Nearly all markets are taking Christmas Breaks until the first weekend in January, so the events list is a good bit shorter this week, but all will be back to normality from next Saturday.

In addition the week “between the years” is a week full of “secret” events. Because of the Christmas holidays, event organisers didn’t update their websites and Facebook Pages, so events will happen in pubs and other places, but we don’t necessarily know about them. The following venues didn’t update their online presence:

Sin E, Leeson Lounge, Liquor Rooms, The Mezz, Farmleigh House, Phoenix Park,

And the markets on a break are listed below with the date when they will restart:

Green Door Market: 02 Jan
Honest2Goodness Market: 06 Jan
SuperNatural Food Market: 06 Jan
Marlay Park Market: 06 Jan
Ha’Penny Market: 06 Jan
Belgard Weekend Market: 06 Jan
Jamestown Market: 06 Jan
Car Boot Sales in Tallaght: 13 Jan
Car Boot Sales Ballymun: 14 Jan

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

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

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

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

Admission is free.

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

Space Rocks: Fireballs and Crystals is a Drop-in Activity in the Natural History Museum.

Have you ever seen inside a space rock or meteorite? At this event will get a chance to touch a real meteorite, feel how heavy it is and see up close its crystal structure.

Admission is free. Suitable from Age 8.

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

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

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

Shine through 2018 is a drop-in family workshop with Janine Davidson. Get ready to start a New Year and experiment with reflections of light and shadows.

Admission is free.

Every Saturday a free guided tour will take place in the Chester Betty Library. The tour starts at 14:00.

In addition there is another free tour every Wednesday at 13:00 and one on Sundays at 15:00

Every Saturday a kid’s book will be read in 27 Eason’s stores all over Ireland. In O’Connell Street the reading takes place at 14:00. In the other Eason Stores, the times vary between 11:00 and 15:00 (see website below). Suitable for age 0-6 with their parents.

Admission is free.

Archaeologists often find precious objects under the ground but is everything found at the same depth? Come to this drop-in activity to find out. Create a special bookmark, decorate it with precious objects and decide if they should be close to the surface, or deep underground.

Admission is free. Suitable for Families with children 7+

The Public Tour “Recovered Voices – Ireland and World War I” explores the experience of Irish men and women during World War I.

Admission is free, but places will be allocated on a first-come first served basis 15 minutes before the tour starts. Suitable for Adults & Children 12+.

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.

Robot Rock are playing Dance Anthems in Bray.

Admission is free.

Los paradiso are playing a gig on Saturday in the Leeson Lounge.

Admission is free.

The Cosmic Funk Band from Cork will play a gig.

Admission is free before 23:00. (EUR 5 after 23:00.)

New Year’s Eve is usually a hugely disappointing event in Dublin if you are used to New Year’s Eve celebrations elsewhere. There will be no fireworks, no central event for everyone and someone answered recently to the question on Facebook “What would you recommend to do at New Year’s Eve in Dublin?” by writing “The only recommendation can be to take a plane and go somewhere else.”

Yes, there will be an event at Custom House, but only a relatively small amount of people will be accommodated and all tickets are long gone for the free event and also for the (relatively expensive!) non-free concert on that evening. Apart from this event at Custom House Quay there is only the inoffical event of the midnight bells at Christ Church where some people accumulate to wish each other a Happy New Year.

And some other super exciting and breath taking event (I am joking!!!!) is a light show at the spire from midnight until midnight on New Year’s Day. Well, if that won’t blow you way, I don’t know what else would! :-O

Pubs and restaurants are open, but some pubs seem to think that for offering the SAME entertainment as on other (free) nights throughout the year, it is ok to charge crazy admission charges on New Year’s Eve. Make sure that you check what you get in return for your hard earned money and if you feel the entertainment is not good enough, then I strongly recommend that you go to another venue.

One event I would recommend is the Comedy Crunch, but be there VERY early, because it is always full and on New Year’s Eve it might even be busier.

