Dublin Event Guide 339: More Christmas Markets, Dublin Flea&Block T Mega Market, Farmleigh Christmas Programme

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

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

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

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

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

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

The first ever Bord Bia Christmas Food Fair will take place in the chq building from 12-15 Dec (Thurs-Sat: 10:00-20:00, Sun: 10:00-18:00). This indoor market will showcase Irish artisan food including Christmas puddings, mulled wine, bakery products, smoked salmon, relishes, preserves and Irish farmhouse cheese. Over forty Irish food producers will participate offering a wide array of tasty Christmas gifts.

The market is completely indoors and it is a perfect use for the pretty but underused chq building. There will also be live music.

While the Bord Bia Christmas Food Fair takes place IN the building, the Docklands’ Christmas Market will take place outside the building at George’s Dock.

Carol Singing in aid of the Fr. Peter McVerry Trust (who are helping homeless people in Dublin) is taking place at the GPO and the event is organised by Sarah Loughman who told me that singers, guitar players, tambourine shakers and bucket collectors are needed. If you want to help out, tell Sarah that I sent you. ;-)

If helping out is not your thing in this case, then go there, listen for a while and drop something in the collection buckets.

Every weekend in December a few craft stalls will set up in the courtyard at the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre. Very euphemistically the event is officially called “Christmas Winter Wonderland”. Christmas gifts on sale will range from woodcrafted items, knitwear, table centres, candles, oils, to little ceramic cottages and small sculptures.

Santa will appear each Sunday from 13:00-17:00 to meet the children and Storytelling for children will take place in the 16th century tower house beside the courtyard each Sunday at 13:30 and 15:00. The shows are 15 Dec: Christmas in Dublin with a Musical Flavour / 22 Dec: Snow White.
And a choir will be singing Christmas carols and songs every Sunday from 14:00.

Admission is free and there is parking on site.

The Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival is with 8 years, the longest established Christmas Market in Dublin, but compare that to the oldest Christmas Market in Germany (in Nuremberg), which is running 374 years now! The Irish Markets are still just tiny babies and a lot of learning and growing up could still be done.

The Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival will run from 12-23 Dec. It was in the past one of the better ones in layout and in the type of stalls/traders there are, but every year the organisers fiddle around with it. Maybe one day they will hit gold. In previous years there was a nice atmosphere and there were even some crafts shops intermixed with soap, flashy T-shirt and plastic goods shops.

11 food stalls and 27 shops stalls (only a small few you can call “craft”) are there this year, but it seems that the layout has been changed completely and the George’s Dock platform is used for a gig marquee this year, called “Festival Lounge”. Until 18:00 you are allowed in for free and some choirs will perform occassionally. In the evening, however, from 20:00-22:00, it will turn into a gig venue and tickets are EUR 8-10. VERY strange for a Christmas Market! So the jury is out about the market this year. We will know more next weekend.

The market will be open every day Mon-Fri 12:00-22:00 and Sat+Sun 10:00-22:00.

The Farmleigh Christmas Programme is every year a great programme that especially keeps the kids happy. On Saturday the event schedule is:

+ Christmas Food Market – Farmyard – 10am to 5pm
+ Festive Crib – Outdoors – 10am to 5pm
+ Magic Show – Cowshed Theatre – 12pm to 12.35pm, 1.45pm to 2.20pm, 3.30pm to 4.05pm
+ Storytelling for Children with Amy Creighton – The Old Kitchen – 12.45pm to 1.30pm, 2.30pm to 3.15pm, 4.15pm to 5pm
+ Carol Singing with St. Mary’s Chorale, Lucan – Ballroom – 1.30pm to 3.30pm
+ Barbershop Melodies with The Mellowchords – Outdoors – 2pm to 4pm
+ Victorian Christmas Experience – Courtyard – 12pm to 5pm

Admission is free to all events, but places are limited at some of them.

The “GloHealth Christmas Wonderland” (06 Dec – 12 Jan) is an Ice Skating Rink, a Circus, Funderland, Jingle Town, Puppet Theatre and Illusionist Guy Barrett. None of these events are free, but there is one free component: Advertised as a “Continental Christmas Market” and with free admission, you will find a couple of (german) food stalls…and that’s it! The most disappointing Christmas Market I have ever seen.

The Harbour Playhouse is a new Arts Centre in a little side street (with a big name!) of Portobello. On Sat + Sun a market takes place there. It is not a Christmas Market in the traditional, outdoors sense, but it is a Market at Christmas with lots of people selling all different types of Christmassy and less Christmassy things. I hear there will be crafts, cakes, face-painting and vintage clothing and lots more. www.facebook.com/theharbourplayhouse

Admission is free and if you go to the market, tell John that you read about it in the Dublin Event Guide (for Free Events). :-)

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

The 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.

The Temple Bar Markets (Food Market on Meeting House Square, Book Market on Temple Bar Square and the Designer Mart near Cow’s Lane) are taking place every Saturday from 10:00-16:30.

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

The Tower Design Centre is the big tower in the Trinity Enterprise Centre near the Grand Canal Basin on Pearse Street and two artists in the Tower are inviting to a craft fair/christmas exhibition. Ayelet Lalor, a ceramic artist, will show (and sell) ceramic gifts, decorations and sculptures and Breda Haugh’s jewellery studio is also open. And Ayelet will have a glass of mulled wine for you if you wish.

Admission is free.

Each Saturday and Sunday before Christmas a few food stands are put in the upper courtyard of Dublin Castle and the whole event is euphemistically called “Traditional Festive Market”. The stalls are there to feed the kids who went to the children show and the grown ups who came for the “choir under the tree” performances.

Choirs will be performing under the tree from 13:30-15:30.

This Sunday (15 Dec) here will also be a craft fair from 10:00 in the Bedford Hall.

The Christmas Festival in Dun Laoghaire runs from 30 Nov until 01 Jan. There will be a Christmas Market, a.k.a. “Enchanting Christmas Market” ;-) every Thurs-Sun from 11:00-18:00 and at the weekends other events will also take place.

