The Ferocious Mingle Market takes place every Thursday, Friday, Saturday AND Sunday. On Sunday it is a fancy dress market. It’s a flea-market type permanent market with stalls and “chalets” for traders. The Oscar Verne Café and (at least at the weekends) live music adds even more character.

The location of the new indoor market is 72 Thomas Street (between the Vicar St venue & Cafe Notto) an opening hours are 11:00-18:00. There is also a Café, the Oscar Verne Café, open for business at the market.

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 IFI continues with its free Archive at Lunchtime screenings in August and is extending them to daily screenings now. The films are short films from the Irish Film Archive. There are two programmes on alternating days www.ifi.ie/film/archive-at-lunchtime-programme-1-aug-2012/ and www.ifi.ie/film/archive-at-lunchtime-programme-2-aug-2012 and a double bill on Saturdays www.ifi.ie/film/archive-at-lunchtime-double-bill-discovering-ireland-amharc-eireann-eagran-16-23-blackwater-holiday/ Admission to all lunchtime screenings is free, just collect your ticket at the ticket desk.

The Emerald Isle Classic American Football Team of the Navy will have their Pep-Rally on Friday at 17:30 next to the bandstand in St. Stephens Green with Band and Cheerleaders. Expect a huge amount of people trying to squeeze in the relatively small area near the bandstand. Access is free and on a first come first served basis.

The Navy team doesn’t have any other public events planned. Their supporters will, however, participate in the Tailgate on Saturday morning in Temple Bar and you will find out the details about that event in the event listing “Emerald Isle Classic: Notre Dame” at 09:00 on Sat.

John Connolly’s thriller “The Wrath of Angels” is being launched in the Gutter Bookshop. Admission is free.

Need to wind down after a tiring week? Free Sahaja Yoga Meditation (not physical yoga, but “yoga meditation”!) classes every Friday at 19:30 at 4/5 Eustace Street, Temple Bar (next to IFI, ring bell no. 3)

A drop in class, with newcomers welcome.

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 Music Maker Social, another regular live music night in the Mercantile will feature No Spill Blood, Punch Face Champion, I Am A Car.

The Stillorgan Orchard provides regular live music. The upcoming gigs are: Fri 31 Aug: Bree Harris and Sat 01 Sept: Dead Ringer

“The Cold 100”, a band that I am trying to hear for months and never managed to get to, will perform in Whelan’s on Friday in “The Midnight Hour”. So the gig will start at midnight, but it will only be free if you are there before 22:30.

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 Emerald Isle Classic, the American Football Game between Notre Dame (the Fighting Irish) and the Navy will be a a big part of this weekend. There won’t be too many events, but with up to 35,000 American visitors for the game and a sold out Aviva/Lansdowne Road Stadium with more than 50,000 people, you can imagine that you will see and hear a lot about it.

While we might think this is a happy get together planned as a show match, this is absolutely not the case, this Football Game is SERIOUS business for the two teams and they have hired separate PR agencies and run their own events.

The Notre Dame team has a Pep-Rally on Friday evening in the O2/Point Theatre, but this event is private/sold out and as a charity event wasn’t free anyway. However, there are two events on Saturday that might interest you.

The first event is at 09:00 a mass with more than 5000 people in the Upper Court Yard of Dublin Castle. Access to the mass is on a first come first served basis, but you can also watch it on RTE Player or on RTE on Sunday morning. After the match the Notre Dame band will march the short distance to Temple Bar where a “Tailgate” will take place.

A TailgateParty at an American Football match is a Party that takes place on a big parking lot with open boots/tailgates of trucks and cars where the supporters have BBQs and eat and drink before the match. We don’t have a big parking lot in the City Centre, and the thousands of visitors didn’t bring their trucks, so instead the pubs, bars and restaurants are the “trucks” and the food is not taking out of the own truck but bought in Temple Bar.

At 11:00 the Notre Dame band will perform on the Central Bank Plaza.

At 14:00 the game will kick off in the Aviva/Lansdowne Road stadium, so between 11:00 and 14:00 the masses will make their way to the stadium. After the game (possibly around 17:00) you can expect the City Centre getting flooded again with fans and supporters to continue their parties.

The Phibsborough Community Arts Festival “Phizzfest” is a vibrant community arts festival which brings the little urban village of Phibsborough alive in the first week of September each year. It was established to develop an annual celebration of artistic life around Phibsborough, to highlight the rich diversity of culture and to provide a showcase for the local talent.

The week long festival will offer a wide variety of events. It could be a play in the Pillar Room at the Mater Hospital, an arts exhibition at the Fire Station, a concert in All Saints Church, a tribal belly dancing workshop in the Scout Hall. It could be canoe polo on the Royal Canal, a classical recital at the library. It could be comedy, trad, rock, poetry and literature in the many pubs and cafes. It could be the Community Day with festival stage. Or it could be just the the Visual Arts trail.

Phizzfest is run entirely by volunteers with support from grant authorities, the generous sponsorship of local businesses, and a wealth of artistic contributions. Impressively and unlike other similar festivals, they have a nice and usable website and even a downloadable PDF programme at www.phizzfest.ie/2012/guide/phizzfest_programme_2012.pdf Every year the festival gets better and I w ould say it is one of the best if not even THE best urban village/suburb festivals in Dublin.

There is a mix of free and non-free festivals (with a (perceived) majority of non-free events) and I recommend that you check the programme and select the events that interest you. Some events require the booking of tickets. From now until Friday there are 68 events, so I will let you select yourself from that wide selection. (Just to repeat: Many events are not free.)

The Dublin Food Co-op is open every Saturday at Newmarket for organic wholefoods and sustainable household products, plus over a dozen producer stalls offering organic fruit and veg., baked goods, dairy produce, wines, hot and cold food, etc. The Co-op is also open on Thursdays 12:00-20:00.

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

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

This is your last chance to see this exhibiiton:
Every year since 2002, the Irish Sand Sculpting Team “Duthain Dealbh” is creating a sand sculpture exhibition in the courtyard of Dublin Castle. The sand sculpting team has 7 days to create the sculptures out of 80 tonnes of sand and after that the sculptures will be on show for another month. The carving took place from 30 July – 05 Aug and the exhibition runs from 06 Aug-02 Sept. The sculptures are truly impressive and I strongly recommend that you have a look when you are in town. If my memory is right, in previous years four sculptures were created, but this year the team seems to have lost a member and will create therefore three sculptures. “Bright Spark” is the title of the exhibition and it is inspired by the innovations of Irish scientists. www.irish-sand.com

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

The Merchants Market on East Wall Road is a relatively new weekly market on Saturdays and Sundays with more than 80 stalls. There is everything from furniture and antiques to paintings and mirrors, electronics and hot food to bicycles and buns. Sounds interesting and I will check it out over the coming weeks. It is just a few minutes walk away from the Point Theatre/O2 (walk in the direction of the Port Tunnel). www.facebook.com/merchantsindoormarket

An indoor market in Coolock with over 40 traders with a wide range of goods and a café on site as well.

