The theatre production company Fortune’s Fool Productions under the leadership of the great Stephanie Courtney is coming back to Iveagh Gardens this year with eleven (!!) Open Air performances of “(Not a Traditional) Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare.

If you have been at their plays in previous years in Iveagh Gardens and Ranelagh Park, you know that they are high-class performances of popular Shakespeare plays that are provided completely free. All actors are super talented and passionate and the event is hugely popular every year. Let’s just hope for good weather!!

The dates this year are 06-16 August with plays during the week (6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 August) at 19:00 and at the weekend (8, 9, 15, 16 August) at 15:00.

If you are not very familiar with Shakespeare plays, you might want to read some information about the play here, so that you can follow it easier. But keep in mind that the play has “(Not the Traditional)” in the title, so expect some interesting modernisations.

I had no clue that “Tropical Bass Party” is a thing! But it a) seemingly is, b) I still don’t know what it is and c) I clearly live behind the moon! ;-)

Calambre, the Tropical Bass Party, is coming to Sin É this Saturday with 2 bands, 3 DJs (they are now called “Selectors”!!!), a workshop and free tapas. One of the bands is the not sooo tropical, but very very good “Dublin Blues Cartel” and they seemingly forgot to mention the other band on the Facebok Page. (Or maybe there is a new name for “band” as well and I don’t get it!?!? ;-) )

Admission to the event is free, the workshop is a scarf workshop and costs EUR 5 or EUR 10.

Pete Pamf is bringing his unique funk rock sound to the Harbour Bar. Admission is free.

This is a weekly Saturday night live music event event downstairs in the Wine Cave of KC Peaches Cafe. Food will be served until 21:30 and wine, minerals & music will be available until later. Admission is free and a donation into a hat at the end of the evening is appreciated.

Robert Coyle is performing his new show “Being Wrong is Right with Robert Coyle” in Accents Cafe.

Doors open at 20:00, the show starts at 20:30 and finishes at 22:00.

Admission is free, but donations are welcome.

Flanagan’s have opened a new live music venue: It is a piano bar with live jazz every Friday and Saturday.

On Saturday Liiza Nelson (vocals) and Emmet O’Connor (piano) will perform.

Admission is free.

Jazz on the Green is now provided every Saturday in the bar of the Fitzwilliam Hotel. Admission is free.

This week Lisa Jameson (vocals) and James Mullen (piano) will perform.

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 Dublin Blues Cartel will be in Sin É, performing 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.

See Sonny Condell live in McLoughlin’s Bar in Dún Laoghaire. Sonny Condell was an integral part of the Irish music scene since the early ’70s, from the heady days with “Tír Na nÓg” which landed him on the biggest stages in the world, to “Scullion”. With numerous solo albums he is one of Ireland’s greatest songwriters. Sonny Condell’s songs are melodic and thoughtful, often influenced by jazz and traditional music.

Admission is free.

Eazily Led, a Led Zeppelin Tribute Band, will perform a 3hr gig in the Mezz from 23:00. Admission is free.

The D-Riculous All Stars are playing a gig of rock & blues in Sweeney’s. 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.

This Sunday a Plant Fair takes place in the beautiful grounds of Farmleigh Estate. A wide variety of specialist growers from all over Ireland will have an extensive range of special and exotic plants for sale. Celebrity gardener Maire Staunton will give a variety of gardening talks on the day.

A Food & Craft market will be in the Farmyard at the same time and in the Bandstand the St. Mary’s Brass & Reed Band will play from 14:00-16:00. A children’s garden area with games and workshops will entertain the little ones.

Working towards – a fit mind. Fitminds is a new regular Sunday workshop which brings together the benefits of fitness & Mindfulness training. Move your body first, then meditate… and see how your mind likes it.
Admission is free, but donations are welcome (max EUR 10).

There will be interval training (walk, job, sprint) with varying intensity to accommodate all levels of fitness, followed by meditation. The event is hosted by Backtobasics who are a team of health professionals, personal trainers and wellness practitioners.

Fitminds takes place in the Gym on the Old Hampstead Hospital Grounds on Hampstead Avenue, Glasnevin, Dublin 9, just off Ballymun Road and adjacent to Albert College Park. For questions, ring Peter on 086 217 9917 .

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.

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 yearly Sand Scultpures exhibition will be in the Upper Courtyard of Dublin Castle again.

“Emotional States” is the theme this year and the carving started on 27 July and is now completed. The artists are from Fleeting Sculpture. The exhibition will run until 25 August and admission is free.

People ask usually how the sand withstands the rain and want to know if something is mixed in, but it is just normal sand with no added stuff. Once the carving is finished the “skin” will be sprayed with something to make it a little harder, but the holding together of the sculpture is purely down to the compacting of the sand.

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.

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

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

War of the Beach Sculpture is a team event (and teams will be formed on location), where you search the beach for unusual items to make a beach sculpture/monster. Legs, arms, webbing, the imagination can go wild. The winning team wins the bragging rights (and sweets) for being the best beach sculpture team of 2015. A fun event on the beach for the whole family.

Admission is free, but booking with leader Andrew Fleming (OWLS) via 087 3299936 is required. Meet in the main car park off Station Road.

