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 Sail Training Ship “Gorch Fock” of the German Navy will be in Dublin from 04-21 September. It is anchored at Sir Rogerson’s Quay and you can visit the ship on 13+20 Sept. Until then, the soldiers on boards will be trained for their next cruise, but you can certainly admire the pretty ship from the quays.

A lot of information about the ship can be found on the website below.

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

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

A whole range of Parkruns take place every week (and if you know some more, please tell me):
+ Malahide Park, Dublin Road, Malahide, Co. Dublin
+ Cabinteely Park, Old Bray Road, Cabinteely, Dublin 18
+ Shanganagh Park, Shankill, Co. Dublin
+ Marlay Park, Grange Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin, Co. Dublin

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.

Career Zoo is a Job Fair and it’s autumn edition will be on Saturday in the Convention Centre.

Admission is free and while online registration has closed now, you can still register on the day at the venue.

There will be job/career related talks from 11:00-17:00 in the form of hour long panel discussions and 30min long “Techbox” talks. But the main focus is on the exhibitors. There will be 75 companies either looking for employees or selling their courses to you.

The Dragon Boat Regatta is back at Grand Canal Dock for the fifth time and this year there will be 55 teams competing at this 2-day event.

Dragon Boats consist of 16-20 rowers and a drummer and caller/helms person. Races will be over 200 or 400 metres and there will be rowers from Australia, USA, Germany, Italy and UK coming to Dublin. Dublin’s best known team are the Plurabelle Paddlers.

The event is organised by the Irish Dragon Boat Association with support from Waterways Ireland and it would be a great opportunity to get lots of people down to the Grand Canal Square and create some nice festival atmosphere. But unfortunately, the focus is purely on the races. Last year the action on the water was interesting, but there was nothing else on land for children, in between races etc. I’d say a Dragon Boat Festival would be great with water AND land activities!

Organised by the people behind the Dublin Gallery Map, the weekend from Fri 11 – Sun 13 September is the first Dublin Gallery Weekend. There will be a variety of events in 30 participating galleries. Not all is free, but many of the event are indeed free events, so check them out.

The downloadable brochure in PDF format is here.

Due to a power outage in the middle of creating this week’s Dublin Event Guide I wasn’t able to add the individual events here for Saturday and Sunday, but I hope you will be able to check the downloadable brochure nevertheless.

Check out the complete list of events in the downloadable brochure.

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

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

Sculpture in Context is 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.

On Saturdays you will have the opportunity to join the artists for a guided tour through the exhibits.

The exhibition opened on 03 Sept and will run until Fri 16 October.

Over 130 exhibitors show products and give advise around building or improving your own home at this event from 11-13 Sept. There will be Show Rooms, exhibitor talks, SelfBuild Seminars, One-to-one Clinics and a Garden Zone.

The event will be in the CityWest Hotel Conference Centre and at the time of writing tickets were free as long as you use the Promotional Code “web” (without the ” “) or followed this link here. Without this, tickets will be EUR 10.

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 Writers’ Centre Open Day is a day of free workshops, tours of the building and lots of information about what the Writers’ Centre does.

The timetable for the day is:
from 11:00 Welcome! Tea, coffee, biscuits, cake and tours of the building
11:00-13:00 New Irish Communities Writing Group (Taster of this open creative writing group for non-native English speakers)
11:30-12:10 Poetry writing taster with Jean O’Brien (Register via info@writerscentre.ie on first-come, first served basis)
12:15-12:45 Greenbean Novel Fair information session
13:30-14:10 Prose writing taster with Mike McCormack – FULLY BOOKED
13:30-15:00 Inkslingers Open Writing Group
14:15-14:45 Presentation on Professional Development with Valerie Bistany of Irish Writers Centre

Discover the beautiful restored Victorian Walled Kitchen Garden and learn about growing your own fruit and vegetables, herbs and lots more. Meet OPW professional gardeners Brian and Meeda at the Victorian Walled Kitchen Garden. They have lots of advice to plan your perfect garden for the Autumn months ahead. Admission is free and car parking is available.

The Victorian Walled Kitchen Garden is located next to the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre, and the Phoenix Café. The OPW professional gardeners are on site on the second Saturday of every month.

The Alliance Francaise invites to an Open Day on Saturday. You can try various sample classes, check out the book stands, find out about the other activities there and have a 0complimentary coffee and croissant in their cafe “La Cocotte”.