Last weekend! Last chance!!

Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council will run their ‘Summer of Heritage’ programme again this year throughout the summer. In its fifth year, Summer of Heritage (Wed 17 June – Sun 02 Sept). will again attract thousands of visitors to many of the top heritage sites in the county. This year the programme has been further expanded and features tours of the Seapoint Martello tower (a stunningly restored example of these 19th century defensive forts, built during the Napoleonic wars) and tours of the Celtic Oratory in Dún Laoghaire. There will also be tours of Kill Abbey (one of the oldest churches in Dublin, dating back to the 10th century), walking tours of old Dundrum, taking in the Castle and St. Nahi’s church; walking tours along ‘The Metals’ (a historic pathway that linked the quarry in Dalkey to the harbour in Dún Laoghaire). Carrickbrennan graveyard (resting place of many sailors lost in maritime disasters since the 17th century). features and so does the Dún Laoghaire Memorials Tour, tours of the Obelisk in Stillorgan and Deansgrange Cemetry. All of the tours will be conducted by qualified guides and admission is free. Tours will take place from 27 June – 02 September on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The full programme is here www.visitdublin.com/pdf/DLRSUMMEROFHERITAGE2012.pdf

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.

Every Saturday until 25 Aug, Colette Burke, a Zumba fitness instructor, is running free Zumba fitness classes on the East Pier in Dun Laoghaire from 10:30-12:30 (weather permitting). If you want to take part you can contact Colette on 087-2476673 and find more information on her website.

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.

A Pop-up Art Gallery & Market is taking place this weekend on Sat+Sun in the Exchange Dublin, Admission is free.

The Ferocious Mingle Market takes place every Thursday, Friday, Saturday AND Sunday. On Sunday it is a fancy dress market. It’s a flea-market type permanent market with stalls and “chalets” for traders. The Oscar Verne Café and (at least at the weekends) live music adds even more character.

The location of the new indoor market is 72 Thomas Street (between the Vicar St venue & Cafe Notto) an opening hours are 11:00-18:00. There is also a Café, the Oscar Verne Café, open for business at the market.

This will be the third year for “Yoga in the Park” and I think it is a brilliant initiative for a very worthy cause. From June until September, Fiona from www.twopalmsyoga.com invites to an hour of Yoga in Phoenix Park. No booking is required and you decide how much you give, the class is donation based. All proceeds go to the Dublin Simon Community, a charity that does invaluable work for the homeless people in Dublin. Just bring a mat or a towel, some water and (hopefully) even some sun protection to the class. Should the weather be bad, the bandstand will be shelter or even training location. The training is suitable for all levels, so even total beginners are very welcome.

Guided Heritage tours of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham are available from 4 July – 2 September at the following times: Wed-Sat: 11:30, 14:00 and 16:00, Sun: 14:00 and 16:00. Tours are free and no booking is required.

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.

This is the last weekend to visit Hack The City, as it will close next Friday:

Hack the City, the Science Gallery flagship exhibition for 2012, will demonstrate how innovation can transform our cities from the ground up. Featuring a wide range of exhibits, hacklabs, events and interventions, from a flock of robot drones to billboards hijacked in augmented reality and stealth underwear, Hack The City will invite us to take control and adopt a hacker mindset to bend, tweak and mash-up Dublin’s existing urban systems – rethinking the city from the ground up. Over 70 leading artists, scientists, engineers, designers and start-ups who are hacking, modding and rewiring the urban environment are part of the exhibition. Opening Hours are Tues-Fri: 12:00-20:00, Sat+Sun: 12:00-18:00, closed on Mondays.

Astronomy Ireland are continuing their weekly Sun Shows at the Astronomy Ireland Shop in Swords. Each Saturday, the staff of the Astronomy Ireland Shop will be showing you amazing views of our nearest star. Using special filters and some of the largest telescopes in Ireland you will get to see sunspots bigger than Earth and huge solar flare bursting from our nearest star. If it’s cloudy, there will be a telescope demonstration and you will find out how you can safely observe the Sun and undertake some daytime astronomy using your own telescope.

The IFI continues with its free Archive at Lunchtime screenings in September and you can find all details on the website below. Admission to all lunchtime screenings is free, just collect your ticket at the ticket desk.

The Ink Slingers Creative Writing Hour takes place every Saturday at the Irish Writers’ Centre. It is a free creative writing session that is organised and led by the Centre’s voluntary arts administrators. The hour includes writing exercises and prompts to get ideas flowing. It is open to everyone and is suitable for all levels of experience.

The Powerscourt Gardens are inviting to a talk about Foraging for Wild Food any while it is a bit further away, some of you might be interested. The description says:

It’s nearly harvest time! Would you like to discover the art of foraging wild and edible foods such as wild flowers, herbs, walnuts, berries, mushrooms and garlic? Join Vincent Sheehy, a horticulture graduate who spent last summer working on Soren Wiuff’s farm outside Copenhagen for a unique talk. Wiuff supplies Noma, rated the world’s best restaurant, with wild and cultivated ingredients. According to The Irish Times “Sheehy can spot chickweed and sorrel across a crowded field the way some people can spot designer labels.” Vincent will give a talk on the art of foraging at Powerscourt Garden Pavilion where you can learn how to: Grow your plant knowledge and learn how to identify plants, Understand what kind of sites offer interesting edible plants including grasslands, woodlands and seashores, Learn when is the best time to forage for wild plants, How to use and cook with wild plants at home Foraging for wild foods was once a way of life for generations long past. It has the ability to reawaken something inherent that connects us with nature and our landscape.

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.

This is a weekly Saturday night residency of a Jazz Quartet, featuring Michael Nielsen (guitar), Sam Comerford (sax), Cormac O Brien (bass), James Mackin (drums) in the basement Wine Cave of KC Peaches wholefood restaurant/café. Food will be served until 22:00 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.

A Bat Walk with Tina Aughney from Bat Conservation Ireland will take place. You will walk around the park to observe bats flying and feeding in the area. Participation is free, but booking is required. Contact Tina on 086 4049468 or info@batconservationireland.org Meet at the Marlay Park Main Car Park.

The Stillorgan Orchard provides regular live music. The upcoming gigs are: Fri 31 Aug: Bree Harris and Sat 01 Sept: Dead Ringer

The Urban Mojo Blues Band,is a Dublin based five piece band drawing influences from electric Chicago blues and rock to produce a lively uptempo grooving blues will be performing every Saturday in Oil Can Harry’s. www.facebook.com/pages/The-Urban-Mojo-Blues-Band/87569518524

The brilliant Soul, Wedding & Party Band “The Ratzingers” are back in the Westin Hotel after a long absence (as far as I know). I know the guys well and have a great time at their gigs every time. If you like good music being performed really well, you will love The Ratzingers. www.facebook.com/theratzingers

The Phibsborough Community Arts Festival “Phizzfest” is a vibrant community arts festival which brings the little urban village of Phibsborough alive in the first week of September each year. It was established to develop an annual celebration of artistic life around Phibsborough, to highlight the rich diversity of culture and to provide a showcase for the local talent.