Surprisingly, a number of pubs have not yet announced their live music acts on New Year’s Eve. This is most likely because of the Christmas holidays, but it it is indicative of importance that is given to New Year’s Eve.

Nearly all markets are taking Christmas Breaks until the first weekend in January, so the events list is a good bit shorter this week, but all will be back to normality from next Saturday.

In addition the week “between the years” is a week full of “secret” events. Because of the Christmas holidays, event organisers didn’t update their websites and Facebook Pages, so events will happen in pubs and other places, but we don’t necessarily know about them. The following venues didn’t update their online presence:

Sin E, Leeson Lounge, Liquor Rooms, The Mezz, Farmleigh House, Phoenix Park,

And the markets on a break are listed below with the date when they will restart:

Green Door Market: 02 Jan
Honest2Goodness Market: 06 Jan
SuperNatural Food Market: 06 Jan
Marlay Park Market: 06 Jan
Ha’Penny Market: 06 Jan
Belgard Weekend Market: 06 Jan
Jamestown Market: 06 Jan
Car Boot Sales in Tallaght: 13 Jan
Car Boot Sales Ballymun: 14 Jan

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

Admission is free.

The Moving Crib of the St. Martin Apostolate is a whole basement full of handcrafted figures in front of painted backgrounds of nativity related scenes. There are 14 scenes, beginning with Adam and Eve and finishing with Christmas. Nearly all figures are moving and this historic crib, which was created in 1956, still fascinates children and even adults.

I was there two years ago and it is indeed fascinating. It won’t blow you away, but your kids could be a lot more impressed than you!! ;-)

Admission is free, but for the upkeep of the crib, a donation is very much appreciated.

The opening times are 28 Nov-08 January: Mon-Fri 14:00-18:00 and Sat+Sun: 11:00-18:00. (Closed on 25+26 Dec and 01 Jan)

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

This is a Christmas Family Art Holiday Workshop in the National Gallery, where children and their parents/guardians/carers are encouraged to work together on the creative project. Suitable for children of all ages. You can stay as long and as short as you like.

Admission is free and no booking is required.

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

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

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

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

Admission is free.

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

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

Since 1988, the Irish Army doesn’t use the Fort anymore and gave it back to the Office of Public Works (OPW), but not much good has happened to the Fort in the last 28 years (!!) and there were numerous speculations about the reasons for that.

Finally since last year, guided tours are provided with four tours on Friday and Sunday over the Summer and a reduced schedule in the winter. From 01 October until March 2018, the only tour is on Sundays from 12:00 and 20 places are available on that tour.

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

This free Family Tour is specially designed for children and their guardians, parents and carers to make the works on display fun and engaging for kids and to welcome families and visitors of all ages and encourage them to feel comfortable in the gallery rooms

Admission is free.

The “Dublin Sketchers” is an informal group of (hobby) artists who go somewhere different in Dublin every Sunday (e.g. National Museum, Maritime Museum, Dublin Flea Market, Farmleigh, Botanic Gardens, Dublin Castle, Science Gallery, …), sketch for one to two hours and then meet up for coffee afterwards and discuss their sketches.

There are some hugely talented people among them and it is a great idea to meet up with others who have the same hobby. Find out on their website below or on their Facebook Page where they will meet and join them if you do some sketching/drawing yourself. I know that the Dublin Sketchers often use the Dublin Event Guide to find interesting free events and I am delighted to be able to help!

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

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

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

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

Families are invited to explore and respond together the gallery’s collection and temporary exhibitions through discussion and drawing. Bring your own sketchbook along or use the drawing materials provided. There will be a different topic every week and all topics until 28 Jan are listed on the website below.

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

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

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

This is a family friendly tour of “Proclaiming a Republic: The 1916 Rising” exhibition. Explore some of the highlights of the Museum’s extensive Easter Week collection.

Admission is free, places are limited and will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis 15 minutes before the tour starts. Suitable for Adults & Children 12+

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

Admission is free, donations are appreciated.