There will be activities for all ages, so toddlers, children, teens, parents and grandparents are all welcome.

Admission is free.

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

The SARI Soccerfest is taking place this Saturday. SARI stands for Sport Against Racism Ireland and the Soccerfest is happening for the 19th year. This year it is a little slimmed down, however, there will be no under-13 or under-15 tournament and the fest is only a one-day event.

But still, there are 32 mens teams playing against each other in eight groups of four. So if you want to watch some football in Phoenix Park on Saturday, you will see a lot here and maybe you want to enter a team next year?

Admission is free for spectators.

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.

Dublin Fashion Week takes place from 07-13 September. There will be a good few “Invite Only” events on the first few days and then the programme for the rest of us starts on Thursday with On Street Fashion Shows. The shows take place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Grafton Street and Henry Street.

The full schedule is on the website below.

Due to a power outage in the middle of creating this week’s Dublin Event Guide I wasn’t able to add the individual events here for Saturday and Sunday, but I hope you will be able to check the website.

And the list for Friday is here:

11:45 Dublin Fashion Festival – Grafton Street
12:45 Dublin Fashion Festival – Grafton Street
13:30 Brown Sugar Hair & Make Up (Demo) Grafton Street
14:00 Ilac Shopping Centre – Henry Street
14:00 The Loft Market (Display) – Grafton Street
14:45 Dublin Fashion Festival – Henry Street
14:30 Brown Sugar Hair & Make Up (Demo) – Grafton Street
15:45 Dublin Fashion Festival – Henry Street
16:30 The Meeting House (Cocktail Demo) – Henry Street
17:00 The Meeting House (Cocktail Demo) – Grafton Street
17:30 Penneys – Henry Street
18:00 Penneys – Henry Street

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.

The weekly Ha’penny Flea Market is an indoor market in the Grand Social Pub, which offers vintage Men and Women’s clothing, contemporary crafts, books, DVDs, vinyl records, vintage and handmade jewellery, vintage hair styles, art, photography and much more. Grand Social’s Bar and Gourmet Coffee options are available.

The 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.

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.

Over the next four months dlr LexIcon presents “dlr LexIcon Live”, a series of diverse events with something for everyone.

The first event is on Saturday. It will feature costumed street entertainers and giant size games such as Connect 4, Chess, X’s & O’s and Snakes and Ladders for Lawn of the Giants in the dlr LexIcon Garden (Moran Park).

Admission is free.

The Ranelagh Arts Festival will take place from next Friday 18 Sept and to prepare for it and to decorate the place, the Ranelagh Arts Centre is inviting to a Bunting Workshop on Saturday to make bunting for the festival. Admission is free.

twitter.com/RanelaghArts/status/641666617722728448/photo/1

This is a Chilren’s Workshop in connection with the Dublin Gallery Weekend. It is suitable for All ages. All materials will be supplied.

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

A Public Protest to “Call on the Irish government to take in more refugees” and to welcome refugees will take place at the Spire on Saturday. The refugee crisis has grown to massive proportions and affects all countries in Europe. Germany has pledged to take in approx. 800,000 refugees. Ireland has promised to take about 4000, which is a good increase from the previous figure of 600, but this increase only happened because our politicians realised that thousands of people in Ireland were very unhappy with 600 only.

The original purpose of the protest on Saturday was to ask the government to take in more refugees and more than 16,000 people have joined the online protest here. Possibly the focus will change a little after the announcement by the government on Thursday.

“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

A series of fun drop-in workshops will take place on Saturdays during the Sculpture in Context exhibition in the new Children’s Garden. Children from 6 years of age can make a dragonfly, butterfly or unique piece of their own, using simple, natural and recycled materials.

Admission is free. The event takes place in the Education Garden.

This week’s Family Workshop for 4-10 year olds is entitled “The Harvest Festival”.

Admission is free, but places are limited.

On Saturdays you will have the opportunity to join one of the artists who exhibit in the Sculpture in Context exhibition for a guided tour and gain an insight into this aspect of contemporary art.

Admission is free and meeting point is the Visitor Centre.

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.

The Outsiders are a 6 piece Reggae and Ska band and they will be for a gig in Bray on Saturday.

Admission is free.

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.

The Howling Hawks, a 4 piece band from Rush, will play Blues, Rock and Soul.

Admission is free.

Flanagan’s are opening a new live music venue this week and it is a piano bar that will have live jazz every Friday and Saturday.