This weekend (Sat 14 Dec at 16:00) a “Magical Christmas Lantern Procession” will take place from People’s Park to the Harbour Plaza. Children of all ages light up the street with handmade willow and tissue paper lanterns. The procession led by a group from Comhairle na nÓg will finish with a recital of Christmas Carols at Harbour Plaza.

The Ferocious Mingle Marcade (Market and Arcade) is back in a new location. The Marcade is now in Camden Street next to Daintree Paper and opposite the Centra and off-license there. It takes place every Thurs-Sun and is a flea-market-type permanent market with stalls and “chalets” for traders.

BLOCK T, the creative incubator in Smithfield, is the location for the Craft & Design Christmas Pop-up Shop in Smithfield. You will find affordable and unique art, handmade crafts & jewellery, records, posters and many more. The BLOCK T Showroom is just off the Luas track at Smithfield station.

The Pop-Up Shop is open every Thursday to Sunday from 07-22 Dec (11:30-18:30 with late opening on Thursday until 20:00)

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 Capella Choir will sing Christmas Carols from all over the world in the Hugh Lane Gallery. Admission is free, but places are limited.

Chris Hadfield, retired canadian astronaut and former commander of the International Space Station will be in Dublin. He was on the Late Late Show on Friday and will be in Eason’s on Saturday for a book signing.

The Dame District Christmas Market will take place every day from Fri 13 – Sun 22 Dec. The market is a row of 24 white plastic tents/marquees down Dame Court with a few lights and a few pine branches for decoration. Yes, you get it: atmosphere is a problem. But the tents are relatively big so that stalls are of a nice size and there are some interesting traders. Admission is free.

The best about this market is that there will be a free concert every night on a stage in the street. The performers are Betty Swing Machine, Jupe, Created by Comets, Deco Green, Ciaran Brennan, Greg Clifford, Gypsy Rebel Rabble, The Daily Howl, The Cold Draw, Reverend JM’s Panic Worship, Robin James Hurt, Chocolate Orange, DEM FOOLS, Cronin, The Ground Will Shake, The FitzaFrenic, The Rattling Kind, Shawn Mullin, Redwoods, Jigsaw Jam, Crow Black Chicken, Featuring X, Interskalastic, The Song Room, Noisy Plug Sessions, Woman Who Rock,

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find a schedule yet with start times etc for the music performances on the stage.

The Tower Design Centre is the big tower in the Trinity Enterprise Centre near the Grand Canal Basin on Pearse Street and two artists in the Tower are inviting to a craft fair/christmas exhibition. Ayelet Lalor, a ceramic artist, will show (and sell) ceramic gifts, decorations and sculptures and Breda Haugh’s jewellery studio is also open. And Ayelet will have a glass of mulled wine for you if you wish.

Admission is free.

The Dublin Flea & Block T Christmas Cracker Market, Dublin’s Biggest Inddor Christmas Flea Market will take place from Fri 13 – Sun 15 Dec. Over 100 stalls of second-hand, retro, vintage, affordable art, bric-a-brac, music and food. Definitely a market to go to with lots of vary varied stalls. I will be there! ;-)

Admission is free.

A Craft Market takes place in the Exchange, but unfortunately, the event listings on their website got extremely sparse, so I can’t tell you anything else. But in the past admission was free and I am quite certain that that will be the case again.

The newest Science Gallery exhibition (25 Oct – 19 Jan) is called GROW YOUR OWN…. and is exploring synthetic biology and life after nature. How does the future of designed and artificially enhanced life look like? What possibilities are there.

This exhibition is very different from the previous ILLUSION exhibition. GROW YOUR OWN is a lot more scientific and very futuristic. Maybe you could call it “science and art fiction”? The exhibition is full of interesting ideas and concepts, but also contains eye-brow raising stuff like human cheese and self-diagnosing excr ement. Younger children will be lost in it, so it is more suitable for a slightly older audience (16+) in comparison to the previous exhibition.

As with all Science Gallery exhibitions, I definitely recommend visiting it, but this time you have to bring a bit more time to comprehend all 21 exhibits and you need to bring your curiosity for science. It is worth it, though! The great (and unique) thing about the Science Gallery is that there are always mediators there, helpers that explain every exhibit in simple terms.

The exhibition is open Tuesday-Sunday. (Weekdays: 12:00-20:00, Sat+Sun: 12:00-18:00) Admission is free.

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

The first ever White Lady Art Gallery Christmas Market, with 14 stalls full of hand-made art, crafts and gifts all at affordable prices will take place over three weekends from Fri-Sun. The weekends are 06-08 Dec, 13-15 Dec, 20-22 Dec.

Admission is free.

A Children’s magic show and storytelling will take place in the Castle Hall. The show will be repeated throughout the day. Admission is free, but on a first come, first served basis.

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.

An Intercultural Tour in Arabic with Community Ambassador Karma el Shawa will introduce the collections in Arabic. Admission is free and booking is not required.

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

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

The public screening of “101 Dalmatians” (1996) a live-action Disney family comedy takes place. Various animals gang up against Cruella de Vil (Glenn Close) to rescue puppies. PG (103 min). Admission is free and no booking required.

An Intercultural Tour in Irish with Community Ambassador Jack Ftizgerald will introduce the collections in Irish. Admission is free and no booking required.

The next Dublin Board Games Events will take place on Saturday. Come to this afternoon of games and bring your friends.

You can play board games that you know, experience new games and the games will also be available for sale, maybe ideal Christmas presents!? www.facebook.com/events/619494381440863/

Admission is free.

I am not sure if it is the very last Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, but there is a good chance that this is the case: Phibsborough arelighting the Christmas Tree now as well. There will be a Santa, Christmas Carols & Stories and mulled wine. Jazz Singer Sharon Crosbie will perform. 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.

This is a weekly Saturday night jazz event 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.

