Dublin Event Guide 352: St Patrick’s Festival: Treasure Hunt, Big Day Out, Parade, I Love My City

The Library Lunch Time Lecture Series that accompanies the current “Battle of Clontarf” exhibition in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy continues with a talk by Meidhbhín Ní Urdail, UCD “The Battle of Clontarf story in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Irish manuscripts” on Tuesday. Admission is free and no booking is required.

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

“Ska ‘n’ Reggae” is the theme in the Dive Bar (downstairs in Turks Head) every Friday. The Bionic Rats play live and the DJs Tommy Rash and Fukszy are on the decks until late. Admission is free.

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 yearly Treasure Hunt for the whole family takes place again and has the theme “Explorers”. Discover Dublin on foot by solving clues while visiting Dublin sites. The Treasure Hunt takes about 2 hours to complete and the questions are usually super easy so that nobody is too challenged but can still have a bit of fun around Dublin. For families with younger kids a mini hunt is available (70min to complete).

I took part a few times and enjoyed it much. The event is definitely suitable for the whole family, but I recommend that you plan in a lot more time than 2 hours if you want to spend a bit of time in the different locations that you visit (e.g. museums etc) to get your stamps.

You can win some prizes, but I am still not certain HOW you win the prizes. It is NOT the first teams that win, it seems, but there are no explanations anywhere as to how you can win.

You can register your team of four at City Hall on Sat between 10:00 and 14:00 (the website says 13:00, but the printed festival programme says 14:00) and you have then until 18:00 to finish it. Online registration is also possible.

This Saturday admission to the GPO Museum will be free. (The musuem will be closed on Monday.)

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 weekly indoors flea market on Saturdays and Sundays with more than 80 stalls in a big industrial hall. There is everything from furniture and antiques to paintings and mirrors, electronics and hot food to bicycles and buns. It is just a few minutes walk away from the Point Theatre/O2 (walk in the direction of the Port Tunnel).

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

The St. Patrick’s Festival takes place from 14-17 March and over the full four days the cultural programme “I Love My City” will run. There is a wide variety of events from music, via talks&discussions to performances and screenings. I am listing all the events here (even for Sat, Sun and Mon) because places are limited and you need to register for many of them.

The events are:

Fri-Mon
+ “Dublin Then & Now” – Exhibition of Dublin Painting & Sketching Club – City Assembly House from 10:00
+ “Street Feelings” – Documentary Screening about Donal Dineen’s 1986 move from Kerry to Dublin – Hugh Lane Gallery at 10:00
+ “i” – Exhibition of work from photographer Eamonn Doyle about Dublin – The Library Project at 11:00
(No booking required for these three events! “Street Feelings” will not take place on Monday.)

Friday 14 March
+ “One City, Many Cultures” – Milk & Cookie Stories storytelling evening – National Gallery at 19:00
+ “Jape at the RHA” – Performance by Irish electronic-rock band Jape – RHA Gallery at 19:30

Sat 15 March
+ “Remembering Luke Kelly” – Documentary Screening – O’Donoghues Bar at 10:00/12:00
+ “Past Times” – Tour about literary figures – Marsh’s Library at 11:00/12:00/13:30/15:00
+ “Dabledoo Music” – Multimedia experience for children – Little Museum of Dublin at 11:00/12:15/13:30
+ “I a Beckett Clown” – Workshop – The Warehouse at 11:00
+ “Banter: Irish Identity, Past, Present & Future” – Discussion – Freemason’s Hall at 16:00
+ “The Enchanted Banquet” – Food, Music and performances – National Concert Hall at 19:00
+ “Dhúisíos Ar Maidin / Woke Up This Morning” – Imram Blues Poetry Project – RHA Gallery at 20:30

Sun 16 Mar
+ “Document this…” – short documentaries, exploring the role of film as part of history – National Library at 18:00
+ “Waking Ned” – Film Screening – Grand Canal Dock at 19:30

Mon 17 Mar
+ Solo Space – Concert with voice, clarinet and fiddle – Chapel Royal at 17:00/19:00
+ Trad Trio – National Concert Hall at 19:30

Admission to all events (except the Enchanted Banquet) is free, but places are limited and for many booking is required via the website below.

A new market (flea/vintage/etc) with two cafés has opened in the same location in Thomas Street where the Ferocious Mingle Market was before their move to Camden Street.

The new market in 72 Thomas Street is called Stable Market and it is open from Thursday until Sunday from 10:00-18:00 every day. It seems there is neither a website nor a Facebook Page yet.

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.

A Jobs Expo will take place in Croke Park (Hogan Suite) on 14+15 March. There will be Career and CV advice, seminars, immigration advice and a whole range of employers will be represented.

Admission is free and you can preregister here:

+ Saturday: www.eventbrite.ie/e/jobs-expo-dublin-2014-saturday-tickets-8733164129?ref=devg

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.