On Saturday Adrian Dazz 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 Denise Whyte (vocals) 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 Retro Duo will perform in The Mezz at 21:00. Admission is free.

The Business will play a gig at midnight in the Mezz. Admission is free.

This is not a free event for participants. The fee for doing the 60km route is EUR 25 and for the 100km route it is EUR 40.

But you might encounter cyclists in the Greater North Dublin area, so I better tell you what is happening.

The Great Dublin Bike Ride is run by the Irish Sports Council together with Cycling Ireland and is suitable for all cyclists from novice to expert. It is not a race, just a leisurely ride, but a minimum speed of 19 km/h is required. Up to 3000 participants are expected.

For everyone who is not participating, you can cheer on the participants if you wish, you can show understanding and tolerance when it upsets your travel plans throughout the city ;-) and you can come to Smithfield Plaza where the start and finish line is and where there is also a small Expo, but seemingly no entertainment,

The routes are outlined here. From Smithfield Plaza, the cyclists will go towards the 3Arena/Point Village and then turn north towards Portmarnock, Swords and for the long route even to Balbriggan.

RTE’s new medical show “You Should Really See a Doctor” will be filmed at The Peoples Park on Sunday at an unspecified time (the 10:00 above is only a random guess) and will have a mobile clinic in the park with their resident GPs Dr. Pixie McKenna and Dr. Phil Kieran.

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.

The Dragon Boat Regatta is back at Grand Canal Dock for the fifth time and this year there will be 55 teams competing at this 2-day event.

Dragon Boats consist of 16-20 rowers and a drummer and caller/helms person. Races will be over 200 or 400 metres and there will be rowers from Australia, USA, Germany, Italy and UK coming to Dublin. Dublin’s best known team are the Plurabelle Paddlers.

The event is organised by the Irish Dragon Boat Association with support from Waterways Ireland and it would be a great opportunity to get lots of people down to the Grand Canal Square and create some nice festival atmosphere. But unfortunately, the focus is purely on the races. Last year the action on the water was interesting, but there was nothing else on land for children, in between races etc. I’d say a Dragon Boat Festival would be great with water AND land activities!

Organised by the people behind the Dublin Gallery Map, the weekend from Fri 11 – Sun 13 September is the first Dublin Gallery Weekend. There will be a variety of events in 30 participating galleries. Not all is free, but many of the event are indeed free events, so check them out.

The downloadable brochure in PDF format is here.

Due to a power outage in the middle of creating this week’s Dublin Event Guide I wasn’t able to add the individual events here for Saturday and Sunday, but I hope you will be able to check the downloadable brochure nevertheless.

Check out the complete list of events in the downloadable brochure.

A Farmleigh House Food Market is taking place on Sunday with food from around Ireland.

From 14:00-16:00 there will be Country & Western Music in the bandstand in the gardens of Farmleigh. Eddie & Aisling Quinn will perform.

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

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

Sculpture in Context is 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.

On Saturdays you will have the opportunity to join the artists for a guided tour through the exhibits.

The exhibition opened on 03 Sept and will run until Fri 16 October.

Over 130 exhibitors show products and give advise around building or improving your own home at this event from 11-13 Sept. There will be Show Rooms, exhibitor talks, SelfBuild Seminars, One-to-one Clinics and a Garden Zone.

The event will be in the CityWest Hotel Conference Centre and at the time of writing tickets were free as long as you use the Promotional Code “web” (without the ” “) or followed this link here. Without this, tickets will be EUR 10.

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 next Fusion Sundays Market will take place this Sunday in the Dublin Food Co-op.

It is a world culture market, an ethnic Bazaar, that focuses on the diverse ethnic culture present in Ireland today. The Market features a huge array of International stalls, ethnic food, live music and entertainment for kids. You can buy handmade goods, arts and crafts, recycled products, jewellery, clothes and food. The market is held every second Sunday of the month.

A number of (non-free) workshops will also take place on Sunday and the list is Chakras Workshop & Meditation (13:30), Flamenco (14:00), Tai Chi (16:30). A short Tai Chi performance at 16:15 will give an idea. Find all details on the Facebook Page below.

There is always a great atmosphere and this is one of my favourite markets in Dublin.

Admission is free.

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

In order to help with the pollination in Phoenix Park, the Phoenix Park Gardeners have 16 bee hives distributed throughout the park and have won numerous honey awards over the last three years. Now they are bringing a Honey Show to Phoenix Park for the first time. The Honey Show will be open from 13:00-17:00 and admission is free.