The Stillorgan Orchard provides regular live music. The upcoming gigs are listed on the website below.

The first ever Bord Bia Christmas Food Fair will take place in the chq building from 12-15 Dec (Thurs-Sat: 10:00-20:00, Sun: 10:00-18:00). This indoor market will showcase Irish artisan food including Christmas puddings, mulled wine, bakery products, smoked salmon, relishes, preserves and Irish farmhouse cheese. Over forty Irish food producers will participate offering a wide array of tasty Christmas gifts.

The market is completely indoors and it is a perfect use for the pretty but underused chq building. There will also be live music.

While the Bord Bia Christmas Food Fair takes place IN the building, the Docklands’ Christmas Market will take place outside the building at George’s Dock.

Every weekend in December a few craft stalls will set up in the courtyard at the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre. Very euphemistically the event is officially called “Christmas Winter Wonderland”. Christmas gifts on sale will range from woodcrafted items, knitwear, table centres, candles, oils, to little ceramic cottages and small sculptures.

Santa will appear each Sunday from 13:00-17:00 to meet the children and Storytelling for children will take place in the 16th century tower house beside the courtyard each Sunday at 13:30 and 15:00. The shows are 15 Dec: Christmas in Dublin with a Musical Flavour / 22 Dec: Snow White.
And a choir will be singing Christmas carols and songs every Sunday from 14:00.

Admission is free and there is parking on site.

Each Saturday and Sunday before Christmas a few food stands are put in the upper courtyard of Dublin Castle and the whole event is euphemistically called “Traditional Festive Market”. The stalls are there to feed the kids who went to the children show and the grown ups who came for the “choir under the tree” performances.

Choirs will be performing under the tree from 13:30-15:30.

This Sunday (15 Dec) here will also be a craft fair from 10:00 in the Bedford Hall.

The Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival is with 8 years, the longest established Christmas Market in Dublin, but compare that to the oldest Christmas Market in Germany (in Nuremberg), which is running 374 years now! The Irish Markets are still just tiny babies and a lot of learning and growing up could still be done.

The Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival will run from 12-23 Dec. It was in the past one of the better ones in layout and in the type of stalls/traders there are, but every year the organisers fiddle around with it. Maybe one day they will hit gold. In previous years there was a nice atmosphere and there were even some crafts shops intermixed with soap, flashy T-shirt and plastic goods shops.

11 food stalls and 27 shops stalls (only a small few you can call “craft”) are there this year, but it seems that the layout has been changed completely and the George’s Dock platform is used for a gig marquee this year, called “Festival Lounge”. Until 18:00 you are allowed in for free and some choirs will perform occassionally. In the evening, however, from 20:00-22:00, it will turn into a gig venue and tickets are EUR 8-10. VERY strange for a Christmas Market! So the jury is out about the market this year. We will know more next weekend.

The market will be open every day Mon-Fri 12:00-22:00 and Sat+Sun 10:00-22:00.

The Farmleigh Christmas Programme is every year a great programme that especially keeps the kids happy. On Sunday the event schedule is:

+ Christmas Food Market – Farmyard – 10am to 5pm
+ Festive Crib – Outdoors – 10am to 5pm
+ Puppet Show: “Mr. Cool’s Muppet Christmas” – Cowshed Theatre – 12pm to 12.30pm, 1.45pm to 2.15pm, 3.30pm to 4pm
+ Barbershop Melodies with The Mellowchords – Outdoors – 12noon to 4pm
+ Storytelling for Children with Amy Creighton – The Old Kitchen – 12.45pm to 1.30pm, 2.30pm to 3.15pm, 4.15pm to 5pm
+ Horse & Carriage Rides – Experience Farmleigh Estate in Style – Outdoors – 1pm to 4pm
+ Carol Singing with The Firhouse Singers – Ballroom – 1.30pm to 3.30pm
+ Victorian Christmas Experience – Courtyard – 11am to 5pm

Admission is free to all events, but places are limited at some of them.

• Christmas Food Market – Farmyard – 10am to 5pm
• Festive Crib – Outdoors – 10am to 5pm
• Puppet Show: “Mr. Cool’s Muppet Christmas” – Cowshed Theatre – 12pm to 12.30pm, 1.45pm to 2.15pm, 3.30pm to 4pm
• Barbershop Melodies with The Mellowchords – Outdoors – 12noon to 4pm
• Storytelling for Children with Amy Creighton – The Old Kitchen – 12.45pm to 1.30pm, 2.30pm to 3.15pm, 4.15pm to 5pm
• Horse & Carriage Rides – Experience Farmleigh Estate in Style – Outdoors – 1pm to 4pm
• Carol Singing with The Firhouse Singers – Ballroom – 1.30pm to 3.30pm
• Victorian Christmas Experience – Courtyard – 11am to 5pm

The “GloHealth Christmas Wonderland” (06 Dec – 12 Jan) is an Ice Skating Rink, a Circus, Funderland, Jingle Town, Puppet Theatre and Illusionist Guy Barrett. None of these events are free, but there is one free component: Advertised as a “Continental Christmas Market” and with free admission, you will find a couple of (german) food stalls…and that’s it! The most disappointing Christmas Market I have ever seen.

The Harbour Playhouse is a new Arts Centre in a little side street (with a big name!) of Portobello. On Sat + Sun a market takes place there. It is not a Christmas Market in the traditional, outdoors sense, but it is a Market at Christmas with lots of people selling all different types of Christmassy and less Christmassy things. I hear there will be crafts, cakes, face-painting and vintage clothing and lots more. www.facebook.com/theharbourplayhouse

Admission is free and if you go to the market, tell John that you read about it in the Dublin Event Guide (for Free Events). :-)

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

The 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.

The Children’s Art Cart Workshops will be held again in the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre (01-6770095) every Sunday from 24 March to 22 December 2013. Currently the workshop is still free, but there is a possibility that a fee will be introduced at some point. Children must be over 6 years of age and must be supervised by an adult.
You can’t pre-book, so early arrival is required because there are only 20 places per session.