At Merrion Square and at Customs House Quay two St. Patrick’s Festival Funfairs will take place. Admission to the funfairs is free, but you obviously pay for the different activities/rides.

The BIG Upcycle Pop Up Market showcases the best of Irelands Upcyclers under one roof.

From fashion to furniture, gifts to art, everything for sale has been made from materials that may otherwise be considered useless but with a creativity, imagination and skill they have been transformed into high quality, high end products.

The Mart in the Old Fire Station in Rathmines is hosting this market. Admission is free.

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.

A number of St. Patrick’s Festival events take place in the Powerscourt Townhouse:

Sat: 15 March:
11:30 Free Tour of the Centre (meet at information desk)
12:30 Corus Choir
14:30 Hop Up Irish Dancing in Powerscourt Theatre (2nd floor)

Sun 16 March:
12:30 Corus Choir
15:00 Hop Up Irish Dancing in Powerscourt Theatre (2nd floor)
14:30-16:30 Traditional Irish Music

Mon 17 March:
13:00+15:00 Mo Hat Mo Gheansai – Performance
12:30-16:00 Face Painting & Balloon Sculpting
13:00+15:00 Free Tours of the Centre (meet at information desk)
14:30 +16:30 Irish Dancing (couryard stage)
15:00 Hop Up Irish Dancing in Powerscourt Theatre (2nd floor)

Admission is free to all events.

Clerys are officially opening their new Heritage Gallery on the 2nd floor of the department store in O’Connell Street and you are invited to the opening. The gallery pays homage to the rich and illustrious 160 year history of the iconic Dublin department store.

Admission to the gallery on Sunday and afterwards is free.

The newest Science Gallery exhibition has the theme “Fail Better” and it will run from 07 Feb – 27 Apr. The title comes from Samuel Beckett’s “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” and the exhibition looks at beautiful and instructive failures. The purpose is to open up a debate on the essential role of failure in human creativity, in technology, science, design, business and sport.

20 unique exhibits, from a pair of explorer boots that caused Ranulph Fiennes to fail in an Everest attempt, via Christopher Reeve’s (Superman) original wheelchair, to a full-scale reconstruction of the the world’s worst or maddest invention: a big table that is meant to assist childbirth using centrifugal force.

I visited the exhibition and I definitely recommend it. Age-wise, I would think that it is suitable for children from Age 12/13 as long as the parents are prepared to read a good bit of explanatory text and then “translate” it for their children. There is no overly complicated stuff, but most of the exhibits are not self-explanatory. But there is a strong reason for bringing your kids: We have in general a negative attitude to Failure. This exhibition will help you to change that!

Admission is free and opening hours are Tues-Fri 12:00-20:00 and Sat+Sun 12:00-18:00.

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

On Sat + Sun Music and Street Performances will take place in a variety of locations throughout Dublin:

Powerscourt Centre: 12:30-13:15 (Sat+Sun)
South King Street: 13:30-18:30 (Sat+Sun)
Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre: 14:00-14:45 (Sat+Sun)

St. Stephen’s Green North: 13:30-14:00 + 14:30-15:00 (Saturday only)
Dame Court Music Stage: 15:00-20:00 (Sunday only)

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 Irish language tour with Jack Fitzgerald takes place. Admission is free and no booking is required.

No no, a Poker Festival is not a new addition dreamt up by the St. Patrick’s Day Festival organisers, it is a separate event, but with so many Poker enthusiasts in Ireland, it could be quite popular. Now, you don’t imagine that a Poker Festival would be free, but I am assure that the viewing part is free. So if you want to go to the festival and view and experiece you doN#t have to pay anything, but if you want to play, obviously there are charges.

Between 100-250 players will take part in this 2-day festival from 14:00 each day. Check the details out on the websites here:

www.facebook.com/LsEventsPromotions
www.irishpokerboards.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18503

“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

“Live on the Green” is a new event in the St. Patrick’s Festival line-up. It is a music stage at St. Stephen’s Green North (the side where Dawson Street is) and the line-up will be:

16:45-17:15: Booka Brass Band (New Orleans-style Brass Band)
17:30-18:00: Interskalactic (10 piece ska and reggae band)
18:15-19:30: Jerry Fish

Ireland’s Final 6 Nations Rugby will take place on Saturday and with the significance of this game, don’t be surprised if the majority of the Irish population disappears behind TVs from 17:00.

One of the more unusual locations to watch the match is in the cinema in Dundrum (Movies@Dundrum). Admission is free, but the event is ticketed. Check all details here www.movies-at.ie/article.php?sec=EXTRAS&_aid=3220

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.

A Taste of Music takes place on Saturday.

A Taste of Music is a Night of rock, ballads and covers with an international feel.
With Hector Castillo(Venezuela), Tony Floyd Kenna and Micheal O’Brien(Ireland),, The Mona Lisa Twins(Austria), V?tra Trink?nait? (Lithuania), Susan Jannasch(Germany), Jinyeoung Jeong(South Korea)

Admission is free.