In addition to the show there will be four other events, which are also free:

11:00: Tour of the Victorian Walled Kitchen Garden
12:00: Talk ‘Bees and Gardening’ by Irish Times contributor Fionnuala Fallon.
14:00: Tree Walk and Tour of Ashtown Castle.
15:00: Talk ‘History of Bee Keeping in Ireland’ by Jim Ryan, FIBKA

A record fair, organised by Irish Record Fairs, takes place in the Mart (Old Fire Station) in Rathmines. There will be DVDs, CDs and Vinyl from all music genres.

Admission is free.

Dublin Fashion Week takes place from 07-13 September. There will be a good few “Invite Only” events on the first few days and then the programme for the rest of us starts on Thursday with On Street Fashion Shows. The shows take place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Grafton Street and Henry Street.

The full schedule is on the website below.

Due to a power outage in the middle of creating this week’s Dublin Event Guide I wasn’t able to add the individual events here for Saturday and Sunday, but I hope you will be able to check the website.

And the list for Friday is here:

11:45 Dublin Fashion Festival – Grafton Street
12:45 Dublin Fashion Festival – Grafton Street
13:30 Brown Sugar Hair & Make Up (Demo) Grafton Street
14:00 Ilac Shopping Centre – Henry Street
14:00 The Loft Market (Display) – Grafton Street
14:45 Dublin Fashion Festival – Henry Street
14:30 Brown Sugar Hair & Make Up (Demo) – Grafton Street
15:45 Dublin Fashion Festival – Henry Street
16:30 The Meeting House (Cocktail Demo) – Henry Street
17:00 The Meeting House (Cocktail Demo) – Grafton Street
17:30 Penneys – Henry Street
18:00 Penneys – Henry Street

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 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.

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 American Jazz guitarist and composer Dave Allen.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is inviting to the Cabinteely Carnival an afternoon of circus fun for the whole family in Cabinteely Park.

There will be Magician Pat Fallon, Juggler and Performer Toby Walker, juggler and unicyclist Hugo Cogsmith and there will also be a Classic Carnival Ride, Bouncy Castles, Lawn Games, Carnival Decor and Strolling Characters, Circus Skills, Facepainting and more.

Admission is free, but parking is very very limited, so ideally you come on foot or by public transport.

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!

Explore paintings, sculptures and architectural features of the gallery through discussion and drawing.

Suitable for all ages, all materials will be supplied. Admission is free and no booking required, but places are limited.

The Sail Training Ship “Gorch Fock” of the German Navy will be in Dublin from 04-21 September. It is anchored at Sir Rogerson’s Quay and you can visit the ship on 13+20 Sept from 14:00-17:00. Admission is free and booking is not required.

All relevant information about the ship can be found on the website below.

A free gallery tour will take place in the Hugh Lane Gallery. This is a Dublin Gallery Weekend event.

Booking is not required, but places are limited.

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

The Irish Museum of Modern Art is presenting “The Neurobiology of Love” a lecture by Semir Zeki to you in connection with their “What We Call Love-From Surrealism to Now” exhibition.

“Semir Zeki (Professor of Neuroesthetics at the University College London) discusses his pioneering research on the organisation of the visual brain and his experimental enquiries into how a visual stimulus triggers an affective, emotional state, similar to our experience of beauty, desire and love”

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

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

At this Drop-in activity for all ages, you will get the chance to explore some of the artefacts from the Museum’s collection of objects for handling with Museum educators.

Admission is free and no booking required.

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.

The Sunday Talk in the National Gallery is “The restoration of Murillo’s ‘Prodigal Son’ series” with Muirne Lydon, National Gallery of Ireland Conservation Department.

Admission is free.

IMMA invites you to an Afternoon Tea Dance for the whole family to celebrate the opening of the exhibition “What we call Love – From Surrealism to Now”. There will be a live show band and dancers.

Admission is free and no booking required. It will be in the Great Hall at IMMA.

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 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

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

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

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

Hank Wedel from Cork is playing his eclectic mix of folk, country, jazz and rock for over 20 years and he will be in the Harbour Bar on Sunday.

Admission is free.

This is a non-free event with an admission charge of EUR 20 and the only reason I am making this exception for this one listing is because it is a fundraiser for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) who will use the money to finance their work and essential items for refugees.

The line-up is Mary Coughlan, Damien Dempsey, Members of Kila, Liam O’Maonlai plus guests.