The week long festival will offer a wide variety of events. It could be a play in the Pillar Room at the Mater Hospital, an arts exhibition at the Fire Station, a concert in All Saints Church, a tribal belly dancing workshop in the Scout Hall. It could be canoe polo on the Royal Canal, a classical recital at the library. It could be comedy, trad, rock, poetry and literature in the many pubs and cafes. It could be the Community Day with festival stage. Or it could be just the the Visual Arts trail.

Phizzfest is run entirely by volunteers with support from grant authorities, the generous sponsorship of local businesses, and a wealth of artistic contributions. Impressively and unlike other similar festivals, they have a nice and usable website and even a downloadable PDF programme at www.phizzfest.ie/2012/guide/phizzfest_programme_2012.pdf Every year the festival gets better and I w ould say it is one of the best if not even THE best urban village/suburb festivals in Dublin.

There is a mix of free and non-free festivals (with a (perceived) majority of non-free events) and I recommend that you check the programme and select the events that interest you. Some events require the booking of tickets. From now until Friday there are 68 events, so I will let you select yourself from that wide selection. (Just to repeat: Many events are not free.)

This is your last chance to the Sand Sculptures:
Every year since 2002, the Irish Sand Sculpting Team “Duthain Dealbh” is creating a sand sculpture exhibition in the courtyard of Dublin Castle. The sand sculpting team has 7 days to create the sculptures out of 80 tonnes of sand and after that the sculptures will be on show for another month. The carving took place from 30 July – 05 Aug and the exhibition runs from 06 Aug-02 Sept. The sculptures are truly impressive and I strongly recommend that you have a look when you are in town. If my memory is right, in previous years four sculptures were created, but this year the team seems to have lost a member and will create therefore three sculptures. “Bright Spark” is the title of the exhibition and it is inspired by the innovations of Irish scientists. www.irish-sand.com

The Farmleigh House Food Market takes place again this Sunday. You will find a selection of artisan foods on the Farmyard at Farmleigh House. There is also “Music in the Bandstand” with Zrazy, playing Jazz and Latin Grooves from 14:00-16:00.

Jamestown Flea Market + Car Boot Sale. Every Sunday from 10:00-17:00 the Jamestown Market is taking place. You can reach it from Tyrconnell Road and from Kylemore Road and it is within 3 min from Black Horse stop on red Luas line.

The Merchants Market on East Wall Road is a relatively new weekly market on Saturdays and Sundays with more than 80 stalls. There is everything from furniture and antiques to paintings and mirrors, electronics and hot food to bicycles and buns. Sounds interesting and I will check it out over the coming weeks. It is just a few minutes walk away from the Point Theatre/O2 (walk in the direction of the Port Tunnel). www.facebook.com/merchantsindoormarket

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.

Last weekend! Last chance!!

Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council will run their ‘Summer of Heritage’ programme again this year throughout the summer. In its fifth year, Summer of Heritage (Wed 17 June – Sun 02 Sept). will again attract thousands of visitors to many of the top heritage sites in the county. This year the programme has been further expanded and features tours of the Seapoint Martello tower (a stunningly restored example of these 19th century defensive forts, built during the Napoleonic wars) and tours of the Celtic Oratory in Dún Laoghaire. There will also be tours of Kill Abbey (one of the oldest churches in Dublin, dating back to the 10th century), walking tours of old Dundrum, taking in the Castle and St. Nahi’s church; walking tours along ‘The Metals’ (a historic pathway that linked the quarry in Dalkey to the harbour in Dún Laoghaire). Carrickbrennan graveyard (resting place of many sailors lost in maritime disasters since the 17th century). features and so does the Dún Laoghaire Memorials Tour, tours of the Obelisk in Stillorgan and Deansgrange Cemetry. All of the tours will be conducted by qualified guides and admission is free. Tours will take place from 27 June – 02 September on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The full programme is here www.visitdublin.com/pdf/DLRSUMMEROFHERITAGE2012.pdf

A Pop-up Art Gallery & Market is taking place this weekend on Sat+Sun in the Exchange Dublin, Admission is free.

The Ferocious Mingle Market takes place every Thursday, Friday, Saturday AND Sunday. On Sunday it is a fancy dress market. It’s a flea-market type permanent market with stalls and “chalets” for traders. The Oscar Verne Café and (at least at the weekends) live music adds even more character.

The location of the new indoor market is 72 Thomas Street (between the Vicar St venue & Cafe Notto) an opening hours are 11:00-18:00. There is also a Café, the Oscar Verne Café, open for business at the market.

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.

This is the last weekend to see “Hack the City” as it will close on Friday:

Hack the City, the Science Gallery flagship exhibition for 2012, will demonstrate how innovation can transform our cities from the ground up. Featuring a wide range of exhibits, hacklabs, events and interventions, from a flock of robot drones to billboards hijacked in augmented reality and stealth underwear, Hack The City will invite us to take control and adopt a hacker mindset to bend, tweak and mash-up Dublin’s existing urban systems – rethinking the city from the ground up. Over 70 leading artists, scientists, engineers, designers and start-ups who are hacking, modding and rewiring the urban environment are part of the exhibition. Opening Hours are Tues-Fri: 12:00-20:00, Sat+Sun: 12:00-18:00, closed on Mondays.

An indoor market in Coolock with over 40 traders with a wide range of goods and a café on site as well.

The Dun Laoghaire Harbour Swim, which is part of the Open Sea Race series, will take place this weekend. The distance is 1800m and the water temperature is a COLD 10-15 degrees. Wetsuits are not allowed. You can’t take part in it, but you can watch and shiver with the swimmers. The race will start and finish at the the RNLI Boathouse at the East Pier (www.dlharbour.ie/content/ms/detail.php?newid=1273&catid=2&category=Events&locid=62). The men’s race starts at 12:30 and the women’s race starts at 13:30.

Brasserie Sixty6 is inviting to a Jazz Brunch every Sunday. The line-up for the next few Sundays is 02 Sept: Raimonda Masiulyte, 09 Sept: Cormac McCann, 16 Sept: Michael McLennan, 23 Sept: Gavin McCaffrey, 30 Sept: Michael McLennan. As you can imagine food and drinks are not free, but there is no cover or admission charge for the music.

The IFI continues with its free Archive at Lunchtime screenings in September and you can find all details on the website below. Admission to all lunchtime screenings is free, just collect your ticket at the ticket desk.

The “Dublin Sketchers” is an informal group of typically hobby artists who go somewhere different in Dublin every Sunday (e.g. National Museum, Maritime Museum, Dublin Flea Market, Farmleigh, Botanic Gardens, Dublin Castle), 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 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!