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

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 Dublin Zine Fair is a gathering of independent publishers, artists, writers, poets and comic makers for a 2-day event. There will be workshops, readings, screenings and live music.

Admission to the fair is free, different fees apply for the workshops. Find out all details on the website below.

The National Botanic Garden wants to share the beauty of the gardens with you and invite you for a free guided tour viewing the Herbaceous Borders, Annual Bedding displays, the Rose Garden and more. Every Sunday at 12:00 and at 14:30. (Duration: 1hr)

The 93rd Commemoration of Michael Collins & Arthur Griffith will take place with an oration by Conor Brady, former Editor of The Irish Times and columnist with The Sunday Times. Music will be provided by ‘Invincibles’.

General Michael Collins’ convoy was ambushed on 22 August 1922 at Béal na mBláth in West Cork resulting in his death.

Find more information on the website below. Admission is free.

The current exhibition in the Science Gallery (08 Aug – 01 Nov) is called “SECRET – Nothing To See Here” and explores Privacy, Surveillance and Espionage.

Once again it is a really interesting exhibition, that has some intriguing, fascinating and revealing exhibits. Be prepared to do a good bit of reading to understand the background of the exhibits OR get one of the well informed and extremely helpful mediators to explain the details to you.

I would say that SECRET is for a slightly older audience (maybe 16+), but there are plenty of things that younger children will get as well if you make the effort to explain it to them.

From an airport-style security conveyor belt that records what you have in your pocket; via a Wifi traffic eavesdropping device (Transparency Grenade); a secret handshake training device; books full of stolen passwords (you might find yours!?); a Crypto Bar where you can download cryptographic software, a privacy wall that hides your identity to an installation with notepads where the lines are microprinted lists of Iraqi civilian victims of the Iraq war, you will find lots of interesting secrets.

The Science Gallery has very visitor friendly opening hours of Tue-Fri 12:00-20:00 and Sat+Sun 12:00-18:00, so there are no excuses! ;-) Admission is free.

From 28 June until 27 September, every Sunday from 12:00-15:00 BlueFire the people behind last years StreetFest at Smithfield are organising an afternoon of events. There will be at least two activities/ workshops/ games/ live bands or performances of some sorts every week.

You are invited to bring your blanket and picnic and have a great afternoon! 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!

I will have to quote Brahma Kumaris directly, you will understand why:

“Decoding the Gita” is an exploration of the symbolic meaning behind the ancient legend of the Mahabharata in which the Supreme Intelligence teaches the warrior King how to walk the path of spirituality in the midst of the battle ground of life and how to practise Raja Yoga, the Yoga of Sovereignty. Speaker: Guru Murthy”

Admission is free.

Brahma Kumaris is a spiritual teaching organisation that was founded in 1936 and has its core in India. All details about the organisation are on www.brahmakumaris.org/whoweare/faq

More Biodiversity Monitoring Talks will take place in August on four Sundays (09+16+23+30 August) and one Saturday (22 Aug) in the Arkle Room of Farmleigh House.

This week’s talk is entitled: “Wildflowers of Ireland and Farmleigh”

As many species of pollinators (bees, wasps, etc) continue to decline around the world, the need to monitor them has increased. The pollinators now rely on us to provide them with a healthy habitat and in turn provide us with food and beauty. By learning a few simple steps to help provide a healthy environment, these species can then continue to provide us with useful functions such as pollination.

The talks will cover various interesting aspects of Biodiversity Monitoring in Ireland including species identification, how to set up a monitoring transect & how to increase pollen and nectar sources in you garden.

The event will start with a 25 minute Biodiversity presentation in the Arkle room followed by a 25 minute outdoor exploration to view some species on Farmleigh grounds. (Weather Permitting).

Admission is free and will be distributed on a first come first served basis at the guides reception desk of Farmleigh. For further information contact farmleightours@gmail.com or call 01 815 5914.

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!

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

Come to the Family Drawing Sundays in the RHA. All children are welcome to use the RHA Art Cart, in the RHA Atrium. Admission is free. For further information, contact Ruth Carroll on 01 6612558 or via ruth@rhagallery.ie

Kevin Mulloy will play a gig in Bruxelles. Admission is free.

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

This is the very last opportunity to see this performance, don’t miss it;

The theatre production company Fortune’s Fool Productions under the leadership of the great Stephanie Courtney is coming back to Iveagh Gardens this year with eleven (!!) Open Air performances of “(Not a Traditional) Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare.

If you have been at their plays in previous years in Iveagh Gardens and Ranelagh Park, you know that they are high-class performances of popular Shakespeare plays that are provided completely free. All actors are super talented and passionate and the event is hugely popular every year. Let’s just hope for good weather!!

The dates this year are 06-16 August with plays during the week (6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 August) at 19:00 and at the weekend (8, 9, 15, 16 August) at 15:00.

If you are not very familiar with Shakespeare plays, you might want to read some information about the play here, so that you can follow it easier. But keep in mind that the play has “(Not the Traditional)” in the title, so expect some interesting modernisations.