Next week another MSF fund raising gig will take place and will feature Mary Black, Roisin O and many others.

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).

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 will play Rhythm & Blues in the Mezz on Sunday.

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.

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.

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).

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

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

Admission is free.

“Conservation of Wyck’s ‘The Battle of the Boyne’ at Malahide Castle” with Corrie Tubman and Pearl O’Sullivan, William E. Connor Painting Conservators, National Gallery of Ireland Conservation Department is the Tuesday lecture in the National Gallery. Admission is free.

“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 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.

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.

+ 15 Sept: “Dating and Understanding Family Photographs” with Jayne Shrimpton

“Family photographs convey a lot of memories. Join Jayne Shrimpton for this illuminating talk on understanding family photographs as a source for family history research.”

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!

Howard Linnane is staging a literary two-hander in Corrigan’s Pub on Tuesday 15 + Wed 16 September at 17:00.

The play will explore several episodes in the life of Belfast-born poet and writer Louis MacNiece in the year before his untimely death in September 1963 (aged only 53).

The play is a work-in-progress and the performance is part of the Ranelagh Arts Festival.

Admission is free.

You are interested in Volunteering, but don’t know with whom? There is help available! The Dublin City Volunteer Centre provides a link between volunteers and community organisations and can help you to find the most suitable organisation for you.

On Tuesday they are inviting to a Volunteer Information Evening in the Carmelite Centre in Aungier Street, where 5 organisations that are looking for volunteers will introduce themselves.

After the talks there will be some refreshments and a lot of time to speak one-on-one with each of the organisations.

Admission is free, but booking is preferred via the Eventbrite Page here.

The organisations present on Tuesday are:
Solas Project
St. Monica’s Youth Centre
Dublin Simon Community
St. Vincent de Paul
St. John Ambulance

In “Around the World in Eighty Days” the French writer Jules Verne described a travel concept where the traveller is going around the globe as fast as possible, with no interest in what could be seen and trying to get back home as soon as possible.

In “Giro del mondo in 80 pensieri” (‘Around the world in eighty thoughts’) Piergiorgio Odifreddi proposes an opposite concept: comfortably roaming in the continents of knowledge, focusing on what one chances upon, looking around for as long as possible.

Piergiorgio Odifreddi book will be discussed at this event.

Admission is free, but registration is required via iicdublino@esteri.it The event will be in Italian language.

The debut children’s book by author E.R.Murray “The Book of Learning” will be launched in the Gutter Book Shop.

“After the death of her beloved grandpa, Ebony Smart’s world is turned upside down. Sent to Dublin to live with an aunt she didn’t know existed, she soon discovers that her new home, 23 Mercury Lane, is full of secrets.”

Admission is free.

Rumours have it that the Bluegrass Collective will perform in Sin É on Tuesday and there might even be an open Bluegrass Jam! Admission is free.

Every Tuesday an informal sing along with Ukulele and Toy Musical Instruments takes place in the Stag’s Head. Just bring your instrument and come along. Beginners are welcome. Admission is free and further details (and a big book of songs) are available on the Facebook Page below. 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).

Los Paradiso will play their Rhythm & Blues in Ranelagh for the Ranelagh Arts Festival.

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 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 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 guest 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.

The dates are 01+15+29 Sep, 13+27 Oct, 10+24 Nov, 08 Dec. Put the dates in your calender as I will probably not be able to include the event every week.

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.

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 (02, 09, 16, 23, 30 Sept).

A walk themed “History of the Monuments of the Phoenix Park” will take place on Wednesday. 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.

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 monthly tour is for parents, guardians and carers of infants and young children. The route of the tour is suitable for prams and strollers.

Admission is free.

Recreate.ie will run a 1.5 hr creative workshop on Wednesday.

“ReCreate promote ‘Make Art not Waste’. Explore the endless possibilities of creative reuse using items from ReCreates’ ‘Warehouse of Wonders’, such as wool, paper, plastics, fabric, tubing and foam. Experiment with printing, weaving and much more in this artist led workshop. Ideas and chat will spark your imagination and you will have the opportunity to make something completely unique to bring home.”

See also recreate.ie/

Admission is free, but places are limited and you need to book on 01-6744888. The event is suitable for adults.

The Temple Bar “Night” Market is more an afternoon and evening market (15:00-20:00) and it takes place every Wednesday and has been extended until 16 September, so this is the last market!

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.