A Family Fun Day is taking place with Magic Show, Puppet Show, Barney&Friends, Face Painters and Balloon Modellers. It is supported and funded by the OPW and South Dublin County Council.

The 250th Anniversary Exhibition in the Irish Architectural Archive will open this Sunday. You can have a look at the exhibition and at 15:00 you can join Irish Film Archive curator Sunniva Flynn and architecture historian Dr Ellen Rowley, upstairs at No 45 to see fascinating footage of Merrion Square drawn from the IFI Irish Film Archive.

This Merrion Square Movie Medley will include screenings of:
With Will Rogers in Dublin- Pathe – 1927
Irish and Elegant (Sybil Connolly) – Derrick Knight – 1957
Amharc Eireann Newsreel – Colm O Laoghaire/Gael Linn
Eagrán 125: Georgian Society – 1961
Eagrán 211: Tenements Collapse – 1963
Eagran 240: John Huston – 1964
Quackser Fortune has a Cousin in the Bronx – Waris Hussein – 1970
Opening Merrion Square – UK produced newsreel – 1974
Dublin’s Changing Skyline – UK produced newsreel – 1974/75
This programme was devised by the Irish Architecture Foundation (IAF) and the Irish Film Institute (IFI).

A Merrion Square Walking Trail will take place on Sunday. The trail starts at 14:00 and meets at the Oscar Wilde Statue. I am not 100% sure, but I would expect that this is a self-guided tour, but you might get some information sheet for it. Admission is free, but booking is requested.

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

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

The artist Mick O’Dea will discuss his work exploring the era of the Troubles of the early 20th century. The talk is free and open to everybody. Early arrival is recommended as places are limited.

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 next Sunday Sketching for 7+ Year olds has the title “People and Portraits”. No booking necessary. Admission is free and early arrival is recommended. Materials are provided.

Occupy Dame Street and the Dublin Multicultural Fair and Market invite to their workshop on LETS and Timebanks and a presentation by Bev Cotton from the Clonakilty Favours Exchange. Bev will explain how the Timebank works and how to go about setting one up.

A Local Exchange Trading Scheme (LETS) is a community-based system where goods and services are exchanged, not as one-to-one barter, but using a pooled system of credits and debits. To support this, local currency is used which can only be spent within the group. A record of the transactions is kept by the group and the balances are published to members together with a listing of what is offered and what is wanted by the members. A Timebank is a somewhat similar arrangement except that a Timebank is restricted to services.

Saucy Sundays is a weekly free live music afternoon and evening in the Grand Social. This week’s line up is Icarus Rising, Carried by Waves, Kaplin, Rachel McCormick, Future Phantoms, The Dead Beat, Omar Naber.

Every Sunday a band will play from 21:00-22:30, a Latin Beat Club, Brazilian DJs and Salsa Classes (from 18:00) are additional features. Admission is free.

On Sunday the horror film “La Horde” will be screened and admission is free.www.exchangedublin.ie/calendar#.UEANDFLHmSo

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. This Sunday’s line up is Rory O’Hanlon plus Special Guests.

Rogério from the Brazilian dance project “Forró de Lampião” in Dublin tells me: Forró de Lampião is Brazilian music that has the same roots as Samba and there is a whole culture that has developed around “forro”. Every Sunday, free dance classes take place in Sweeney’s Bar on Dame Street and if you are interested, just turn up one Sunday.

Jaime Nanci & The Blue Boys are playing a weekly gig in Whelan’s Front Bar on Sundays. Their music is swing, blues, bebop and doo wop. Admission is free. www.whelanslive.com

“Rhythm Rocker at The Globe” is a weekly event on Sunday night in The Globe in Sth Great Georges Street, Dublin 2. It is a Rockabilly, R’n’R, Roots night with alternating (week by week) live bands Pavement Kings, Donna & The Sazzy Catz, The Mosquitoes and The Pacifics from 21:00 and with DJs from 23:00-01:30. Admission is free.

The weekly Sunday Roast is an event in the Mercantile where live music is combined with free roast potatoes. The next Sunday Roast line up is Tristan Carroll, Sophie Coyle, Changing Gears.

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 Phibsborough Community Arts Festival “Phizzfest” is a vibrant community arts festival which brings the little urban village of Phibsborough alive in the first week of September each year. It was established to develop an annual celebration of artistic life around Phibsborough, to highlight the rich diversity of culture and to provide a showcase for the local talent.

The week long festival will offer a wide variety of events. It could be a play in the Pillar Room at the Mater Hospital, an arts exhibition at the Fire Station, a concert in All Saints Church, a tribal belly dancing workshop in the Scout Hall. It could be canoe polo on the Royal Canal, a classical recital at the library. It could be comedy, trad, rock, poetry and literature in the many pubs and cafes. It could be the Community Day with festival stage. Or it could be just the the Visual Arts trail.

Phizzfest is run entirely by volunteers with support from grant authorities, the generous sponsorship of local businesses, and a wealth of artistic contributions. Impressively and unlike other similar festivals, they have a nice and usable website and even a downloadable PDF programme at www.phizzfest.ie/2012/guide/phizzfest_programme_2012.pdf Every year the festival gets better and I w ould say it is one of the best if not even THE best urban village/suburb festivals in Dublin.

There is a mix of free and non-free festivals (with a (perceived) majority of non-free events) and I recommend that you check the programme and select the events that interest you. Some events require the booking of tickets. From now until Friday there are 68 events, so I will let you select yourself from that wide selection. (Just to repeat: Many events are not free.)

To celebrate the 250th birthday of Merrion Square a number of events will take place this month. From 03-29 Sept a Walking Tour will take place every Monday and Friday:
Discover the Square with Ingenious Ireland, with free guided tours every Monday and Friday throughout September. Meeting at 11:00 at the Oscar Wilde Statue. Advance booking is recommended.

The Tours take place on Mon 03+10+17+24 Sept and on Fri 07+14+21+28 Sept.

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 IFI continues with its free Archive at Lunchtime screenings in September and you can find all details on the website below. Admission to all lunchtime screenings is free, just collect your ticket at the ticket desk.

A Walk & Talk event with historian Pat Liddy will take around the medieval areas of Liberties, of St. Thomas and the Norman foundedn church of St. Audeon. The walking tour will take approx. 90 minutes and the meeting point is the grounds of Christ Church.

This regular open-mic literary event is held on the first Monday of every month and anyone can come along to read aloud one or more of your favourite pieces from literature at the event or you can even request that someone else reads your favourite piece, if you don’t want to. The literary pieces don’t have to be in English or in Irish. Recently an extract from Dante’s ‘Inferno’ was read in the original Italian and some piece from Lorca was first read in Spanish and then translated into English. Admission is free.

For further information contact Howard, who organises the event, on 085 2350530.

Need to wind down after a tiring week? Free Sahaja Yoga Meditation (not physical yoga, but “yoga meditation”!) classes every Monday from 19:00 in Blakestown Community Resource Centre (next to Lidl).