Brian Keary is a classically trained guitar player who also has experience of different styles / genres of music ranging from ragtime and folk to baroque and contemporary. He will perform in Sweeney’s (Ground Floor) on Sunday afternoon.

The wedding and party band The LJJ Band play every Sunday evening in Café en Seine. Admission is free.

The Sweeney’s Dixeland Jazzmen play their weekly gig on the ground floor in Sweeney’s. 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

Gypsy Jazz Band “The Tolka Hot Club” will be performing in Sin É on Sunday evening. The time is not specified so it might be 20:00 or even a bit later.

Admission is free.

CLassic FUnk Band “What GIves?” will be in the Harbour Bar for a gig. Admission is free.

Every Sunday this singer-songwriter night takes place in the Bleeding Horse in Camden St. from 8.30pm. It is an Open mic night and performers can just turn up and put their name on the list for that night.

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

“Rhythm Rocker at The Globe” is a weekly event on Sunday night in The Globe. Admission is free.

The Pavement Kings play Rockabilly from 21:00 and
DJs Popocorn Peete and Little Dakota follow from 23:00-01:30 with a white variety of styles (Rockabilly, Calypso, Soul, Rock ‘n’ Roll, etc).

The Camembert Quartet will play a gig in Bruxelles. Admission is free.

Billy Treacy & The Ha’Penny Heads are playing Ballads, Folk, Trad and Classic Country every Sunday. Featuring Guitar, Mandolin, Fiddle and Banjo.

Every Sunday (except at Bank Holiday weekends), the Ragtime, Roots and Country Blues Band “Cool Hand Dukes” play in the Porterhouse near Grafton Street.

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 68s are in the Mezz for a free gig.

The yearly Sand Scultpures exhibition will be in the Upper Courtyard of Dublin Castle again.

“Emotional States” is the theme this year and the carving started on 27 July and is now completed. The artists are from Fleeting Sculpture. The exhibition will run until 25 August and admission is free.

People ask usually how the sand withstands the rain and want to know if something is mixed in, but it is just normal sand with no added stuff. Once the carving is finished the “skin” will be sprayed with something to make it a little harder, but the holding together of the sculpture is purely down to the compacting of the sand.

The National Gallery still runs an intensive programme of daily Family Workshops, lots of talks and Documentary screenings. Have a look at their website nationalgallery.ie/whatson

Here are some of the Family workshops for this week:
+ 15 Aug: Inspired by…the Renaissance
+ 17 Aug: Inspired by…Cubism
+ 18 Aug: Inspired by…Pointillism
+ 19 Aug: Inspired by…the Baroque
+ 20 Aug: Inspired by…Abstract Art
+ 21 Aug: Inspired by…Costume

All workshops are suitable for ages 4-10. Materials will be provided. Admission is free and no booking required, but places 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 National Gallery has an extensive programme of free talks, public tours and Art Documentary screenings focusing on highlights of the European and Irish Collection every day of the week. Check their website for details.

Today: 13:00-13:30 Free Talk “Harry Clarke in the NGI”

A Drawing workshop for adults will take place. Admission is free and places (25) will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. All materials are provided and the workshop is suitable for beginners and improvers.

This week themes are:
+ Mon 17 Aug: Movement
+ Wed 19 Aug: Black & White
+ Fri 21 Aug: Figure

The Nigerian Carnival Festival takes place in the Axis Centre in Ballymun from Mon 17 – Sun 23 August. There are events every day, but the website is not very enlightening regarding charges for the events. Not a single indication if an event is free or if there is a charge! That’s quite poor! Luckily, though, I found apicture on the Facebook page here that seems to be more helpful, BUT the times for some events are completely different, so chaos reigns!

The list of free events is here:
+ Mon 17 Aug – 19:00: Welcome Ceremony
+ Tues 18 Aug – 12:00-15:00: Children’s Cultural Day
+ Thurs 20 Aug – 10:00-15:00: Business, Investment & Tourism Expo (BITE)
+ Fri 21 Aug – 19:00-22:00: Fashion Show / Costume Night
+ Sat 22 Aug – 12:00-20:00: Grand Carnival Finale on The Plaza at Axis Ballymun

This event notice is not really for anybody who grew up in Ireland. Because you know the “Rose of Tralee” and possibly have your own memories (good or bad) and your own opinion about it (depends possibly on your age).

But imagine if you never saw it before and didn’t grow up in Ireland, how would you describe this “thing”?

Well, I will try: There is a town in the west of Ireland, called Tralee, that for some reason 56 years ago decided that a young woman that has some tentative Irish roots and lives anywhere in the world should represent this town as their “Rose of Tralee”. All over the world, Irish communities run competitions and 32 women will be sent to Tralee to compete against each other. The selection criteria is a mystery to anybody that will watch the show this week. They are usually not selected on their looks or talents or skills, but something has been seen in the 32. From these 32, one will be selected based on similar incomprehensible criteria to become the Rose of Tralee. During a TWO night, very long drawn out programme that is exciting for some (mainly the family members of the candidates) and is cringe-worthy for many others, presenter Dáithí Ó Sé will make meagre attempts of getting anything interesting out of the 32 and he will then also get them to show their bestest talent through performing a dance, sing or play an instrument or if all else fails, maybe recite a poem,

This year, to top it all on the “make it go away” scale, Donegal singer Daniel O’Donnell will sing the “The Rose of Tralee” song during the crowning ceremony on Tuesday evening.