Howard Linnane is staging a literary two-hander in Corrigan’s Pub on Tuesday 15 + Wed 16 September at 17:00.

The play will explore several episodes in the life of Belfast-born poet and writer Louis MacNiece in the year before his untimely death in September 1963 (aged only 53).

The play is a work-in-progress and the performance is part of the Ranelagh Arts Festival.

Admission is free.

An In-Store Event (incl. Live Gig) with one of the best known and most influential 1960s R&B band “The Pretty Things” will take place in Tower Records. The band is now active for more than 52 years!! Impressive!

Admission is free.

Athlete and chef David Gillick will launching his new book “David Gillick’s Kitchen” in Dubray Books. Admission is free.

Giacomo Leopardi was the greatest Italian poet of the nineteenth century and was recognized by readers, from Nietzsche to Beckett, as one of the towering literary figures in Italian history.

Between 1817 and 1832 he wrote a personal notebook, called “Zibaldone” and after seven years of work, this notebook has been translated into English and was also enhanced with notes, indexes and an extensive introduction.

Admission to this launch event is free, but registration is required via iicdublino@esteri.it

This is an open mic night every Wednesday. Arrive, sign up and play. Admission is free.

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

The monthly Inn Jokes Comedy night is back and the line-up this month is a “Special Guest”, Fred Cooke, Aidan Greene and Adrea Farrell and all will be organised and MCd by Colm O’Regan.

We don’t know for certain, but based on the description of the Special Guest, it could be Neil Delamere: “He is an Irish TV and Radio Star who has gigged all over the world, Five-starred the Edinburgh festival on numerous occasions . He’s a national radio presenter, IFTA winner, belts out a brand new show of high quality every year and is currently beavering away on some new projects coming to your TV-and-other-device screens soon.”
Just a guess, but it might be spot on! ;-)

Admission is free and donations are appreciated.

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

On Wed 16 Sept, Los Paradiso will launch their new single “Landslide” in the Leeson Lounge.

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).

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 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.

The hugely popular Oktoberfest in Dublin takes place from 17 Sept – 04 Oct again. It is a German Beer Festival with Erdinger Weissbräu Beer (including alcohol-free wheat beer), lots of German Bavarian Food and authentic Bavarian music.

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

The best place to experience the festival is in the Festival Tent on the platform in George’s Dock. But because the yearly festival is soo popular, there are at times long queues due to severe admission restrictions (quantity of people). Last year the queues already started at 17:30. Luckily around George’s Dock are more food and drink stalls so that you don’t HAVE to be in the Festival tent to enjoy the event. Pre-booking is possible, but check the cost.

Admission is free, but after 22:00 an odd meal voucher system kicks in: You will have to buy a wristband for EUR 6 that gives you a EUR 5 food voucher (and 1 Euro goes to charity). Allegedly licensing rules force them to do that, but have we heard of any other events or pubs where you need to buy meal vouchers?

I get my yearly fix of Bavarian food at the Oktoberfest. The Schweinshaxn (pigs trotter) is a must for me, but just once a year. ;-)

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.

+ 17 Sept: “Primrose Pretty-face in Galway. Children’s literature, and the spread of the English language in 19thC Ireland” with Charles Benson

The In Focus Tour “Chester Beatty’s Biblical Papyri” with Kurt Kullmann will take place.

Meeting point is in the atrium of the Library. Admission is free, but limited to the first 15 participants.

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.

“Connect the Dots: Re-imagining Access to Space in Dublin” is a workshop about Urban Development and Placemaking. It brings together citizen-led organisations from Oslo (Hauskvartalet), Liverpool (Homebaked), Kopenhagen (giverum) and Erfurt (Saline 34) and local partners Connect the Dots and Our Farm.

The workshop on Thursday is described further here, where you also have to register for this free event.

It is not completely clear if the event takes place in the current Goethe Institute location at 62 Fitzwilliam Square or at the building under rennovation at 37 Merrion Square, you better cgeck!

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.

Author and artist Nicola Colton will launch her picture book “A Dublin Fairytale” in Dubray Books. Admission is free.

“Lifting Light” by Christine Broe is an image filled collection of the artist’s work in sculpture, painting and poetry.

Admission to the launch is free.

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.

“Las heridas del viento” is a play by Juan Carlos Rubio. It will be performed in the Instituto Cervantes in Spanish Language and admission is free. After the performance a Q&A with the actors will take place.