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

Dublin’s New Year’s Festival will consist of three events on New Year’s Eve. Two of them are free but tickets and the third is not free, but all three are booked out now.

I mention them here despite the fact that you can’t go (unless you have tickets) so that you at least know what is happening in the City:
+ Liffey Lights Midnight Moment Mattinee
This is the family-friendly version of the midnight event and already takes place form 18:30-19:00 at Custom House Quay. There will be colourful aerial and aquatic acrobatic performanced on the streets, in the sky and on the Liffey by Heliosphere’s high flying acrobats and Flyboarders. A video screen will be on George’s Quay, but all tickets for that location are also gone.

+ Countdown Concert
A concert from 20:00 will take place at Custom House Quay with Kodaline, Hudson Taylor and Keywest. Tickets were EUR 45.05 and are sold out.

+ Liffey Lights Midnight Moment
At 23:30 the acrobatics event at Custom House Quay will be performed for the grown ups, but ticket holders will only be able to see it from the other side of the Liffey because of the concert at Custom House Quay. Up to 100 Aquabeams will illuminate the night sky and Heliosphere acrobats and Flyboarders will perform. The event is ticketed and all tickets are gone.

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

Sweetman’s is inviting to their New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball. There will be a Live Jazz Band from 19:00 and a DJ from 22:00. Admission is free and early arrivers will get a complimentary Masquerade Masks.

Four live bands, 10 DJ sets, 6 bars and free entry will await you at the Workman’s Club New Year’s Eve Party.

The bands are Thumper, Bicurious, James McGovern, Inhaler.

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.

Bunoscionn are playing a gig in Bray on New Year’s Eve. Trad & Folk with a twist is their style.

Admission is free.

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

I can confirm that this Comedy Crunch takes place on New Year’s Eve!! It is an extended event until 01:00 with a great line-up of

Frank Cronin
Ger Staunton
Danny O’Brien
Colm McGlinchey
Peter Flanagan
Kevin O’Sullivan
Cillein Farrell

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Let’s hope that 2018 will be a super year with lots of successes, happiness and smiles AND with lots of free events!! ;-)

New Year’s Day is a bank holiday in Dublin and most (if not all) offices are closed. Many shops on the other hand are open on that day. Some supermarkets are closed, but shopping centres do open their doors.

Pay and Display Parking is free on that Bank Holiday, but please keep in mind that Loading Bays, Bus Lanes and Wheelchair Car Parks are NOT to be used!

Nearly all markets are taking Christmas Breaks until the first weekend in January, so the events list is a good bit shorter this week, but all will be back to normality from next Saturday.

In addition the week “between the years” is a week full of “secret” events. Because of the Christmas holidays, event organisers didn’t update their websites and Facebook Pages, so events will happen in pubs and other places, but we don’t necessarily know about them. The following venues didn’t update their online presence:

Sin E, Leeson Lounge, Liquor Rooms, The Mezz, Farmleigh House, Phoenix Park,

And the markets on a break are listed below with the date when they will restart:

Green Door Market: 02 Jan
Honest2Goodness Market: 06 Jan
SuperNatural Food Market: 06 Jan
Marlay Park Market: 06 Jan
Ha’Penny Market: 06 Jan
Belgard Weekend Market: 06 Jan
Jamestown Market: 06 Jan
Car Boot Sales in Tallaght: 13 Jan
Car Boot Sales Ballymun: 14 Jan

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

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

A free family-friendly New Year’s Day Celebration with the Garda Band, the Line Up Choir, Hit Machine Drummers and more. In addition there will be pop up performances from jugglers, mime artists, stilt walkers and face painting. And Flyboarders will perform their aquatic and aerial stunts on the Liffey.

Admission is free and tickets are not required.

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!

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.

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

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

Admission is free.

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

Admission is free.

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

Donal Kirk and Anto Drennan will perform in the Leeson Lounge.

They will play 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.

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).

Montauk Hotel are playing a gig in Bray.

Admission is free.