The show is broadcast live on RTE One TV for more than four long hours (2+2) and part-financed by your TV license fees. And to make sure that the rest of the world will not get away undamaged, you can also watch it worldwide on the RTE Player.

“Anachronistic” and “boring” are two of the softer terms that opponents use, but the support seems to be tremendous nevertheless. 56 years!!!!!

Song Cycle is a weekly Singer/Songriter showcase. The line-up is not always easily findable on the Whelan’s website, but admission is always free.

Every Monday the Woolshed Bad hosts “Al Porter’s Comedy Shed”. Admission is free.

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

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

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

The 4-piece band Loose Trad are performing every Monday in Mother Reilly’s. www.loosetrad.com/ Admission is free.

Patrick Mahony sings songs from Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Matt Monro and many more every Monday in the Cafe en Seine. Admission is free.

Pete Cummins, Grammy award winning songwriter will play songs from his album “Crooked Highways”. Every Monday he and his band will be in the Leeson Lounge. Admission is free, donations are welcome.

The yearly Sand Scultpures exhibition will be in the Upper Courtyard of Dublin Castle again.

“Emotional States” is the theme this year and the carving started on 27 July and is now completed. The artists are from Fleeting Sculpture. The exhibition will run until 25 August and admission is free.

People ask usually how the sand withstands the rain and want to know if something is mixed in, but it is just normal sand with no added stuff. Once the carving is finished the “skin” will be sprayed with something to make it a little harder, but the holding together of the sculpture is purely down to the compacting of the sand.

“These Are a Few of My Favourite Things” is the title of a Walking Tour that Emily Gallagher runs on Tuesdays now as well. It will be an Alternative Arts and Culture Trail and she will bring you to “Dublin’s Best Cafes, Bars, Markets, Unusual Stores, Galleries, Theatres, Arts Spaces, and more! And hear some tales you’ve never heard before!”

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

The National Gallery still runs an intensive programme of daily Family Workshops, lots of talks and Documentary screenings. Have a look at their website nationalgallery.ie/whatson

Here are some of the Family workshops for this week:
+ 15 Aug: Inspired by…the Renaissance
+ 17 Aug: Inspired by…Cubism
+ 18 Aug: Inspired by…Pointillism
+ 19 Aug: Inspired by…the Baroque
+ 20 Aug: Inspired by…Abstract Art
+ 21 Aug: Inspired by…Costume

All workshops are suitable for ages 4-10. Materials will be provided. Admission is free and no booking required, but places are limited.

The Nigerian Carnival Festival takes place in the Axis Centre in Ballymun from Mon 17 – Sun 23 August. There are events every day, but the website is not very enlightening regarding charges for the events. Not a single indication if an event is free or if there is a charge! That’s quite poor! Luckily, though, I found apicture on the Facebook page here that seems to be more helpful, BUT the times for some events are completely different, so chaos reigns!

The list of free events is here:
+ Mon 17 Aug – 19:00: Welcome Ceremony
+ Tues 18 Aug – 12:00-15:00: Children’s Cultural Day
+ Thurs 20 Aug – 10:00-15:00: Business, Investment & Tourism Expo (BITE)
+ Fri 21 Aug – 19:00-22:00: Fashion Show / Costume Night
+ Sat 22 Aug – 12:00-20:00: Grand Carnival Finale on The Plaza at Axis Ballymun

In August and September a series of talks introducing a broad range of topics in Irish family history will take place in the National Library every Tuesdays and Thursdays from 13:00-14:00. Booking is not required and admission is free.

+ 18 Aug: Using maps for thinking about history: An Illustrated talk by Kevin Whelan

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

Today’s free Talks:
+ Irish Artists in France 1860-1915 (13:00-13:30)
+ Impressonism at the NGI (15:00-15:30)

Join Artist Jason Deans in exploring through print the idea that scars on the landscape have an inherent beauty.

Suitable for Young People 15-18 years. Admission is free, but booking is recommended via 01 451 5860 or boxoffice@ruared.ie

Join Éanna Ní Lamhna, panellist on RTÉ’s “Mooney Goes Wild Show” and author of Wild Dublin, for a wild and wonderful nature walk through St. Stephen’s Green which is an oasis for wildlife in the city centre.

Admission to all “Let’s Walk & Talk” events is free and no booking is required.

This is a definite must-go for every serious guitar player:

“Fender Presents: The American Standard Tour”

Famous guitar manufacturer Fender is coming to The Academy to celebrate the sounds, heritage and evolution of their electric guitars and basses. The Stratocaster, Telecaster, Precision and Jazz Bass are known by every serious guitar and bass player with their iconic role in popular music.

At this event you will experience the ideas that became icons through demonstrations, live performances, Q&As with the Fender team and the opportunity to try out a range of Fender’s USA handcrafted instruments. Each event will feature a guest performance by one of Fender’s affiliated artists and The Fender All-Star Band.