This is a drop in class, with newcomers are welcome.

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. This Monday’s line up is George Quinn & Emmett Quinn.

Every Monday, a mix of musicians from bands like The Seven Deadly Skins / Animal Cracker / Upbeat Generation / Crete Boom & more come together to play a free night of Rock & Reggae.

The Phibsborough Community Arts Festival “Phizzfest” is a vibrant community arts festival which brings the little urban village of Phibsborough alive in the first week of September each year. It was established to develop an annual celebration of artistic life around Phibsborough, to highlight the rich diversity of culture and to provide a showcase for the local talent.

The week long festival will offer a wide variety of events. It could be a play in the Pillar Room at the Mater Hospital, an arts exhibition at the Fire Station, a concert in All Saints Church, a tribal belly dancing workshop in the Scout Hall. It could be canoe polo on the Royal Canal, a classical recital at the library. It could be comedy, trad, rock, poetry and literature in the many pubs and cafes. It could be the Community Day with festival stage. Or it could be just the the Visual Arts trail.

Phizzfest is run entirely by volunteers with support from grant authorities, the generous sponsorship of local businesses, and a wealth of artistic contributions. Impressively and unlike other similar festivals, they have a nice and usable website and even a downloadable PDF programme at www.phizzfest.ie/2012/guide/phizzfest_programme_2012.pdf Every year the festival gets better and I w ould say it is one of the best if not even THE best urban village/suburb festivals in Dublin.

There is a mix of free and non-free festivals (with a (perceived) majority of non-free events) and I recommend that you check the programme and select the events that interest you. Some events require the booking of tickets. From now until Friday there are 68 events, so I will let you select yourself from that wide selection. (Just to repeat: Many events are not free.)

A Fringe Fest for Poetry will take in Dun Laoghaire from 04-09 Sept in parallel to the DLR Poetry Now 2012 Festival. There are some free and some non-free events. The free events are:
+ Tues 04 Sept: 10:30 – Poetry Trail in Dun Laoghaire. Meet at Sunshine Cafe, Lower George’s Street. (Free)
+ Fri 07 Sept: 13:00 – “For a free and just World” Poetry Ireland/Trocaire Reading. Brian S Nolan (upstairs), Upper George’s Street (Free)
+ Sun 09 Sept: 18:30 – The Ithaca Session: Evening for New Poets, Harbour Bar & Grill, Marine Road (Free)
There is also a non-free event:
+ Wed 05 Sept: 21:00 A Night at the Maritime Museum with maritime music and poetry, National Maritime Museum, Haigh Terrace (Adm. EUR 5)

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 IFI continues with its free Archive at Lunchtime screenings in September and you can find all details on the website below. Admission to all lunchtime screenings is free, just collect your ticket at the ticket desk.

Irish flautist Brian Dunning brings his Celtic and jazz influenced trio, including guitarist Sean Whelan, to The National Gallery of Ireland. Admission is free and no booking required.

Ahead of the new semester of classes, the Dance House is inviting to a whole range of taster classes. There are 24 classes in total and with the 2 hours available per day on Tues and Wed, you can try out 4 classes if you stretch yourself a bit.

On Tuesday the list includes: Zumba, Nia, Pilates, Advanced Beginners Contemporary, Hip Hop, Ballet, Vinyasa Flow Yoga, Tai Chi and Latin American & Ballroom Dance.
And on Wednesday you can try Aerodance, Reggaeton & Body Fit, Bokwa, Beginners Contemporary, Irish Dance, Pilates and Tai Chi, Flamenco, Intermediate Contemporary, Jazz, Aikido and Vinyasa Flow Yoga.

On Tues and seemingly also on Wednesday a free Tai Chi Taster class will take place in the Dance House in Foley Street. I found that event here www.dublin.ie/calendar_details.aspx?eventid=3913 so I don’t know much about the teacher/instructor. Check her website out.

Come to the talk by Professor Paul Chaikin, New York University on “Experimental Geometry: Experiments with Candies, Dice and Colloids.” in teh Science Gallery.

Packing problems (how densely objects can fill a volume) are among the most ancient and persistent problems in mathematics and science. The oldest of these is the Kepler (1611) conjecture, which states that the most efficient way to pack spheres, leaving as few gaps as possible, happens to be the way that greengrocers stack oranges. More recently there has been intense interest in the packing of non-spherical shapes such as ellipsoids. By pouring M&M’s(c) Candies into a container, Professor Chaikin and his team have shown that randomly packed ellipsoids can pack more efficiently than spheres.

This talk is part of the International Workshop on Packing Problems that takes place in the School of Physics, Trinity College, from 02-05 September (www.packingproblems.com).

Admission is free, but booking is required on the website:

Open Mic Night with The Last Tycoons in O’Donoghue’s on Suffolk Street every Tues from 20:00. It’s free and anyone can get up, sing a song or do whatever they like.

The weekly “Grand Folk Club” will feature Trad, Ballads, Americana, Folk, World Music & More. This Tuesday, the line-up is: Robert Doyle / Fingerstyle with Americana and Originals and also Jonny Dillon with Originals and Instrumentals. Admission is free.

White Chocolate is playing Rock Covers from 23:30 in The Mezz in Temple Bar.

Entry charges at nearly all OPW sites are waived once a month. The Office of Public Works (OPW) launched an initiative last year to encourage more people to visit the historic sites that it manages and this initiative is continuing on all First Wednesdays in 2012. Most sites can already be visited for free, but the sites that normally charge a fee will now be free every first Wednesday until the end of the year.
In the (extended) Greater Dublin Area this will affect the following sites:
+ The Casino, Marino
+ Dublin Castle, State Apartments
+ Kilmainham Gaol
+ Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre at Newgrange
+ Glendalough Visitor Centre in Wicklow

The Phibsborough Community Arts Festival “Phizzfest” is a vibrant community arts festival which brings the little urban village of Phibsborough alive in the first week of September each year. It was established to develop an annual celebration of artistic life around Phibsborough, to highlight the rich diversity of culture and to provide a showcase for the local talent.

The week long festival will offer a wide variety of events. It could be a play in the Pillar Room at the Mater Hospital, an arts exhibition at the Fire Station, a concert in All Saints Church, a tribal belly dancing workshop in the Scout Hall. It could be canoe polo on the Royal Canal, a classical recital at the library. It could be comedy, trad, rock, poetry and literature in the many pubs and cafes. It could be the Community Day with festival stage. Or it could be just the the Visual Arts trail.

Phizzfest is run entirely by volunteers with support from grant authorities, the generous sponsorship of local businesses, and a wealth of artistic contributions. Impressively and unlike other similar festivals, they have a nice and usable website and even a downloadable PDF programme at www.phizzfest.ie/2012/guide/phizzfest_programme_2012.pdf Every year the festival gets better and I w ould say it is one of the best if not even THE best urban village/suburb festivals in Dublin.