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

Nearly all markets are taking Christmas Breaks until the first weekend in January, so the events list is a good bit shorter this week, but all will be back to normality from next Saturday.

In addition the week “between the years” is a week full of “secret” events. Because of the Christmas holidays, event organisers didn’t update their websites and Facebook Pages, so events will happen in pubs and other places, but we don’t necessarily know about them. The following venues didn’t update their online presence:

Sin E, Leeson Lounge, Liquor Rooms, The Mezz, Farmleigh House, Phoenix Park,

And the markets on a break are listed below with the date when they will restart:

Green Door Market: 02 Jan
Honest2Goodness Market: 06 Jan
SuperNatural Food Market: 06 Jan
Marlay Park Market: 06 Jan
Ha’Penny Market: 06 Jan
Belgard Weekend Market: 06 Jan
Jamestown Market: 06 Jan
Car Boot Sales in Tallaght: 13 Jan
Car Boot Sales Ballymun: 14 Jan

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

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

The Pearse Street Library Junior Film Club is screening a series of Christmassy films for children every day during the first week in January (02-06 January). Children under 8 must be accompanied by adult.

To find out what film will be screened, you unfortunately will have to ring the library on 01-674 4999. Is making that information available online a little to modern for the library?

Admission is free.

The Moving Crib of the St. Martin Apostolate is a whole basement full of handcrafted figures in front of painted backgrounds of nativity related scenes. There are 14 scenes, beginning with Adam and Eve and finishing with Christmas. Nearly all figures are moving and this historic crib, which was created in 1956, still fascinates children and even adults.

I was there two years ago and it is indeed fascinating. It won’t blow you away, but your kids could be a lot more impressed than you!! ;-)

Admission is free, but for the upkeep of the crib, a donation is very much appreciated.

The opening times are 28 Nov-08 January: Mon-Fri 14:00-18:00 and Sat+Sun: 11:00-18:00. (Closed on 25+26 Dec and 01 Jan)

The Armagh Rhymers, one of Ireland’s most celebrated folk theatre ensembles, will be in Collins Barracks for their traditional seasonal performance.

Take part in this yearly tradition and see them sing, act, make music, dance, tell stories and act the clown, dressed in costume and beautifully crafted masks of flax, willow and straw. This January they will once again give voice to a tradition that dates back to 2,500 years. Suitable for all ages.

Admission is free and no Booking required, but places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first-served basis.

EveryTuesday at 19:00, The Dublin Language Exchange takes place in the Czech Inn. It is the biggest free meeting of people from all around Dublin that are interested in learning languages and communicate with speakers of other languages.

Admission is free and the meetup is completely informal. No booking required.

Camden Comedy is a weekly comedy night.

Every Tuesday they have a whole range of comedians – and admission is free.

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

The Georgia Canto Choir from the Alexander High School in Douglasville, Georgia, USA will be in Christ Church to perform a concert with pieces from “A High Lonesome Bluegrass Mass”, a collection of folk-hymn arrangements originating from Irish-Scottish migration into the Appalachian areas of the American south.

The choir will be supported by their own musicians and by four Irish bluegrass musicians.

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 Light House Sessions is an Open Mic Night in the Bowery. There will be music, comedy and spoken word and admission is free.

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

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

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

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

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

Every Tuesday, a pub quiz is taking place in the Woolshed.

Admission is free. Max team size is 6 people.

Nearly all markets are taking Christmas Breaks until the first weekend in January, so the events list is a good bit shorter this week, but all will be back to normality from next Saturday.

In addition the week “between the years” is a week full of “secret” events. Because of the Christmas holidays, event organisers didn’t update their websites and Facebook Pages, so events will happen in pubs and other places, but we don’t necessarily know about them. The following venues didn’t update their online presence:

Sin E, Leeson Lounge, Liquor Rooms, The Mezz, Farmleigh House, Phoenix Park,

And the markets on a break are listed below with the date when they will restart:

Green Door Market: 02 Jan
Honest2Goodness Market: 06 Jan
SuperNatural Food Market: 06 Jan
Marlay Park Market: 06 Jan
Ha’Penny Market: 06 Jan
Belgard Weekend Market: 06 Jan
Jamestown Market: 06 Jan
Car Boot Sales in Tallaght: 13 Jan
Car Boot Sales Ballymun: 14 Jan

For years, this event was one of the most popular monthly events with a HUGE amount of people taking part. But since June, it was more or less terminated for all of us in Dublin.