Admission is free, but tickets are required and places are limited (means: Hurry!!). Attendees will be entered into a free draw with the chance to win the Fender American Standard instrument of their choice. To find out all details and to book your ticket go to the website below.

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.

This event notice is not really for anybody who grew up in Ireland. Because you know the “Rose of Tralee” and possibly have your own memories (good or bad) and your own opinion about it (depends possibly on your age).

But imagine if you never saw it before and didn’t grow up in Ireland, how would you describe this “thing”?

Well, I will try: There is a town in the west of Ireland, called Tralee, that for some reason 56 years ago decided that a young woman that has some tentative Irish roots and lives anywhere in the world should represent this town as their “Rose of Tralee”. All over the world, Irish communities run competitions and 32 women will be sent to Tralee to compete against each other. The selection criteria is a mystery to anybody that will watch the show this week. They are usually not selected on their looks or talents or skills, but something has been seen in the 32. From these 32, one will be selected based on similar incomprehensible criteria to become the Rose of Tralee. During a TWO night, very long drawn out programme that is exciting for some (mainly the family members of the candidates) and is cringe-worthy for many others, presenter Dáithí Ó Sé will make meagre attempts of getting anything interesting out of the 32 and he will then also get them to show their bestest talent through performing a dance, sing or play an instrument or if all else fails, maybe recite a poem,

This year, to top it all on the “make it go away” scale, Donegal singer Daniel O’Donnell will sing the “The Rose of Tralee” song during the crowning ceremony on Tuesday evening.

The show is broadcast live on RTE One TV for more than six (!!!) long hours (3+3) and part-financed by your TV license fees. And to make sure that the rest of the world will not get away undamaged, you can also watch it worldwide on the RTE Player.

“Anachronistic” and “boring” are two of the softer terms that opponents use, but the support seems to be tremendous nevertheless. 56 years!!!!!

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 get-together meets in the “snug” in Stag’s Head.

Live sessions with the Blue Moon Folk and Blues Collective are taking place every Tuesday at the Beerhouse. Admission is free.

The Folk Club in Whelan’s will bring you the best in Trad, Ballads, Americana & World Music every Tuesday. The line-up this week is on the Facebook Page below. Admission is free.

The Comedy Crunch is a free Stand Up comedy event every Sunday and 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 Phoenix Big Band is a 16 piece band playing songs of the 1930s, 1940s and other big band arrangements and they are playing every Tuesday in the Tara Tower Hotel (since 2012!) for adult dancing. If you like to waltz, cha cha or foxtrot, come and enjoy their performance.

Admission is free.

The band plays in the main function room which is occasionally booked, so to confirm that they are playing, please ring the hotel on the day: Phone 01-2694666

Every week there is a free pub quiz in Sober Lane, the new-ish pub (1 year old) in Irishtown. There are lots of other weekly events happening there too, check them out here.

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

There will be free comedy upstairs in the Wicked Wolf in Blackrock on every second Tuesday. New acts and surprise guests will entertain you and the event is organised by Maxine Jones.

A totally unplugged Singer/Songwriter night (no PA, no microphones) with original music is taking place upstairs in Anseo every Tuesday from 21:30.

Please check on the Facebook Page below if the event is going ahead as it seems to get cancelled every now and then and if you want to play a 15-30 min set or just want to play one song make yourself heard via the same Facebook Page.

Admission is free.

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

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

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

The yearly Sand Scultpures exhibition will be in the Upper Courtyard of Dublin Castle again.

“Emotional States” is the theme this year and the carving started on 27 July and is now completed. The artists are from Fleeting Sculpture. The exhibition will run until 25 August and admission is free.

People ask usually how the sand withstands the rain and want to know if something is mixed in, but it is just normal sand with no added stuff. Once the carving is finished the “skin” will be sprayed with something to make it a little harder, but the holding together of the sculpture is purely down to the compacting of the sand.

Did you ever want to give drawing a go? Or maybe you are a budding artist looking for like-minded people to draw with? The Creative Den in Rua Red runs free weekly drawing sessions on Wednesdays at 11:00 (05, 12, 19, 26 Aug).

The National Gallery still runs an intensive programme of daily Family Workshops, lots of talks and Documentary screenings. Have a look at their website nationalgallery.ie/whatson

Here are some of the Family workshops for this week:
+ 15 Aug: Inspired by…the Renaissance
+ 17 Aug: Inspired by…Cubism
+ 18 Aug: Inspired by…Pointillism
+ 19 Aug: Inspired by…the Baroque
+ 20 Aug: Inspired by…Abstract Art
+ 21 Aug: Inspired by…Costume

All workshops are suitable for ages 4-10. Materials will be provided. Admission is free and no booking required, but places are limited.

This event is a historical walking tour to Farmleigh House, featuring the grounds and the walled garden of Farmleigh.

Admission is free, no booking required.

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

Today’s free talk:
+ Depictions of childhood in the NGI (13:00-13:30)

Robert M. Ehrenreich will talk about “Why Teach the Holocaust? Or Nasty Questions 101”. The public lecture is organised by the Herzog Centre and Holocaust Education Trust Ireland. Admission is free.