The themes are:
01 Dec: Make Christmas cards
08 Dec: Christmas decorations
15 Dec: Christmas Card for Teacher
22 Dec: Make a Surprise

The Brocante Market will take place on Sun. It is a collection of antiques, furniture, vintage jewellery, collectables and curiosities from the past and present, second-hand, refurbished, antique and hand-crafted stuff for your house and garden. If you are an interior designer or just have and eye for style and are looking for a special piece or maybe a bargain then this is the market for you. The market is held every 3rd Sunday of the month.

The Christmas Festival in Dun Laoghaire runs from 30 Nov until 01 Jan. There will be a Christmas Market, a.k.a. “Enchanting Christmas Market” ;-) every Thurs-Sun from 11:00-18:00 and at the weekends other events will also take place.

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

There seem to be TWO weekly markets on Long Mile Road and both are very close to each other. One is behind Wigoders on Long Mile Road (across the road from Aldi). It hosts more than 50 stalls and there is also a Cafe on site. www.facebook.com/WigodersLongmileMarket And the other one is just on the other side of the road, next to Aldi. www.facebook.com/TheLongMileRdMarket

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.

A Seasonal market with goodies, treats, presents and supplies for Christmas will take place. And if you have kids look out for the Santa event in the Botanic Gardens that is listed here separately.

The Ferocious Mingle Marcade (Market and Arcade) is back in a new location. The Marcade is now in Camden Street next to Daintree Paper and opposite the Centra and off-license there. It takes place every Thurs-Sun and is a flea-market-type permanent market with stalls and “chalets” for traders.

BLOCK T, the creative incubator in Smithfield, is the location for the Craft & Design Christmas Pop-up Shop in Smithfield. You will find affordable and unique art, handmade crafts & jewellery, records, posters and many more. The BLOCK T Showroom is just off the Luas track at Smithfield station. It is around the corner from the Christmas Cracker Market (13-15 Dec).

The Pop-Up Shop is open every Thursday to Sunday from 07-22 Dec (11:30-18:30 with late opening on Thursday until 20:00)

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

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

The Dame District Christmas Market will take place every day from Fri 13 – Sun 22 Dec. The market is a row of 24 white plastic tents/marquees down Dame Court with a few lights and a few pine branches for decoration. Yes, you get it: atmosphere is a problem. But the tents are relatively big so that stalls are of a nice size and there are some interesting traders. Admission is free.

The best about this market is that there will be a free concert every night on a stage in the street. The performers are Betty Swing Machine, Jupe, Created by Comets, Deco Green, Ciaran Brennan, Greg Clifford, Gypsy Rebel Rabble, The Daily Howl, The Cold Draw, Reverend JM’s Panic Worship, Robin James Hurt, Chocolate Orange, DEM FOOLS, Cronin, The Ground Will Shake, The FitzaFrenic, The Rattling Kind, Shawn Mullin, Redwoods, Jigsaw Jam, Crow Black Chicken, Featuring X, Interskalastic, The Song Room, Noisy Plug Sessions, Woman Who Rock,

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find a schedule yet with start times etc for the music performances on the stage.

The Dublin Flea & Block T Christmas Cracker Market, Dublin’s Biggest Inddor Christmas Flea Market will take place from Fri 13 – Sun 15 Dec. Over 100 stalls of second-hand, retro, vintage, affordable art, bric-a-brac, music and food. Definitely a market to go to with lots of vary varied stalls. I will be there! ;-)

Admission is free.

The newest Science Gallery exhibition (25 Oct – 19 Jan) is called GROW YOUR OWN…. and is exploring synthetic biology and life after nature. How does the future of designed and artificially enhanced life look like? What possibilities are there.

This exhibition is very different from the previous ILLUSION exhibition. GROW YOUR OWN is a lot more scientific and very futuristic. Maybe you could call it “science and art fiction”? The exhibition is full of interesting ideas and concepts, but also contains eye-brow raising stuff like human cheese and self-diagnosing excr ement. Younger children will be lost in it, so it is more suitable for a slightly older audience (16+) in comparison to the previous exhibition.

As with all Science Gallery exhibitions, I definitely recommend visiting it, but this time you have to bring a bit more time to comprehend all 21 exhibits and you need to bring your curiosity for science. It is worth it, though! The great (and unique) thing about the Science Gallery is that there are always mediators there, helpers that explain every exhibit in simple terms.

The exhibition is open Tuesday-Sunday. (Weekdays: 12:00-20:00, Sat+Sun: 12:00-18:00) Admission is free.

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

The Sundays at Noon Concert Series continues in the Sculpture Gallery at the Hugh Lane Gallery. This series of free (mainly classical) concerts continues to present the best of Irish and International music and musicians. Concerts run from September to June. The next concert will feature the Contempo Quartet.

The Sunday Assembly is a “godless congregation that meets to hear great talks, sing songs and celebrate the wonder of life”.

The Christmas Assembly this week is themed “Taking the Christ out of Christmas”.

Admission is free.

The first ever White Lady Art Gallery Christmas Market, with 14 stalls full of hand-made art, crafts and gifts all at affordable prices will take place over three weekends from Fri-Sun. The weekends are 06-08 Dec, 13-15 Dec, 20-22 Dec.

Admission is free.

A Children’s magic show and storytelling will take place in the Castle Hall. The show will be repeated throughout the day. Admission is free, but on a first come, first served basis.

Santa Claus will visit the Botanic Gardens on Sunday. Enjoy the seasonal atmosphere and experience Christmas with a free visit to Santa and his helpers in his woodland hideaway in the gardens. Admission by ticket only. Collect the tickets at the visitor centre, tickets can only be collected on Sunday 15 Dec.

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!

It would be great if I knew what this event is about, but let me tell you what I do know;

Paul G ay is a Kaleidoscope artist and he builds giant kaleidoscopes. Last year he had an exhibition in the Exchange and I was impressed by some of them. Sooo beautiful!