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

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

Regrettably Kilmainham Gaol and Dublin Castle were removed from this great initiative and The Casino in Marino is still closed for an indefinite period of time, so the only site in Dublin that is still taking part (for another bit!?) is Rathfarnham Castle.

Outside but near to Dublin, you can visit
+ Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre at Newgrange
+ Glendalough Visitor Centre in Wicklow
free of charge. The full list of sites in Ireland is here.

However, as you can imagine, this event is very popular and therefore it is strongly recommended to arrive early at the venues. Once the day’s tickets are given out, you will not get access anymore.

The Budding Scribes Calligraphy Family Workshop is a one hour workshop at 11:00 and at 14:30.

Did you know that there is a book in the Museum which was preserved in a bog for over 1,000 years? Find out more about this amazing book, learn about the skills of the scribe in Medieval Ireland and then create your own example of calligraphy to take home.

Admission is free, but booking is required via educationarch@museum.ie or 01 6486 334. (Located in the Learning Resource Room, First Floor.) Suitable for families with children aged 10+.

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.

The Moving Crib of the St. Martin Apostolate is a whole basement full of handcrafted figures in front of painted backgrounds of nativity related scenes. There are 14 scenes, beginning with Adam and Eve and finishing with Christmas. Nearly all figures are moving and this historic crib, which was created in 1956, still fascinates children and even adults.

I was there two years ago and it is indeed fascinating. It won’t blow you away, but your kids could be a lot more impressed than you!! ;-)

Admission is free, but for the upkeep of the crib, a donation is very much appreciated.

The opening times are 28 Nov-08 January: Mon-Fri 14:00-18:00 and Sat+Sun: 11:00-18:00. (Closed on 25+26 Dec and 01 Jan)

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

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

The current exhibition in the Science Gallery is called “IN CASE OF EMERGENCY” and it will run from 12 October until 11 January. The exhibition looks at doomsday and emergency scenarios. How can we prepare for such a worst case situation? It is a very interesting exhibition that I recommend. Some exhibits need you to think/reflect a little, but that is a good thing! :-)

Exhibits are for example
+ 22 Doomsday Clocks that show how close we got to the end of the world in the period from 1945-2017
+ a series of drawings teaching basic skills for challenging situations
+ Pandemic Spreading patterns in a globalised world
+ Microbiome Ark (a small satellite that carries human microbiome on board to kickstart life on earth again after a disaster)
+ a selection of Manuals for Civilisation
The website below lists all exhibits and provides their explanation so that you can either before or after your visit check further details.

There is also a Situation Room where you can partake in a Catastrophe Citizen Assembly to decide on complex questions that could affect the survival of humanity. The Situation Room assembly will convene every hour. Check with the mediators how you can take part.

All Science Gallery exhibitions are suitable for ALL ages, even younger children will be able to take part/follow. For this exhibition, though, younger kids might need your help to understand some of the context.

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

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

Admission is free.

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.

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

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

www.bookdepository.com?a_aid=dubevg

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

The Pearse Street Library Junior Film Club is screening a series of Christmassy films for children every day during the first week in January (02-06 January). Children under 8 must be accompanied by adult.

To find out what film will be screened, you unfortunately will have to ring the library on 01-674 4999. Is making that information available online a little to modern for the library?

Admission is free.

The Budding Scribes Calligraphy Family Workshop is a one hour workshop at 11:00 and at 14:30.

Did you know that there is a book in the Museum which was preserved in a bog for over 1,000 years? Find out more about this amazing book, learn about the skills of the scribe in Medieval Ireland and then create your own example of calligraphy to take home.