“His father’s death forces David to take charge of his legacy. Among their belongings is something unexpected: letters of love of another man. Baffled by the discovery, he decides to visit the alleged lover of his father and discover the truth.”

Every Thursday, the Xchange invites to a Language Exchange (19:00-20:30). Admission 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 new weekly Table Quiz takes place in the Grand Social. Every Thursdayteams 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.

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.

The Dublin CIty Rounders will be in Bray for a Bluegrass/Americana gig.

Admission is free.

Thumer will perform a gig in The Bernard Shaw pub, followed by “Good Name” resident DJs.

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.

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 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.

The hugely popular Oktoberfest in Dublin takes place from 17 Sept – 04 Oct again. It is a German Beer Festival with Erdinger Weissbräu Beer (including alcohol-free wheat beer), lots of German Bavarian Food and authentic Bavarian music.

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

The best place to experience the festival is in the Festival Tent on the platform in George’s Dock. But because the yearly festival is soo popular, there are at times long queues due to severe admission restrictions (quantity of people). Last year the queues already started at 17:30. Luckily around George’s Dock are more food and drink stalls so that you don’t HAVE to be in the Festival tent to enjoy the event. Pre-booking is possible, but check the cost.

Admission is free, but after 22:00 an odd meal voucher system kicks in: You will have to buy a wristband for EUR 6 that gives you a EUR 5 food voucher (and 1 Euro goes to charity). Allegedly licensing rules force them to do that, but have we heard of any other events or pubs where you need to buy meal vouchers?

I get my yearly fix of Bavarian food at the Oktoberfest. The Schweinshaxn (pigs trotter) is a must for me, but just once a year. ;-)

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

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

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

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

www.bookdepository.com?a_aid=dubevg

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

One of the best nights is back! Culture Night is a once-a-year event when nearly all cultural venues open their doors for a late night of events and activities. In Dublin more than 250 venues are taking part and countrywide it is 1200 (!!) venues. And the best is that all is free!

With so many events, it is impossible to include them all in the Dublin Event Guide (for Free Events) and it wouldn’t even make sense, because there is a good website at culturenight.ie that lists all events and there is also a free app available for Android and iPhone so that you can plan your night.

Nevertheless, I have included the activities from a number of venues here already and I suggest that you watch out on the Dublin Event Guide Facebook Page because I will put a few recommendations there in a post during the week.

If you like Dublin’s Culture, this is a MUST GO event! It is interesting to see so many different things and to experience them on one night and the atmosphere in the City Centre is just brilliant at Culture Night. Dublin is buzzing with lots of people and everyone is in a positive, curious and playful frame of mind. Experience Dublin at its best!!

Some venues require booking and at other venues the queues will be very very long, so be prepared for that and have some alternative plans. Long queues are always outside Trinity Library (Book of Kells), the Freemason’s Hall and Dublinia.

The Irish Times is taking over the buildings around Merrion Square and uses 20 basement venues to run talks, gigs, poetry, a cafe, mystery books, yoga, boxercise and a a new way of seeing the National Gallery on the street.

Irish Times journalists (incl Fintan O’Toole, Kathy Sheridan, Una Mullally, Conor Pope, Patrick Freyne and Catherine Cleary) will interviews and chat with invited guests in the outdoor sitting room of a Merrion Square basement.

Find more details on the webiste below.

The Writers’ Centre also is a regular and important contributor to Culture Night with lots of free events. There will be a Book Doctor (17:00-19:00) who will give recommendations to young readers, a Soapbox (19:30-20:30), where you will meet writers from all walks of life. The Stinging Fly showcase (20:30-21:30) will bring you readings by lots of authors. There will be free tours at 17:45 and 18:45 (booking required), free workshops (18:30-20:00) and the “Greenbean Novel Fair” at 18:00 and 18:30.

Lots of things! And more details are on the website below.

Every Culture Night, the Royal Irish Academy building is a very popular destination. There will be tours of the Georgian rooms downstairs and the impressive library at Academy House. The tours take place every half hour from 17:00 with the last tour at 20:30. No booking required.