If there was an opportunity to see his giant kaleidoscopes, I would definitely recommend that you go to it if you like pretty things and colours etc. But Paul lives somewhere in the west if I remember it right and the event on Sunday is only scheduled for 2 hours, so maybe it is something else? A workshop maybe?

The Exchange is a great venue, but the people working there are all volunteers and the people organising the events are not the volunteers but people like you and me that “rent” the Exchange just for their event, The consequence is that a lot of essential information just gets lost unfortunately and if I don’t have that information I need to leave the events out.

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

The Monthly Alternative Market in the Gypsy Rose Blues & Rock Bar takes place on Sunday and has this time a Christmas aspect to it in addition to the normal wares. Expect handmade jewellery, alt clothing, 90s nostalgia cakes and treats, bric a brac, accessories, handmade Christmas decorations, bog oak carved pieces, photography, paintings and gift hampers.

Admission is free and all are welcome.

The Velvet Market takes place in the Front Lounge and you can get handmade, unique items, from cupcakes to photo prints and button art to jewellery. The market is organised by the LGBT community and many vendors are from that community, but it is explicitly open to all. For more information check out www.velvetmarket.org

This month the market has an additional Christmas aspect to it.

Admission is free.

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

Hvmmingbyrd, a female five-piece band from Maynooth and Dublin will play classic and contemporary Winter songs. Admission is free, but seats 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 “A Time to Rhyme”. No booking necessary. Admission is free and early arrival is recommended.

Late afternoon Jazz with Zrazy in Odessa. Zrazy will play Jazz but also their own songs. Zrazy are Vocalist Maria Walsh and
pianist/saxophonist Carole Nelson.

Admission is free.

Three different guitar acts, including bluegrass and “The Aqualights” will perform all evening in the Beerhouse in Capel Street. Admission is free.

Saucy Sunday is NOT taking place this week, but it will be back next week on 22 Dec! Instead check out Sunday Roast also on Sunday.

Saucy Sundays is a weekly free live music afternoon and evening in the Grand Social. The line-up and links to all bands/performers are available via the Saucy Sundays Facebook Page (see link below).

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

A Carols by Candlelight concert takes place in St. Werburgh Church (opposite Burdocks near Christ Church Cathedral). There will be a collection in aid of the St Werburgh’s restoration fund. Admission is free.

The Dublin Blues Cartel will perform in the “Live from the Window” slot in Whelan’s. Admission is free.

The Gardiner Street Gospel Choir Mass invites to a Mass in St. Francis Xavier Church at the top of Gardiner Street near the junction with Dorset Street every Sunday at 19:30. The Gardiner Street Gospel Choir, one of the best known choirs in Ireland will sing during the mass and everybody is welcome independent from your level of religiousness.

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

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

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 the Grand Social (new loation!) and if you are interested, just turn up one Sunday.

“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.

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

The weekly Sunday Roast is a free event in the Mercantile where live music is combined with free roast potatoes. The line-up for the upcoming Sunday Roast is available via the Sunday Roast Facebook Page (see link below). It is in brief: Synergy, Mojo Gogo, Melted, The Phoenix Departure.

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 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 Dame District Christmas Market will take place every day from Fri 13 – Sun 22 Dec. The market is a row of 24 white plastic tents/marquees down Dame Court with a few lights and a few pine branches for decoration. Yes, you get it: atmosphere is a problem. But the tents are relatively big so that stalls are of a nice size and there are some interesting traders. Admission is free.

The best about this market is that there will be a free concert every night on a stage in the street. The performers are Betty Swing Machine, Jupe, Created by Comets, Deco Green, Ciaran Brennan, Greg Clifford, Gypsy Rebel Rabble, The Daily Howl, The Cold Draw, Reverend JM’s Panic Worship, Robin James Hurt, Chocolate Orange, DEM FOOLS, Cronin, The Ground Will Shake, The FitzaFrenic, The Rattling Kind, Shawn Mullin, Redwoods, Jigsaw Jam, Crow Black Chicken, Featuring X, Interskalastic, The Song Room, Noisy Plug Sessions, Woman Who Rock,

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find a schedule yet with start times etc for the music performances on the stage.

The Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival is with 8 years, the longest established Christmas Market in Dublin, but compare that to the oldest Christmas Market in Germany (in Nuremberg), which is running 374 years now! The Irish Markets are still just tiny babies and a lot of learning and growing up could still be done.

The Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival will run from 12-23 Dec. It was in the past one of the better ones in layout and in the type of stalls/traders there are, but every year the organisers fiddle around with it. Maybe one day they will hit gold. In previous years there was a nice atmosphere and there were even some crafts shops intermixed with soap, flashy T-shirt and plastic goods shops.

11 food stalls and 27 shops stalls (only a small few you can call “craft”) are there this year, but it seems that the layout has been changed completely and the George’s Dock platform is used for a gig marquee this year, called “Festival Lounge”. Until 18:00 you are allowed in for free and some choirs will perform occassionally. In the evening, however, from 20:00-22:00, it will turn into a gig venue and tickets are EUR 8-10. VERY strange for a Christmas Market! So the jury is out about the market this year. We will know more next weekend.

The market will be open every day Mon-Fri 12:00-22:00 and Sat+Sun 10:00-22:00.

“Update on French European Policy: A Franco-Irish Conversation” with Pierre Lequiller who is the Vice-Chair of the Committee on European Affairs in the French National Assembly. His Irish interlocutor for this seminar is Paul Gillespie. Gillespie is a columnist and former Foreign Editor of The Irish Times and conducts academic research on European political identities at the UCD School of Politics and International Relations. www.iiea.com/events/update-on-french-european-policy-a-franco-irish-conversation

I am not certain if this event is free or if it is maybe only for IIEA members? I suggest you ring the organisation on Tel 01-8746756 if you are interested.