Admission is free, but booking is required via educationarch@museum.ie or 01 6486 334. (Located in the Learning Resource Room, First Floor.) Suitable for families with children aged 10+.

The First Fortnight Mental Health Arts Festival will take place again from 01-15 January this year. While in previous years the majority of events was free, this has changed significantly. There will be less than 10 events free this year and all the other events are not free anymore. I still recommend this festival because the topic of Mental Health is a very important one that should have a prominent position in our conversations, so check out the downloadable programme here.

I will mention all free events in the Dublin Event Guide (for Free Events), the rest you have to check out in the programme.

A series of Conversation Salons are taking place and they are all free (registration is required!)

The first one and only one in Dublin this week is in Wed 03 Jan at 15:00 in the Oak Room of Mansion House.

Conversation Salons are hosted by Life Coach Heather Bourke and bring all different kinds of people together for an uplifting conversation in a relaxed cafe style setting.

You can register via the website below.

Rathmines Library are screening Feature Creatures Films for children with talking animals on 03, 04, 05 and 06 January.
Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. The film titles have unfortunately not been revealed on the website, so you will have to ring to find out: 01-4973539.

Admission is free.

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.

The Dwarf Jar House Trio (Daniel Rorke (sax), Cormac O’Brien (bass) and Matthew Jacobson(drums)) will play a weekly Jazz gig every Wednesday in Dwarf Jar Cafe and they usually have one or more guest musicians or singers supporting them.

Admission is free.

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

Storytellers Candlelit Tales will shed some light on one of the greatest quarrels in Irish mythology and they will tell you about Irish Mythology’s own Scrooge. Doors open at 19:30.

Admission is free.

The Anseo Comedy Club 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.

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

Traditional Irish Music Session in Hedigan’s (The Brian Boru) in Phibsborough from 21:30 every Wednesday. If you play an instrument you are especially welcome (all levels are welcome).

This is a weekly Jazz gig in the Chambers Pub.

Admission is free.

The Harleys are a popular coverband and they will be in the Mezz every Wednesday at midnight.

Admission is free.

Nearly all markets are taking Christmas Breaks until the first weekend in January, so the events list is a good bit shorter this week, but all will be back to normality from next Saturday.

In addition the week “between the years” is a week full of “secret” events. Because of the Christmas holidays, event organisers didn’t update their websites and Facebook Pages, so events will happen in pubs and other places, but we don’t necessarily know about them. The following venues didn’t update their online presence:

Sin E, Leeson Lounge, Liquor Rooms, The Mezz, Farmleigh House, Phoenix Park,

And the markets on a break are listed below with the date when they will restart:

Green Door Market: 02 Jan
Honest2Goodness Market: 06 Jan
SuperNatural Food Market: 06 Jan
Marlay Park Market: 06 Jan
Ha’Penny Market: 06 Jan
Belgard Weekend Market: 06 Jan
Jamestown Market: 06 Jan
Car Boot Sales in Tallaght: 13 Jan
Car Boot Sales Ballymun: 14 Jan

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

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

The current exhibition in the Science Gallery is called “IN CASE OF EMERGENCY” and it will run from 12 October until 11 January. The exhibition looks at doomsday and emergency scenarios. How can we prepare for such a worst case situation? It is a very interesting exhibition that I recommend. Some exhibits need you to think/reflect a little, but that is a good thing! :-)

Exhibits are for example
+ 22 Doomsday Clocks that show how close we got to the end of the world in the period from 1945-2017
+ a series of drawings teaching basic skills for challenging situations
+ Pandemic Spreading patterns in a globalised world
+ Microbiome Ark (a small satellite that carries human microbiome on board to kickstart life on earth again after a disaster)
+ a selection of Manuals for Civilisation
The website below lists all exhibits and provides their explanation so that you can either before or after your visit check further details.

There is also a Situation Room where you can partake in a Catastrophe Citizen Assembly to decide on complex questions that could affect the survival of humanity. The Situation Room assembly will convene every hour. Check with the mediators how you can take part.