The Dublin Unitarian Church on St. Stephen’s Green invites to an interesting Culture Night. Their programme for the night is:

+ 17:00 Kilkenny singer, songwriter, actress and storyteller Helena Byrne will perform a short set of her own songs.
+ 18:00 Rory Delany: “Windows and Walls” – A talk about a selection of the memorial plaques and windows installed in the church since 1863.
+ 19:00 David O’Shea, Trevor Crowe, Rónán Murray: “A Church With Music” – An introduction to the ongoing work of the restoration of our 1911 JW Walker pipe organ. Organ builder Trevor Crowe will talk about his work and O’Shea and Murray will play on the instrument.
+ 21:00 Freddy Walsh (guitar) will perform a short recital of classical guitar pieces.
+ 22:00 Ardú is a vocal ensemble from Dublin and they specialise in well-known popular music for four, five and six voices, exploring the use of the voice as an instrument with percussive sounds as well as melody and harmony.

Admission to all events is free.

Culture Night in the National Gallery is a busy night. There will be guided tours, workshops for children and adults, dance performances and archive access.

The list is so long, that I will just give you the link here: nationalgallery.ie/whatson/Culture_Night/2015.aspx

All events are free, but some need tickets, which can be obtained on the day.

At Culture Night the Alliance Francaise will have a special concert with a French mood at 21:00.

And “around the corner” at the new French Embassy address at 66 Merrion Square, Urban Light Contacts, an interactive sound and light installation by French artist Scenocosme, will take place until 22:30.

On Culture Night, the Instituto Cervantes will invite you to dance performances of Flamenco and Tango…and you can even join in!

The performances are

18:00 + 20:00 Flamenco dance with Joyce Richardson (Flamenco Ireland)
19:00 + 21:00 Tango with Monina (Tango Ireland)

Dublin City’s Gallery Space The Lab will be open from 18:00 for Culture Night and will have a varied programme for the evening:

18:00-20:00 Family Club Workshop with fun Art Making with artist Helen Barry
19:30 REST by Emma Fitzgerald – A dance performance to help revive those of us who’ve become fatigued by daily life
19:50-21:00 Sunken Foal – Live music with synthesizers, grooving rhythms and plucked instruments

The LAB Gallery will also have two exhibitions on view with work by Emma Donaldson and David Lunney.

Admission is free.

Culture Night witll be celebrated in the Italian Institute of Culture with a night of Italian Opera. Soprano Sarah Brady and Mezzo Soprano Niamh O’Sullivan will perform at 18:30, 19:05, 19:40, 20:15 and 20:50 a variety of Italian Opera songs.

Admission is free.

St. Stephen’s Church near Merrion Square will take part in Culture Night again and the programme is this year:

+ 18:30 Rickie Cox: Talk on Stain Glass windows
+ 19:00 Performance by Belcantor Chooir/chamber choir performance, a selection of 16th and 17th centurary Madrigals
+ 19:45 Peter McCrodden tallk on the History of Church
+ 20:15 Ardu; Performing a selection from their Nova Programme. A mixture of Pop, A Cappella and traditional choral music
+ 21:00 Classical Youth Chamber Choir. Directed by Marie Ledwith Butler.

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

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

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

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

The Chester Beatty is open until 22:00 on Culture Night. THere will be free guided tours at 19:30 and 20:30 and at 18:00 already Dr Jill Unkel will run a guided tour in the temporary exhibition “Wicked Wit”. That’s the normal great Chester Beatty programme!

In addition there will be a “Songs of Jazz and Blues Legend Billie Holiday” with Edel Meade and Band from 20:00.

Admission to all events is free.

“The Cat and The Moon” is a celebration of W.B. Yeats as part of Culture Night.

It will feature Johnny Rayge reciting Yeats Poetry and musical performance by Sudipto Das (Hindustani vocalist) performing selections from Rabrindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali, translated from the Bangla by W. B. Yeats. Also, the Dublin Writers’ Forum will host a Yeats-ian Themed Open Mic.

Admission is free.

The Dublin Writers’ Forum (DWF) was founded in 2011 to provide a creative space where people with a passion for writing can come together and support each other in making their work as good as it can be. Their weekly meetings are facilitated by Anne Tannam and Fióna Bolger. They meet upstairs in the Workman’s Club at 19:30 every Thursday and you can drop in any time.

Indie rock band Third Smoke will be in the Harbour Bar for a gig on Friday. They will be supported by “League of Nation”, a new Irish band.

Admission is free.

A special Nighthawks show will take place in the Oxfam Bookshop in Parliament Street for Culture Night:

The line-up for this event is: Music from Nocturnes, The Citizen, Katie O’Connor and Christian Collins + Poetry from John Cummins and Daniel Wade.

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.

David Furey is performing a gig in Mother Reilly’s. He is fusing traditional roots with contemporary folk and rock.

Admission is free.