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

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

The Monday Echo is a weekly songwriter and poetry live showcase held on Mondays in the basement of The International Bar. Usually, the show has 3 songwriters and 3 poets who perform for roughly 20 minutes each. Admission is free.
The weekly line-up can be found via the Facebook Page below.

The Ranelagh Singers will peform “A Festival of Carols” with special guests Sandford Parish National School Choir. Admissionis free, a donation in aid of TRUST is appreciated. The choirs will be introduced by Caroline Murphy, RTE.

The debut gig of Young Woods, a blend of saxophone, guitars, keyboards, four-part harmonies. Admission is free.

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

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

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

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

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

The Dame District Christmas Market will take place every day from Fri 13 – Sun 22 Dec. The market is a row of 24 white plastic tents/marquees down Dame Court with a few lights and a few pine branches for decoration. Yes, you get it: atmosphere is a problem. But the tents are relatively big so that stalls are of a nice size and there are some interesting traders. Admission is free.

The best about this market is that there will be a free concert every night on a stage in the street. The performers are Betty Swing Machine, Jupe, Created by Comets, Deco Green, Ciaran Brennan, Greg Clifford, Gypsy Rebel Rabble, The Daily Howl, The Cold Draw, Reverend JM’s Panic Worship, Robin James Hurt, Chocolate Orange, DEM FOOLS, Cronin, The Ground Will Shake, The FitzaFrenic, The Rattling Kind, Shawn Mullin, Redwoods, Jigsaw Jam, Crow Black Chicken, Featuring X, Interskalastic, The Song Room, Noisy Plug Sessions, Woman Who Rock,

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find a schedule yet with start times etc for the music performances on the stage.

The Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival is with 8 years, the longest established Christmas Market in Dublin, but compare that to the oldest Christmas Market in Germany (in Nuremberg), which is running 374 years now! The Irish Markets are still just tiny babies and a lot of learning and growing up could still be done.

The Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival will run from 12-23 Dec. It was in the past one of the better ones in layout and in the type of stalls/traders there are, but every year the organisers fiddle around with it. Maybe one day they will hit gold. In previous years there was a nice atmosphere and there were even some crafts shops intermixed with soap, flashy T-shirt and plastic goods shops.

11 food stalls and 27 shops stalls (only a small few you can call “craft”) are there this year, but it seems that the layout has been changed completely and the George’s Dock platform is used for a gig marquee this year, called “Festival Lounge”. Until 18:00 you are allowed in for free and some choirs will perform occassionally. In the evening, however, from 20:00-22:00, it will turn into a gig venue and tickets are EUR 8-10. VERY strange for a Christmas Market! So the jury is out about the market this year. We will know more next weekend.

The market will be open every day Mon-Fri 12:00-22:00 and Sat+Sun 10:00-22:00.

The Discotekken club night focus at this event on live bands as opposed to DJs. Psychedelic rock outfit Halcyon Daze, with support coming from “the eclectic & multi-talented up & comers No Bread”. Expect to hear a broad range of genres throughout the night, from soft, folk stylings, to classic techno covers, to uptempo virtuoso guitar & drum solos.

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

Ben Prevo & friends play saucy Blues & soul every Tuesday

The weekly “Folk Club” in the Mercantile will feature Trad, Ballads, Americana, Folk, World Music & More. This Tuesday, the line-up is: Lynched (urban folk / trad). Admission is free.

The An Post Museum in the GPO does not charge any admission fee today. Last week 400 people visited the museum on Wednesday, so if you want to go, go early enough.

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 Dame District Christmas Market will take place every day from Fri 13 – Sun 22 Dec. The market is a row of 24 white plastic tents/marquees down Dame Court with a few lights and a few pine branches for decoration. Yes, you get it: atmosphere is a problem. But the tents are relatively big so that stalls are of a nice size and there are some interesting traders. Admission is free.

The best about this market is that there will be a free concert every night on a stage in the street. The performers are Betty Swing Machine, Jupe, Created by Comets, Deco Green, Ciaran Brennan, Greg Clifford, Gypsy Rebel Rabble, The Daily Howl, The Cold Draw, Reverend JM’s Panic Worship, Robin James Hurt, Chocolate Orange, DEM FOOLS, Cronin, The Ground Will Shake, The FitzaFrenic, The Rattling Kind, Shawn Mullin, Redwoods, Jigsaw Jam, Crow Black Chicken, Featuring X, Interskalastic, The Song Room, Noisy Plug Sessions, Woman Who Rock,

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find a schedule yet with start times etc for the music performances on the stage.

The Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival is with 8 years, the longest established Christmas Market in Dublin, but compare that to the oldest Christmas Market in Germany (in Nuremberg), which is running 374 years now! The Irish Markets are still just tiny babies and a lot of learning and growing up could still be done.

The Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival will run from 12-23 Dec. It was in the past one of the better ones in layout and in the type of stalls/traders there are, but every year the organisers fiddle around with it. Maybe one day they will hit gold. In previous years there was a nice atmosphere and there were even some crafts shops intermixed with soap, flashy T-shirt and plastic goods shops.

11 food stalls and 27 shops stalls (only a small few you can call “craft”) are there this year, but it seems that the layout has been changed completely and the George’s Dock platform is used for a gig marquee this year, called “Festival Lounge”. Until 18:00 you are allowed in for free and some choirs will perform occassionally. In the evening, however, from 20:00-22:00, it will turn into a gig venue and tickets are EUR 8-10. VERY strange for a Christmas Market! So the jury is out about the market this year. We will know more next weekend.

The market will be open every day Mon-Fri 12:00-22:00 and Sat+Sun 10:00-22:00.

The Little Museum of Dublin secured sponsorship from Johnston, Mooney & O’Brien until October 2014 and will therefore be able to continue the Big J Wednesday: Every Wednesday from 12:00-17:00 admission into the museum is free thanks to the bread company. There are free guided tours every hour.

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

The “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.