There is a mix of free and non-free festivals (with a (perceived) majority of non-free events) and I recommend that you check the programme and select the events that interest you. Some events require the booking of tickets. From now until Friday there are 68 events, so I will let you select yourself from that wide selection. (Just to repeat: Many events are not 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.

McGuigan, an Australian winerie, invites you to enjoy a selection of its award-winning wines at a new City Vineyard in Temple Bar. Temporarily created in Meeting House Square, the McGuigan City Vineyard gives you the opportunity to stroll amongst the 60 year-old vines and meet the winemakers.

Australian wine producer McGuigan Wines is celebrating its Irish roots by building a living vineyard from Wednesday and until Saturday 08 Sept. More than 80 vines will be planted and – as long as you are over 18 – you can even try up to four small samples of the wine per day :-) . Looks really interesting, they did something similar in London in 2008 and it looked cool!

Admission is free. www.facebook.com/McGuiganCityVineyard

The lunchtime lecture “Françoise Henry in Co. Mayo: The Inishkea Journals'” with Janet T. Marquardt, Eastern Illinois University will take place on Wed. Booking is not required. Admission is free.

The IFI continues with its free Archive at Lunchtime screenings in September and you can find all details on the website below. Admission to all lunchtime screenings is free, just collect your ticket at the ticket desk.

“Merrion Square and the building culture of Georgian Dublin” is a talk by Dr Conor Lucey (UCD) on Wed. Admission is free, but booking is required. For booking and further information contact 01 6633040 or slincoln@iarc.ie

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.

Ahead of the new semester of classes, the Dance House is inviting to a whole range of taster classes. There are 24 classes in total and with the 2 hours available per day on Tues and Wed, you can try out 4 classes if you stretch yourself a bit.

On Tuesday the list includes: Zumba, Nia, Pilates, Advanced Beginners Contemporary, Hip Hop, Ballet, Vinyasa Flow Yoga, Tai Chi and Latin American & Ballroom Dance.
And on Wednesday you can try Aerodance, Reggaeton & Body Fit, Bokwa, Beginners Contemporary, Irish Dance, Pilates and Tai Chi, Flamenco, Intermediate Contemporary, Jazz, Aikido and Vinyasa Flow Yoga.

The closing art space “KTcontemporary” is inviting to their last event: It will be a large scale video installation by recent NCAD graduate Brendan Fox titled “Crossed Line”, a triptych film installation with audio for each video received through a telephone. The video installation will be accompanied by a selection of work by some KTcontemporary favourites including Alannah Barker, Dominic Bell, Leah Hewson, Martin Kinlough, Enda Mac Nally and Lisa O’Donnell.

On Tues and seemingly also on Wednesday a free Tai Chi Taster class will take place in the Dance House in Foley Street. I found that event here www.dublin.ie/calendar_details.aspx?eventid=3913 so I don’t know much about the teacher/instructor. Check her website out.

The 4 Dame Lane Movie Club will feature a movie every Wednesday from 20:00. The upcoming movies are: 05 Sept: Back to the Future 2.Admission is free.

“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, a band from Dublin that draws influences from all over the music spectrum including Rory Gallagher, Jimi Hendrix, ZZ Top, Deep Purple, blues rock and classic rock, is playing every Wednesday in Mother Reilly’s.

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

The Dublin Fashion Festival (06-09 Sept) is part of the programme of events organized by Dublin Business Improvement District (BID) and is there to highlight the fashion and style available in stores, hotels, restaurants and bars throughout Dublin city centre. The job o f the Dublin Business Improvement District is to help increasing the business for shops in Dublin, so it is in their interest ot get people to come tot the city and then to go into shops and buy there.

With that in mind, you will see that the Dublin Fashion Festival is not a festival in the typical sense with lots of festival events throughout the day and night in one or a few central locations. Instead it is a number of events that are just meant to give you an added reason to come to town. Nothing wrong with that, but don’t expect too much from the “Dublin Fashion Festival”.

A number of fashion related events will take place in shops and pubs/bars and there will be a few central fashion shows.

The central and free events are:
+ Barnardos Vintage Pop-Up Store in the GPO Arcade (off Henry Street) from Thurs 06 – Sun 09 Sept (09:00-18:30)
+ Catwalk Shows at the Henry Street/Liffey Street junction on 06+08 Sept: 12:00 + 12:45, 07 Sept: 14:45 + 15:30
+ Catwalk Show at the Grafton Street/South King Street junction on 06+08 Sept: 14:45 + 15:30, 07 Sept: 12:00 + 12:45
+ Creative Quarter Fashion Show: Fri 07 Sept: 20:00 On the steps of Powerscourt Townhouse (Host: Amanda Byran)
+ DFF by night: Fashion parades in city centre bars/pubs:
+++ Thurs: The Church, Grand Social, No 37 Dawson St
+++ Fri: Lost Society, Mercantile, Bar with no Name
+++ Sat: Harry’s on the Gree, Cafe en Seine, Mint Bar
+ Children event on Sat 08 + Sun 09 (12:00-16:00) in South Anne Street with all details at www.dff.ie/festival-highlights/festival-highlights/

The shop based events this week are:
+ Brown Thomas on Thurs 06 Sept (18:00-21:00): Fashion Shows, Autumn Beauty Event with international make-up artists, product launches, beauty workshops and demonstrations. There will also be a DJ and giveaways throughout the evening. (The autumn beauty event will continue on Friday from 09:30-20:00.
+ Clery’s: Thurs (16:00-17:00) + Fri (13:00-14:00): Debbie O’Donnell will be presenting 4 master-classes on the latest trends celebrity inspired looks and ling erie tips and tricks.
+ Powerscourt Townhouse: Musical entertainment from 14:00-16:00 throughout the festival.
+ Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre: On Fri 07 Sept (13:00-15:00) and Sat 08 Sept (14:00-16:00) stylist Sonja Mohlich will be hosting a number of fashion workshops and she will also be available to give expert style advise and fashion tips to customers.

There will be more free events on the weekend 08+09 Sept. The main non-free event is the “Style of Dublin Charity Fashion Show” in No 37 Dawson Street on Sun 09 Sept at 19:00 and tickets are available on the website.

The Phibsborough Community Arts Festival “Phizzfest” is a vibrant community arts festival which brings the little urban village of Phibsborough alive in the first week of September each year. It was established to develop an annual celebration of artistic life around Phibsborough, to highlight the rich diversity of culture and to provide a showcase for the local talent.

The week long festival will offer a wide variety of events. It could be a play in the Pillar Room at the Mater Hospital, an arts exhibition at the Fire Station, a concert in All Saints Church, a tribal belly dancing workshop in the Scout Hall. It could be canoe polo on the Royal Canal, a classical recital at the library. It could be comedy, trad, rock, poetry and literature in the many pubs and cafes. It could be the Community Day with festival stage. Or it could be just the the Visual Arts trail.