All Science Gallery exhibitions are suitable for ALL ages, even younger children will be able to take part/follow. For this exhibition, though, younger kids might need your help to understand some of the context.

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

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

Admission is free.

The 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.

“Gold, Amber and Bronze – Discovering Bronze Age Ireland” is a Museum Tour in the National Museum in Kildare Street.

Join Museum educator Trisha Ryan to take a look at the newly refurbished exhibition, Ór – Ireland’s Gold. Learn about the raw materials used by the Bronze Age people of Ireland and how objects, such as the Lunula, Sun Discs and Gorgets, were made and the special meanings and properties they held for people.

Admission is free and no booking required. Meet at Reception where places will be allocated on a first come first-served basis. Suitable from Age 12+.

The Pearse Street Library Junior Film Club is screening a series of Christmassy films for children every day during the first week in January (02-06 January). Children under 8 must be accompanied by adult.

To find out what film will be screened, you unfortunately will have to ring the library on 01-674 4999. Is making that information available online a little to modern for the library?

Admission is free.

The Moving Crib of the St. Martin Apostolate is a whole basement full of handcrafted figures in front of painted backgrounds of nativity related scenes. There are 14 scenes, beginning with Adam and Eve and finishing with Christmas. Nearly all figures are moving and this historic crib, which was created in 1956, still fascinates children and even adults.

I was there two years ago and it is indeed fascinating. It won’t blow you away, but your kids could be a lot more impressed than you!! ;-)

Admission is free, but for the upkeep of the crib, a donation is very much appreciated.

The opening times are 28 Nov-08 January: Mon-Fri 14:00-18:00 and Sat+Sun: 11:00-18:00. (Closed on 25+26 Dec and 01 Jan)

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

Admission is free.

Rathmines Library are screening Feature Creatures Films for children with talking animals on 03, 04, 05 and 06 January.
Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. The film titles have unfortunately not been revealed on the website, so you will have to ring to find out: 01-4973539.

Admission is free.

Rathmines Library are screening Feature Creatures Films for children with talking animals on 03, 04, 05 and 06 January.
Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. The film titles have unfortunately not been revealed on the website, so you will have to ring to find out: 01-4973539.

Admission is free.

The Big Screen Quiz Night takes place in Sinnott’s. Admission is free and you can win amazing prizes. You can play in a group or on your own.

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

Admission is free.

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

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

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

Come to this evening tour in the National Gallery.

Admission is free.

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

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

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

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

Admission is free.

The New Love & Terror Cult Present is a music collective set up by a number of Irish psychedelic and experimental artists to support and strengthen the Irish psych scene. At their next gig night, the line up is:

+ The Elephant Room 22:45 – 23:45
+ Silverbacks 21:45 – 22:30
+ Madra 20:45 – 21:30

Admission is free.

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

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

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

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

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

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

A weekly Trad Music Night is taking place in McLoughlin’s in Dun Laoghaire. It is an acoustic night and all musicians are welcome. Admission is free.

Every Thursday a free Trad Session takes place in McNeills and often there are high profile Trad musicians performing.

The Woolshed Karaoke is happening every Thursday from 21:30. Anyone can participate! Admission is free.

Nearly all markets are taking Christmas Breaks until the first weekend in January, so the events list is a good bit shorter this week, but all will be back to normality from next Saturday.

In addition the week “between the years” is a week full of “secret” events. Because of the Christmas holidays, event organisers didn’t update their websites and Facebook Pages, so events will happen in pubs and other places, but we don’t necessarily know about them. The following venues didn’t update their online presence:

Sin E, Leeson Lounge, Liquor Rooms, The Mezz, Farmleigh House, Phoenix Park,

And the markets on a break are listed below with the date when they will restart:

Green Door Market: 02 Jan
Honest2Goodness Market: 06 Jan
SuperNatural Food Market: 06 Jan
Marlay Park Market: 06 Jan
Ha’Penny Market: 06 Jan
Belgard Weekend Market: 06 Jan
Jamestown Market: 06 Jan
Car Boot Sales in Tallaght: 13 Jan
Car Boot Sales Ballymun: 14 Jan

As part of the David Bowie Festival in Dublin, the Light House Cinema shows the work from six contemporary visual artists and how they interpret 10 David Bowie songs. The song titles have been chosen by some of Ireland’s leading media stars/Bowie superfans.