A series of four concerts of songs based on the child ballad collection will take place. Man, Woman and Child is a research and performance project devised and co-ordinated by Michael Fortune featuring traditional singers. The project is based on The Child Ballad Collection: a collection of traditional songs gathered by the American collector Francis J Child in England and Scotland between 1882 and 1898. Many of the songs, or variants of them, are sung in the Irish tradition. Approximately fifty songs will be performed over four nights along with a comprehensive talk on Child Ballads in Ireland by singer Jerry O’Reilly.

Hear two different singers perform each Wednesday (19:00) evening:
27 Nov: Luke Cheevers and Niamh Parsons.
04 Dec: John and Brigid Tunney
11 Dec: Mick Fowler and Rosie Stewart
18 Dec: Tim Lyons and Aileen Lambert

Thurs 19 Dec at 13:00: Jerry O’Reilly will give a talk on ‘The Early Classic Ballads in the Irish Song tradition’ including archival presentation and songs from the singers who performed at the concerts.

Free. All welcome. No booking required but come early to secure a seat.

Beach, a grunge and psychedelic rock influenced band, will perform in the Workman’s Club and admission is free.

Launch of flautist John Blake’s album ‘The Narrow Edge’. John will by joined on the night by bouzouki player Ruairi McGorman and many of his musical friends from the world of traditional music.

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

Every Wednesday a Singer Songwriter Night will take place in Mother Reilly’s. Admission is free.

Every Wednesday a Singer Songwriter Night will take place in Mother Reilly’s. Admission is free.

The next Inn Jokes Comedy event will take place on Wednesday and will feature Totally Wired, Colum Mcdonnell, Paul Crowley and MC and organiser Colm O’Regan.

Admission is free

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

In the small square at the Colelge Green branch of Bank of Ireland (opposite the main entrance to Trinity College) a Designer Dublin “Christmas Market” takes place. Approx. thirty designers and craftspeople from Dublin will show and sell their work at this 1-day fair. Organised by the Dublin City Enterprise Board and Plato Dublin, the stalls will provide Irish-made fashion, jewellery, furniture, ceramics, craft and artisan food produce.

Admission is free.

You have to read the Feel Good Slot to fully understand this event. Please check it out, it is a great story!

A Sale of Work and Fun Day in this school is taking place and the children have made lots of items to sell so that they can raise money for the SVP charity. If you are in the area (Lucan), drop in and help them a bit! And spread the word to other people that might be in the area.

The Christmas Festival in Dun Laoghaire runs from 30 Nov until 01 Jan. There will be a Christmas Market, a.k.a. “Enchanting Christmas Market” ;-) every Thurs-Sun from 11:00-18:00 and at the weekends other events will also take place.

The Ferocious Mingle Marcade (Market and Arcade) is back in a new location. The Marcade is now in Camden Street next to Daintree Paper and opposite the Centra and off-license there. It takes place every Thurs-Sun and is a flea-market-type permanent market with stalls and “chalets” for traders.

BLOCK T, the creative incubator in Smithfield, is the location for the Craft & Design Christmas Pop-up Shop in Smithfield. You will find affordable and unique art, handmade crafts & jewellery, records, posters and many more. The BLOCK T Showroom is just off the Luas track at Smithfield station.

The Pop-Up Shop is open every Thursday to Sunday from 07-22 Dec (11:30-18:30 with late opening on Thursday until 20:00)

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 Dame District Christmas Market will take place every day from Fri 13 – Sun 22 Dec. The market is a row of 24 white plastic tents/marquees down Dame Court with a few lights and a few pine branches for decoration. Yes, you get it: atmosphere is a problem. But the tents are relatively big so that stalls are of a nice size and there are some interesting traders. Admission is free.

The best about this market is that there will be a free concert every night on a stage in the street. The performers are Betty Swing Machine, Jupe, Created by Comets, Deco Green, Ciaran Brennan, Greg Clifford, Gypsy Rebel Rabble, The Daily Howl, The Cold Draw, Reverend JM’s Panic Worship, Robin James Hurt, Chocolate Orange, DEM FOOLS, Cronin, The Ground Will Shake, The FitzaFrenic, The Rattling Kind, Shawn Mullin, Redwoods, Jigsaw Jam, Crow Black Chicken, Featuring X, Interskalastic, The Song Room, Noisy Plug Sessions, Woman Who Rock,

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find a schedule yet with start times etc for the music performances on the stage.

The Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival is with 8 years, the longest established Christmas Market in Dublin, but compare that to the oldest Christmas Market in Germany (in Nuremberg), which is running 374 years now! The Irish Markets are still just tiny babies and a lot of learning and growing up could still be done.

The Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival will run from 12-23 Dec. It was in the past one of the better ones in layout and in the type of stalls/traders there are, but every year the organisers fiddle around with it. Maybe one day they will hit gold. In previous years there was a nice atmosphere and there were even some crafts shops intermixed with soap, flashy T-shirt and plastic goods shops.

11 food stalls and 27 shops stalls (only a small few you can call “craft”) are there this year, but it seems that the layout has been changed completely and the George’s Dock platform is used for a gig marquee this year, called “Festival Lounge”. Until 18:00 you are allowed in for free and some choirs will perform occassionally. In the evening, however, from 20:00-22:00, it will turn into a gig venue and tickets are EUR 8-10. VERY strange for a Christmas Market! So the jury is out about the market this year. We will know more next weekend.

The market will be open every day Mon-Fri 12:00-22:00 and Sat+Sun 10:00-22:00.

Guillem Balague is in Easons for a book signing of his book “Messi” about footballer Lionel Messi.

Fresh is a food market on Grand Canal Square and they are running a 2-day music event on Thursday and Friday. I assume that it takes place in the shop and I also assume that it is free. I couldn’t find a clear statement that confirmed this, but it would be surprising if it was any different.