Phizzfest is run entirely by volunteers with support from grant authorities, the generous sponsorship of local businesses, and a wealth of artistic contributions. Impressively and unlike other similar festivals, they have a nice and usable website and even a downloadable PDF programme at www.phizzfest.ie/2012/guide/phizzfest_programme_2012.pdf Every year the festival gets better and I w ould say it is one of the best if not even THE best urban village/suburb festivals in Dublin.

There is a mix of free and non-free festivals (with a (perceived) majority of non-free events) and I recommend that you check the programme and select the events that interest you. Some events require the booking of tickets. From now until Friday there are 68 events, so I will let you select yourself from that wide selection. (Just to repeat: Many events are not free.)

The Ferocious Mingle Market takes place every Thursday, Friday, Saturday AND Sunday. On Sunday it is a fancy dress market. It’s a flea-market type permanent market with stalls and “chalets” for traders. The Oscar Verne Café and (at least at the weekends) live music adds even more character.

The location of the new indoor market is 72 Thomas Street (between the Vicar St venue & Cafe Notto) an opening hours are 11:00-18:00. There is also a Café, the Oscar Verne Café, open for business at the market.

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 Dublin Food Co-op is open every Thursday at Newmarket for organic wholefoods and sustainable household products, plus over a dozen producer stalls offering organic fruit and veg., baked goods, dairy produce, wines, hot and cold food, etc.
The Co-op is also opened on Saturdays 09:30 – 16:30. 12:00-20:00.

Lunchtime Market at Christ Church Cathedral from 12:00-15:00.

McGuigan, an Australian winerie, invites you to enjoy a selection of its award-winning wines at a new City Vineyard in Temple Bar. Temporarily created in Meeting House Square, the McGuigan City Vineyard gives you the opportunity to stroll amongst the 60 year-old vines and meet the winemakers.

Australian wine producer McGuigan Wines is celebrating its Irish roots by building a living vineyard from Wednesday and until Saturday 08 Sept. More than 80 vines will be planted and – as long as you are over 18 – you can even try up to four small samples of the wine per day :-) . Looks really interesting, they did something similar in London in 2008 and it looked cool!

Admission is free. www.facebook.com/McGuiganCityVineyard

This is a 3-day workshop. It is free, but you have to book and be available for all three days.

Online city maps focus on streets views of our houses, roads and buildings… but what if you could ‘see’ your street in a different way? What if you could take a snapshot of sound, heat or distance? What would that look like?

Tellart will be facilitating the final HACK THE CITY workshop and master class where you can visualise the city in a whole new way. This series of explorations will take place across Dublin to capture 360º readings using everything from basic light sensors, and microphones, to infrared thermometers. This data will be visualized, and transformed into a navigable map creating an unique view and legacy of the city.

The IFI continues with its free Archive at Lunchtime screenings in September and you can find all details on the website below. Admission to all lunchtime screenings is free, just collect your ticket at the ticket desk.

Join the Treasurer of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (www.rsai.ie), Brendan Twomey, to hear about, and visit, their beautiful Georgian Garden at No 63 Merrion Square. A beautiful hidden gem, and the only conserved and restored urban Georgian garden on Merrion Square, this is a special opportunity to gain insight into Georgian Living. Admission is free, but booking is required (on the website below).

Inspired by First Thursdays carried out in London, First Thursdays Dublin is the name given to cultural spaces opening their doors after hours and offering an extra chance to see art, culture and events in a number of venues from 18:00-20:00 on the first Thursday of every month. The 19 participating Cultural Spaces are Block T, Clyne Gallery, Centre for Creative Practices, Debbie Paul Studio & Gallery, Draíocht Arts Centre, Dublin Civic Trust, Fishbowl Gallery /Exchange Dublin, Gallery of Photography, Gallery Zozimus, Graphic Studio Gallery, Mad Art Gallery & Studio, Monster Truck Gallery & Studios, NGG – No Grants Gallery, Project Arts Centre, The Green Gallery, The Green On Red Gallery, The Lab, Jam Art Factory, The Doorway Gallery.

Los Angles-based architect, Steven Ehrlich, will talk at the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) on 06 Sept about MultiCultural Modernism – his distinctive approach to creating meaningful architecture for the 21st Century. In this talk, Ehrlich traces the evolution of his philosophy, incorporating numerous examples from his recent work in the US and around the world. Admission is free, but booking is required via tharte@riai.ie

Windows Publications are celebrating 20 years of publishing emerging and established writers. To mark the occasion editors: Heather Brett and Noel Monahan are publishing a special Anthology with poems from many of Ireland’s major poets. The Anthology will be launched in The Irish Writers’ Centre with readings by Maurice Harmon, Philip Casey, Elaine ni Chuilleanain, Gerard Smyth, Todd Swift, Allan Jude Moore. Windows editors will be in attendance alongside some of the contributors to the anthology.

The Eblana Toastmasters restart their fortnightly meetings on Thursday after the summer break and guests are welcome to attend for free. Toastmasters helps people to overcome the fear of public speaking and to improve their public speaking/presentation skills.

The Dublin Writers’ Forum welcomes writers of all genres, of all ages and all levels of experience. DWF is an open group of writers who share a common passion for all things literary. It is a safe ‘working space’ where on a weekly basis writers can bring their work to be critiqued by other writers.

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

Leaders of Men will be in the Workman’s Club on Thursday and admission to their gig is free, but ticketed, To get your name on the guest list, you have to do that via www.facebook.com/leadersofmen

Songs from a Café is a Dublin singer-songwriter showcase session, dedicated to the art of contemporary songwriting. 20:00-22:00 at Brick Alley Cafe in Temple Bar.

Jaime Nanci & The Blue Boys are playing a weekly gig in the Mercantile Hotel on Thursdays. Their music is swing, blues, bebop and doo wop. Admission is free.

The Max Zaska group and the Patrick Groenland group will perform on alternating Thursdays from 21:00 in the International Bar on 23 Wicklow Street.

“Thirsty Thursday” Open Mic Night from 21:00 in the Bridge Inn in Chapelizod Village.

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

The Bionic Rats play live Reggae and Ska every Thursday in Turk’s Head from 22:00. Admission is free.

The Dublin Fashion Festival (06-09 Sept) is part of the programme of events organized by Dublin Business Improvement District (BID) and is there to highlight the fashion and style available in stores, hotels, restaurants and bars throughout Dublin city centre. The job o f the Dublin Business Improvement District is to help increasing the business for shops in Dublin, so it is in their interest ot get people to come tot the city and then to go into shops and buy there.

With that in mind, you will see that the Dublin Fashion Festival is not a festival in the typical sense with lots of festival events throughout the day and night in one or a few central locations. Instead it is a number of events that are just meant to give you an added reason to come to town. Nothing wrong with that, but don’t expect too much from the “Dublin Fashion Festival”.

A number of fashion related events will take place in shops and pubs/bars and there will be a few central fashion shows.