The event poster is here.

“Into the Woods” is a Musical Fantasy film from 2014, starring Meryl Streep. (PG, 125min). It will be screened in the Chester Beatty Library. Find out more about the film on the website below.

Admission is free and no booking required.

This is a freee public tour for parents, guardians and carers of infants and young children. The tour is suitable for prams and strollers.

“Budding Botanist – Flower Pressing Workshop” is a workshop for kids where they will get great tips from the experts and can be a plant collector.

Join in on an expedition through the gardens identifying and collecting suitable plants for pressing before constructing your own flower press and starting your very own dried plant collection.

Admission is free, but booking is required via 01 857 0909.

“Kingly Attire” is a drop-in activity for kids from Age 8. Explore Ireland at the time of Celtic Kings and find out more about the mysterious bog bodies and what they may have worn to special ceremonies.

Admission is free. Located next to the Treasury exhibition, ground floor.

A Drawing workshop for adults will take place. Admission is free and places (25) will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. All materials are provided and the workshop is suitable for beginners and improvers.

This week themes are:
+ Mon 17 Aug: Movement
+ Wed 19 Aug: Black & White
+ Fri 21 Aug: Figure

THis is DEFINITELY outside of our normal footprint, but it is a high profile event so I will make an exception:

From Wednesday until Sunday the International Baseball Festival will take place in the brand new International Baseball Centre in Ashbourne Co Meath and the Irish National Team will compete against teams from Belgium, Mexico and the USA.

Admission is free and the first matches are on Wednesday at 15:00 and 18:45. Find the full schedule here.

The Temple Bar “Night” Market is more an afternoon and evening market (15:00-20:00) and it takes place every Wednesday until 19 August.

You can buy Arts & Crafts at this market. In previous years the missing food and drink stalls (probably to protect the pubs and restaurants in Temple Bar) was mentioned by visitors as a critique.

The “Havana International Language Exchange” is taking place every Wed from 16:30-19:30 in Havana Tapas Bar in George’s Street. There are many Spanish speakers and English-speakers are explicitly invited, but everyone else is certainly very welcome too, to meet for a chat to improve your Spanish or English.

This is an open mic night with Special Guests every Monday. Arrive, sign in (from 19:00) and play. Admission is free.

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

The Anseo Comedy Club, run by comedian Aidan Killian, takes place every Wednesday in Anseo (upstairs).

Admission is free, donations are welcome.

“The Song Room” is another open mic event. It takes place in The Globe in George’s Street at 20:30 every Wednesday.

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

Bad Boy Jake are every Wednesday in the Gypsy Rose Rock & Blues Bar playing their rock, blues and American.

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

The Jazz Pigs with a classic multi-brass front line play a mix of Lounge, lively sixties Jazz and driving Funk. Every Wednesday downstairs in 4 Dame Lane. 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 Nigerian Carnival Festival takes place in the Axis Centre in Ballymun from Mon 17 – Sun 23 August. There are events every day, but the website is not very enlightening regarding charges for the events. Not a single indication if an event is free or if there is a charge! That’s quite poor! Luckily, though, I found apicture on the Facebook page here that seems to be more helpful, BUT the times for some events are completely different, so chaos reigns!

The list of free events is here:
+ Mon 17 Aug – 19:00: Welcome Ceremony
+ Tues 18 Aug – 12:00-15:00: Children’s Cultural Day
+ Thurs 20 Aug – 10:00-15:00: Business, Investment & Tourism Expo (BITE)
+ Fri 21 Aug – 19:00-22:00: Fashion Show / Costume Night
+ Sat 22 Aug – 12:00-20:00: Grand Carnival Finale on The Plaza at Axis Ballymun

The yearly Sand Scultpures exhibition will be in the Upper Courtyard of Dublin Castle again.

“Emotional States” is the theme this year and the carving started on 27 July and is now completed. The artists are from Fleeting Sculpture. The exhibition will run until 25 August and admission is free.

People ask usually how the sand withstands the rain and want to know if something is mixed in, but it is just normal sand with no added stuff. Once the carving is finished the “skin” will be sprayed with something to make it a little harder, but the holding together of the sculpture is purely down to the compacting of the sand.

The National Gallery still runs an intensive programme of daily Family Workshops, lots of talks and Documentary screenings. Have a look at their website nationalgallery.ie/whatson

Here are some of the Family workshops for this week:
+ 15 Aug: Inspired by…the Renaissance
+ 17 Aug: Inspired by…Cubism
+ 18 Aug: Inspired by…Pointillism
+ 19 Aug: Inspired by…the Baroque
+ 20 Aug: Inspired by…Abstract Art
+ 21 Aug: Inspired by…Costume

All workshops are suitable for ages 4-10. Materials will be provided. Admission is free and no booking required, but places are limited.

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.

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.

In August and September a series of talks introducing a broad range of topics in Irish family history will take place in the National Library every Tuesdays and Thursdays from 13:00-14:00. Booking is not required and admission is free.

+ 20 Aug: “Social geography – Was there a Protestant exodus from the south of Ireland” with Andy Bielenberg

This Heritage Lunch Time Talk will cover 200 years of history for this iconic building. The talk is by Stephen Ferguson (Assistant Secretary of An Post).