Admission is free.

“The Shadow of Sodeisha-How it’s Made” is a workshop with ceramic artist Michael Moore, co-curator and Irish artist in the Shadow of Sodeisha exhibition. It is a special three-dimensional art workshop using clay, before the exhibition closes on 08 January 2018. Participants will be introduced to the exhibition and the Sodeisha movement, focusing on the making techniques used, followed by a practical session where participants will have an opportunity to create their own artwork inspired by Sodeisha.

Admission is free but there is a 5 Euro contribution to art materials required. No prior experience is necessary. Booking is required,

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

To celebrate the Easter Rising Anniversary, admission to that exhibititon was free in 2016, but lucky for us, Dublin City decided to also waive the admission charge for 2017.

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

As part of the David Bowie Festival in Dublin, the Duke Street Gallery will show an exhibition of how visual art has captured David Bowie’s facial expressions over the decades, called “A Portrait in Flesh”.

Admission is free.

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

Admission to the gallery and to most events is free.

The current exhibition in the Science Gallery is called “IN CASE OF EMERGENCY” and it will run from 12 October until 11 January. The exhibition looks at doomsday and emergency scenarios. How can we prepare for such a worst case situation? It is a very interesting exhibition that I recommend. Some exhibits need you to think/reflect a little, but that is a good thing! :-)

Exhibits are for example
+ 22 Doomsday Clocks that show how close we got to the end of the world in the period from 1945-2017
+ a series of drawings teaching basic skills for challenging situations
+ Pandemic Spreading patterns in a globalised world
+ Microbiome Ark (a small satellite that carries human microbiome on board to kickstart life on earth again after a disaster)
+ a selection of Manuals for Civilisation
The website below lists all exhibits and provides their explanation so that you can either before or after your visit check further details.

There is also a Situation Room where you can partake in a Catastrophe Citizen Assembly to decide on complex questions that could affect the survival of humanity. The Situation Room assembly will convene every hour. Check with the mediators how you can take part.

All Science Gallery exhibitions are suitable for ALL ages, even younger children will be able to take part/follow. For this exhibition, though, younger kids might need your help to understand some of the context.

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

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

Admission is free.

The 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 Pearse Street Library Junior Film Club is screening a series of Christmassy films for children every day during the first week in January (02-06 January). Children under 8 must be accompanied by adult.

To find out what film will be screened, you unfortunately will have to ring the library on 01-674 4999. Is making that information available online a little to modern for the library?

Admission is free.

The Moving Crib of the St. Martin Apostolate is a whole basement full of handcrafted figures in front of painted backgrounds of nativity related scenes. There are 14 scenes, beginning with Adam and Eve and finishing with Christmas. Nearly all figures are moving and this historic crib, which was created in 1956, still fascinates children and even adults.

I was there two years ago and it is indeed fascinating. It won’t blow you away, but your kids could be a lot more impressed than you!! ;-)

Admission is free, but for the upkeep of the crib, a donation is very much appreciated.

The opening times are 28 Nov-08 January: Mon-Fri 14:00-18:00 and Sat+Sun: 11:00-18:00. (Closed on 25+26 Dec and 01 Jan)

The Tara Kadampa Buddhist Center is inviting to the talk and guided meditation “Meditation and the Pursuit of Happiness”.

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.

David Keenen, talented singer/songwriter from Dundalk, will play this gig in the Harbour Bar.

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.

D-Riculous is an All Star band with lots of band members who also play in other bands,

Admission is free.

It is not completely clear if this event is still continuing or if Gavin Povey’s stint in the Leeson Lounge has ended:

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

Admission is free.