The line up is:

Thurs 19 Dec:
+ 13:00-14:00: 4 in a Bar (Barbershop Quartet)
+ 18:00-19:00: Dublin Gospel Choir

Fri 20 Dec:
+ 13:00-14:00: Sax Sisters
+ 18:00-19:00: 4 in a Bar

A BA Graduate Photography Christmas Exhibition will take place for one night only at the Griffith College in room AF203.

28 final year students will be exhibiting their work. There will be some refreshments and all work is for sale. Admission is free.

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

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

A series of four concerts of songs based on the child ballad collection will take place. Man, Woman and Child is a research and performance project devised and co-ordinated by Michael Fortune featuring traditional singers. The project is based on The Child Ballad Collection: a collection of traditional songs gathered by the American collector Francis J Child in England and Scotland between 1882 and 1898. Many of the songs, or variants of them, are sung in the Irish tradition. Approximately fifty songs will be performed over four nights along with a comprehensive talk on Child Ballads in Ireland by singer Jerry O’Reilly.

Hear two different singers perform each Wednesday (19:00) evening:
27 Nov: Luke Cheevers and Niamh Parsons.
04 Dec: John and Brigid Tunney
11 Dec: Mick Fowler and Rosie Stewart
18 Dec: Tim Lyons and Aileen Lambert

Thurs 19 Dec at 13:00: Jerry O’Reilly will give a talk on ‘The Early Classic Ballads in the Irish Song tradition’ including archival presentation and songs from the singers who performed at the concerts.

Free. All welcome. No booking required but come early to secure a seat.

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.

Bad Boy Jake are every Thursday until the end of February in the newly re-opened Rathmines Inn, playing their rock, blues and Americana.

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.

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

Every Thursday a free Trad Session takes place in McNeills and often there are high profile Trad musicians performing. Until the end of August, that Thursday Session is part of the Steeple Sessions programme (www.steeplesessions.com )

The Christmas Festival in Dun Laoghaire runs from 30 Nov until 01 Jan. There will be a Christmas Market, a.k.a. “Enchanting Christmas Market” ;-) every Thurs-Sun from 11:00-18:00 and at the weekends other events will also take place.

The Ferocious Mingle Marcade (Market and Arcade) is back in a new location. The Marcade is now in Camden Street next to Daintree Paper and opposite the Centra and off-license there. It takes place every Thurs-Sun and is a flea-market-type permanent market with stalls and “chalets” for traders.

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 Dame District Christmas Market will take place every day from Fri 13 – Sun 22 Dec. The market is a row of 24 white plastic tents/marquees down Dame Court with a few lights and a few pine branches for decoration. Yes, you get it: atmosphere is a problem. But the tents are relatively big so that stalls are of a nice size and there are some interesting traders. Admission is free.

The best about this market is that there will be a free concert every night on a stage in the street. The performers are Betty Swing Machine, Jupe, Created by Comets, Deco Green, Ciaran Brennan, Greg Clifford, Gypsy Rebel Rabble, The Daily Howl, The Cold Draw, Reverend JM’s Panic Worship, Robin James Hurt, Chocolate Orange, DEM FOOLS, Cronin, The Ground Will Shake, The FitzaFrenic, The Rattling Kind, Shawn Mullin, Redwoods, Jigsaw Jam, Crow Black Chicken, Featuring X, Interskalastic, The Song Room, Noisy Plug Sessions, Woman Who Rock,

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find a schedule yet with start times etc for the music performances on the stage.

The Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival is with 8 years, the longest established Christmas Market in Dublin, but compare that to the oldest Christmas Market in Germany (in Nuremberg), which is running 374 years now! The Irish Markets are still just tiny babies and a lot of learning and growing up could still be done.

The Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival will run from 12-23 Dec. It was in the past one of the better ones in layout and in the type of stalls/traders there are, but every year the organisers fiddle around with it. Maybe one day they will hit gold. In previous years there was a nice atmosphere and there were even some crafts shops intermixed with soap, flashy T-shirt and plastic goods shops.

11 food stalls and 27 shops stalls (only a small few you can call “craft”) are there this year, but it seems that the layout has been changed completely and the George’s Dock platform is used for a gig marquee this year, called “Festival Lounge”. Until 18:00 you are allowed in for free and some choirs will perform occassionally. In the evening, however, from 20:00-22:00, it will turn into a gig venue and tickets are EUR 8-10. VERY strange for a Christmas Market! So the jury is out about the market this year. We will know more next weekend.

The market will be open every day Mon-Fri 12:00-22:00 and Sat+Sun 10:00-22:00.

Fresh is a food market on Grand Canal Square and they are running a 2-day music event on Thursday and Friday. I assume that it takes place in the shop and I also assume that it is free. I couldn’t find a clear statement that confirmed this, but it would be surprising if it was any different.

The line up is:

Thurs 19 Dec:
+ 13:00-14:00: 4 in a Bar (Barbershop Quartet)
+ 18:00-19:00: Dublin Gospel Choir

Fri 20 Dec:
+ 13:00-14:00: Sax Sisters
+ 18:00-19:00: 4 in a Bar

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.

“Dublin Tribal Spirit” is a weekly event that gives you the great experience of a drumming circle with african drums and authentic tribal rhythms. Tom and Sinead, who run that event are providing lots of drums for it and teach you the rhythms.

There is no formal admission charge for this event, but donations are expected. The organisers bring their own 20-30 drums to it every week, so they are looking for donations to keep the event going.

The Workman’s Club Christmas Party will feature the following bands and performers: Croupier / Bantum / Carriages / Liza Flume and then there will be all the Workman’s DJs. Admision is free.

The Stillorgan Orchard has live music every Friday and Saturday. Many of the performers are established and very good bands. The upcoming gigs are detailed on the website below. Admission is always free.

The Mojo Witnesses are paying homage to the legends of blues and classic rock. Loud and rockin’. Admission is free.

Three bands will perform in the Midnight Hour: The #1s, Women’s Christmas and Jetsetter. Admission is free if you arrive before 22:30.