Admission is free. Booking is recommended via 01-8734333.

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

Today’s free talks:
+ The Dutch Golden Age (13:00-13:30)
+ Depictions of the West of Ireland (15:00-15:30)

August is the month for the yearly “Opera in the Open” at the Amphitheatre behind Dublin City Offices and not far from Christ Church Cathedral. This year’s events are organised by Dublin City and the French Embassy and consequently there is a strong French bias, but the narration os in English. The upcoming performances are:

+ 06 Aug: Carmen by Georges Bizet
+ 13 Aug: Pygmalion by Jean-Phillippe Rameau
+ 20 Aug: L’Heure Espagnole by Joseph-Maurice Ravel
+ 27 Aug: Orphée aux Enfers by Jaques Offenbach

Admission is free. In bad weather it can happen that the event will get cancelled. In that case notifications should be on www.facebook.com/DublinCityCouncil

Three of Dublin’s city centre contemporary art galleries (Project Arts Centre, The Douglas Hyde Gallery and Temple Bar Gallery + Studios) are working together to offer a guided walking tour that takes place across these venues.

The tours introduce their current exhibitions and this week the tour begins at the Douglas Hyde Gallery, where you will be introduced to new exhibitions by Luigi Ghirri and Aleana Egan, then it is onwards to the Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, where a guided tour of the group show Display Show will take place and the final destination is the Project Arts Centre and a guided tour of the exhibition of work by Belgian artist David Claerbout is planned.

The whole tour takes approx. 1 hour and admission is free, but booking is required via the website below.

African Robots is a project by South African artist and researcher Ralph Borland to create interactive electronic street art, which is art sold on the street by people in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

“Ralph Borland will tell the story of the project so far, from buying cheap Chinese electronic toys in urban markets in Sao Paulo and hacking them into wire work toys for the Harare International Festival of the Arts in Zimbabwe, to designing custom electronics to activate the ideas of wire work artists on the streets of Cape Town. He’ll describe the ideas informing the project, which seeks to recover basic principles of mechanics and computing: from identifying topological ethnomathematics in the approach wire workers take to creating forms, to looking at the history of automotons – taking in figures such as Al Jazari, the 12th century Islamic inventor whose work is thought to have influenced Leonardo da Vinci.”

The event will be hosted by Prof Linda Doyle, Director of CONNECT / CTVR and Professor of Engineering and the Arts at Trinity College.

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

A weekly Forro Night (Brazilian Dance) with a Forro Live Band takes place in the D-One Bar & Brazilian Grill every Thursday.

Admission is free.

On Thursdays from 18:00-20:00, the Little Museum of Dublin waives all admission charges thanks to sponsor Guinness.

Visit the museum and find out lots more about Dublin.

In addition to the Saturday Car Boot Sale which starts so early (06:00!!) that you need to be an insomniac or a super early bird, there is now a Thursday evening Car Boot Sale in the same location. It starts at 18:30 and runs until 22:00. Late night car boot shopping. :-) Admission for buyers is free.

“These Are a Few of My Favourite Things” is the title of a Walking Tour that Emily Gallagher will run next Thursday. It will be an Alternative Arts and Culture Trail and she will bring you to “Dublin’s Best Cafes, Bars, Markets, Unusual Stores, Galleries, Theatres, Arts Spaces, and more! And hear some tales you’ve never heard before!”

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

A weekly live music gig of the genres Blues/Roots/Rock/Soul will take place in Arthur’s Pub with weekly changing performers:

+ 1st Thursday: Ben Prevo
+ 2nd Thursday: Declan Kennedy
+ 3rd Thursday: Dermot Byrne
+ 4th Thursday: Mick Pyro

Admission is free.

I will quote the organisers description:

“Most know that on some level we could be living life more fully. We choose social media over real connection, we choose consumption over contribution, and distraction and entertainment over creativity. How can we face the subtle fears which keep us stuck and create lives full of connection, contribution and creativity; lives that we truly want and deserve? Speaker: Yogesh Sharda”

Admission is free.

Brahma Kumaris is a spiritual teaching organisation that was founded in 1936 and has its core in India. All details about the organisation are on www.brahmakumaris.org/whoweare/faq

Every Thursday, the Xchange invites to a Language Exchange (19:00-20:30), followed by live music (21:00-23:30) by up and coming local and international artists.

Admission is free before 20:00 and free finger food is provided.

Dimestore Recordings run a weekly event in Sweeney Mongrel’s with a variety of bands and performers. It starts at 20:00, follow the link for the line up.

Grammy Award-winning folk legend Pete Cumminsis coming to the Harbour Bar for a gig. Admission is free.

The Hardy Har Comedy CLub is back in the Harbour Bar and the the line-up is Gerry McBride (from Whaterford Whispers News) and Jim Elliott. 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.

Rock Band The Drays have a history that goes back to 1984, with former bands “The Stars of Heaven” and “The Revenants” in their family tree. But it’s never too late to have a comeback! :-) Come to the Leeson Lounge if you want to experience some Irish Rock history AND hear a good band.