The central and free events are:
+ Barnardos Vintage Pop-Up Store in the GPO Arcade (off Henry Street) from Thurs 06 – Sun 09 Sept (09:00-18:30)
+ Catwalk Shows at the Henry Street/Liffey Street junction on 06+08 Sept: 12:00 + 12:45, 07 Sept: 14:45 + 15:30
+ Catwalk Show at the Grafton Street/South King Street junction on 06+08 Sept: 14:45 + 15:30, 07 Sept: 12:00 + 12:45
+ Creative Quarter Fashion Show: Fri 07 Sept: 20:00 On the steps of Powerscourt Townhouse (Host: Amanda Byran)
+ DFF by night: Fashion parades in city centre bars/pubs:
+++ Thurs: The Church, Grand Social, No 37 Dawson St
+++ Fri: Lost Society, Mercantile, Bar with no Name
+++ Sat: Harry’s on the Gree, Cafe en Seine, Mint Bar
+ Children event on Sat 08 + Sun 09 (12:00-16:00) in South Anne Street with all details at www.dff.ie/festival-highlights/festival-highlights/

The shop based events this week are:
+ Brown Thomas on Thurs 06 Sept (18:00-21:00): Fashion Shows, Autumn Beauty Event with international make-up artists, product launches, beauty workshops and demonstrations. There will also be a DJ and giveaways throughout the evening. (The autumn beauty event will continue on Friday from 09:30-20:00.
+ Clery’s: Thurs (16:00-17:00) + Fri (13:00-14:00): Debbie O’Donnell will be presenting 4 master-classes on the latest trends celebrity inspired looks and ling erie tips and tricks.
+ Powerscourt Townhouse: Musical entertainment from 14:00-16:00 throughout the festival.
+ Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre: On Fri 07 Sept (13:00-15:00) and Sat 08 Sept (14:00-16:00) stylist Sonja Mohlich will be hosting a number of fashion workshops and she will also be available to give expert style advise and fashion tips to customers.

There will be more free events on the weekend 08+09 Sept. The main non-free event is the “Style of Dublin Charity Fashion Show” in No 37 Dawson Street on Sun 09 Sept at 19:00 and tickets are available on the website.

The Phibsborough Community Arts Festival “Phizzfest” is a vibrant community arts festival which brings the little urban village of Phibsborough alive in the first week of September each year. It was established to develop an annual celebration of artistic life around Phibsborough, to highlight the rich diversity of culture and to provide a showcase for the local talent.

The week long festival will offer a wide variety of events. It could be a play in the Pillar Room at the Mater Hospital, an arts exhibition at the Fire Station, a concert in All Saints Church, a tribal belly dancing workshop in the Scout Hall. It could be canoe polo on the Royal Canal, a classical recital at the library. It could be comedy, trad, rock, poetry and literature in the many pubs and cafes. It could be the Community Day with festival stage. Or it could be just the the Visual Arts trail.

Phizzfest is run entirely by volunteers with support from grant authorities, the generous sponsorship of local businesses, and a wealth of artistic contributions. Impressively and unlike other similar festivals, they have a nice and usable website and even a downloadable PDF programme at www.phizzfest.ie/2012/guide/phizzfest_programme_2012.pdf Every year the festival gets better and I w ould say it is one of the best if not even THE best urban village/suburb festivals in Dublin.

There is a mix of free and non-free festivals (with a (perceived) majority of non-free events) and I recommend that you check the programme and select the events that interest you. Some events require the booking of tickets. From now until Friday there are 68 events, so I will let you select yourself from that wide selection. (Just to repeat: Many events are not free.)

To celebrate the 250th birthday of Merrion Square a number of events will take place this month. From 03-29 Sept a Walking Tour will take place every Monday and Friday:
Discover the Square with Ingenious Ireland, with free guided tours every Monday and Friday throughout September. Meeting at 11:00 at the Oscar Wilde Statue. Advance booking is recommended.

The Tours take place on Mon 03+10+17+24 Sept and on Fri 07+14+21+28 Sept.

McGuigan, an Australian winerie, invites you to enjoy a selection of its award-winning wines at a new City Vineyard in Temple Bar. Temporarily created in Meeting House Square, the McGuigan City Vineyard gives you the opportunity to stroll amongst the 60 year-old vines and meet the winemakers.

Australian wine producer McGuigan Wines is celebrating its Irish roots by building a living vineyard from Wednesday and until Saturday 08 Sept. More than 80 vines will be planted and – as long as you are over 18 – you can even try up to four small samples of the wine per day :-) . Looks really interesting, they did something similar in London in 2008 and it looked cool!

Admission is free. www.facebook.com/McGuiganCityVineyard

The Hack The City exhibition in the Science Gallery is coming to an end and as the final event, a Closing Feast will take place on Grand Canal Square in cooperation with Street Feast, a not-for-profit organisation that runs a yearly Street Feast event to get neighbours to share lunch at a type of street party and as a platform for communities to share experiences and enhance the social bonds necessary for community cohesion and resilience.

Join Hack the City participants and Science Gallery supporters for an open-air potluck lunch, complete with curated conversations and music from HACK THE CITY’s “The Outdoor Miner”, a unique wearable, midi controlled, mechanical musical instrument, sound system and light show.

Participation is free, however you are asked to book a place (on the Science Gallery website below) and that everyone brings along a dish to share with your fellow Feast-ers.

A Fringe Fest for Poetry will take in Dun Laoghaire from 04-09 Sept in parallel to the DLR Poetry Now 2012 Festival. There are some free and some non-free events. The free events are:
+ Tues 04 Sept: 10:30 – Poetry Trail in Dun Laoghaire. Meet at Sunshine Cafe, Lower George’s Street. (Free)
+ Fri 07 Sept: 13:00 – “For a free and just World” Poetry Ireland/Trocaire Reading. Brian S Nolan (upstairs), Upper George’s Street (Free)
+ Sun 09 Sept: 18:30 – The Ithaca Session: Evening for New Poets, Harbour Bar & Grill, Marine Road (Free)
There is also a non-free event:
+ Wed 05 Sept: 21:00 A Night at the Maritime Museum with maritime music and poetry, National Maritime Museum, Haigh Terrace (Adm. EUR 5)

The IFI continues with its free Archive at Lunchtime screenings in September and you can find all details on the website below. Admission to all lunchtime screenings is free, just collect your ticket at the ticket desk.

A Garden Walking Tour will take place in Farmleigh House. Meeting Point is the Walled Gardens.

Tower Records is inviting to an EP Launch event for Pia Dunne & The Eleusians.

A Launch Party for the album “Cast Iron Dentures” by Reverend JM’s Panic Worship will take place in the Grans Social. Reverend JM all themselves “alt.gothic.jazzabilly.country.fusion combo”. Support will be provided by The Louisiana 6 (50s style skiffle), Locoswing (Jazz and Swing) and Fink (Visuals)