I never heard about any of the three bands I mentioned above, but listening to two of their songs on Spotify convinced me that they definitely still have it in them. ;-)

Admission is free and donations are welcome.

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

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

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

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

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

Every Thursday “Left Right & Centre” play a mix of blues & soul with a bit of rock&roll.

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 yearly Sand Scultpures exhibition will be in the Upper Courtyard of Dublin Castle again.

“Emotional States” is the theme this year and the carving started on 27 July and is now completed. The artists are from Fleeting Sculpture. The exhibition will run until 25 August and admission is free.

People ask usually how the sand withstands the rain and want to know if something is mixed in, but it is just normal sand with no added stuff. Once the carving is finished the “skin” will be sprayed with something to make it a little harder, but the holding together of the sculpture is purely down to the compacting of the sand.

The National Gallery still runs an intensive programme of daily Family Workshops, lots of talks and Documentary screenings. Have a look at their website nationalgallery.ie/whatson

Here are some of the Family workshops for this week:
+ 15 Aug: Inspired by…the Renaissance
+ 17 Aug: Inspired by…Cubism
+ 18 Aug: Inspired by…Pointillism
+ 19 Aug: Inspired by…the Baroque
+ 20 Aug: Inspired by…Abstract Art
+ 21 Aug: Inspired by…Costume

All workshops are suitable for ages 4-10. Materials will be provided. Admission is free and no booking required, but places are limited.

Five times this year the “People’s Art 2015″ exhibition will take place. It is an art exhibition on the rails/fence of St. Stephen’s Green.

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

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

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

The 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 Strypes will perform live & sign copies of their brand new album ‘Little Victories’ on Friday 21 August. Admission is free, but limited. Buy a copy of the album on day of release & get a free wristband to attend the event.

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!

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

Today’s free talk:
+ The Art of Jack B. Yeats (13:00-13:30)

A Garden Walking Tour with Helen Rock will take place and meeting point is at the Walld garden. Admission is free.

The Tiny Tot Workshop “Sailing the Seven Seas” in the National Gallery with Kitty Rogers is suitable from walking age to 3 years old. It is a free event, but tickets are required (linited to 15 children) and can be booked from Monday 17 August.

Find all details on the website below.

A Drawing workshop for adults will take place. Admission is free and places (25) will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. All materials are provided and the workshop is suitable for beginners and improvers.

This week themes are:
+ Mon 17 Aug: Movement
+ Wed 19 Aug: Black & White
+ Fri 21 Aug: Figure

The Nigerian Carnival Festival takes place in the Axis Centre in Ballymun from Mon 17 – Sun 23 August. There are events every day, but the website is not very enlightening regarding charges for the events. Not a single indication if an event is free or if there is a charge! That’s quite poor! Luckily, though, I found apicture on the Facebook page here that seems to be more helpful, BUT the times for some events are completely different, so chaos reigns!

The list of free events is here:
+ Mon 17 Aug – 19:00: Welcome Ceremony
+ Tues 18 Aug – 12:00-15:00: Children’s Cultural Day
+ Thurs 20 Aug – 10:00-15:00: Business, Investment & Tourism Expo (BITE)
+ Fri 21 Aug – 19:00-22:00: Fashion Show / Costume Night
+ Sat 22 Aug – 12:00-20:00: Grand Carnival Finale on The Plaza at Axis Ballymun

This is an evening of stories, songs and meeting your neighbours for people living in Rathmines, Ranelagh and Portobello. There will be music from Kiruu, storytelling from Dave Rock and stories from ‘rare old times’.

Admission is free and refreshments will be provided, but you should register via tizianasireland@gmail.com or 086 880 4963.

TV3 will film a documentary about what impact social media has on our lives and you are invited to the filming in the Black Sheep Pub. There will be discounted craft beer and some free food. 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.

The weekly European Folk Dance Workshop/Session takes place in the Tap Bar every Friday.

The dances are French, Greek, Italian, Hungarian, Polish, Portuguese folk and traditional dances and everybody interested to join in or to learn is welcome. Admission is free, but donations (suggested: EUR 3) are very welcome

Rex Haberman from Minneapolis and Aileen Henderson from Galway are “Light Over There” and they will be in the Harbour Bar for a Americana/Country Music/Rock gig. Admission is free.

Flanagan’s have opened a new live music venue: It is a piano bar with live jazz every Friday and Saturday.

On Friday Adrian Dazz (vocals) and Emmet O’Connor (piano) will perform.

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.

“Ska ‘n’ Reggae” is the theme in the Dive Bar (downstairs in Turks Head) every Friday. The Bionic Rats play live. followed by DJs until late. Admission is free.

Blues from this Boyne Delta band. ( stonecoldhobo.bandcamp.com/ ) Admission is free.

Soul Band Santoria will be in the Raheny Inn with a 6-piece. Admission seems to be free.

The Raheny Inn has regularly live music events, but they don’t pre-announce their events so unfortuantely I can’t include them in the Dublin Event Guide normally.

Buffalo Sunn are performing in Whelan’s and admission is free before 22:30 or if you sign-up for the guest list.