Alias Empire (and guests) will perform in the Workman’s Club and admission is free.

Reekus Records present a gig night in the Mercantile with the following line-up:

Buffalo Sunn, Keith Moss and the Tightrope Walkers, Death In The Sickroom

Admission is free and doors open at 20:00

This is a weekly Saturday night live music event 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 Devils Jukebox is live music from 20:00-23:00 and DJs with Alternative, Punk, Rock, Metal & Garage after that. Every Saturday! Admission is free.

On Saturday Celtic Jazz Singer-songwriter Melanie O’Reilly will perform a special concert as part of the St Patrick’s Day celebrations for Seachtain na Gaeilge. She will be joined by a Jazz Trio.

Admission to the event is free, but tickets are required and at the time of writing this, there were still some tickets available.

Walking Stone Giants are a four piece heavy rock band from Greece with influences ranging from Black Sabbath to Rage Against The Machine. They will be in Dublin for three days on a Mint Tour. Support will come from the bands on the Face Melter Records roster over the three nights. The gigs are:

+ Thurs 13 Mar: 20:30 – Fibber Magee’s
+ Fr 14 Mar: 20:30 The Voodooo Lounge
+ Sat 15 Mar: 20:30 – Gypsy Rose Rock and Blues Bar

Admission to all gigs 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.

Echotape (Indie Rock from Hamshire) and Beach (psychedelic spage grunge) are performing in Whelan’s Midnight Hour. Admission is free if you are there before 22:30.

It is not Oxford against Cambridge, but the Irish Universities are also competing in the water against each other:

The Irish University Boat Races will take place on the Liffey, between rivals University College Dublin (UCD) and Dublin University (Trinity College). The 2km rowing course, will start at O’Connell Bridge and finishes at St. James’ Gate.

The main race (Gannon Cup) will start at 11:00 and the full schedule is

09:30 Sally Moorhead Trophy – Novice Women
10:00 Dan Quinn Shield – Novice Men
10:30 Corcoran Cup – Senior Women
11:00 Gannon Cup – Senior Men

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 weekly indoors flea market on Saturdays and Sundays with more than 80 stalls in a big industrial hall. There is everything from furniture and antiques to paintings and mirrors, electronics and hot food to bicycles and buns. It is just a few minutes walk away from the Point Theatre/O2 (walk in the direction of the Port Tunnel).

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 St. Patrick’s Festival takes place from 14-17 March and over the full four days the cultural programme “I Love My City” will run. There is a wide variety of events from music, via talks&discussions to performances and screenings. I am listing all the events here (even for Sat, Sun and Mon) because places are limited and you need to register for many of them.

The events are:

Fri-Mon
+ “Dublin Then & Now” – Exhibition of Dublin Painting & Sketching Club – City Assembly House from 10:00
+ “Street Feelings” – Documentary Screening about Donal Dineen’s 1986 move from Kerry to Dublin – Hugh Lane Gallery at 10:00
+ “i” – Exhibition of work from photographer Eamonn Doyle about Dublin – The Library Project at 11:00
(No booking required for these three events! “Street Feelings” will not take place on Monday.)

Friday 14 March
+ “One City, Many Cultures” – Milk & Cookie Stories storytelling evening – National Gallery at 19:00
+ “Jape at the RHA” – Performance by Irish electronic-rock band Jape – RHA Gallery at 19:30

Sat 15 March
+ “Remembering Luke Kelly” – Documentary Screening – O’Donoghues Bar at 10:00/12:00
+ “Past Times” – Tour about literary figures – Marsh’s Library at 11:00/12:00/13:30/15:00
+ “Dabledoo Music” – Multimedia experience for children – Little Museum of Dublin at 11:00/12:15/13:30
+ “I a Beckett Clown” – Workshop – The Warehouse at 11:00
+ “Banter: Irish Identity, Past, Present & Future” – Discussion – Freemason’s Hall at 16:00
+ “The Enchanted Banquet” – Food, Music and performances – National Concert Hall at 19:00
+ “Dhúisíos Ar Maidin / Woke Up This Morning” – Imram Blues Poetry Project – RHA Gallery at 20:30

Sun 16 Mar
+ “Document this…” – short documentaries, exploring the role of film as part of history – National Library at 18:00
+ “Waking Ned” – Film Screening – Grand Canal Dock at 19:30

Mon 17 Mar
+ Solo Space – Concert with voice, clarinet and fiddle – Chapel Royal at 17:00/19:00
+ Trad Trio – National Concert Hall at 19:30

Admission to all events (except the Enchanted Banquet) is free, but places are limited and for many booking is required via the website below.

A new market (flea/vintage/etc) with two cafés has opened in the same location in Thomas Street where the Ferocious Mingle Market was before their move to Camden Street.

The new market in 72 Thomas Street is called Stable Market and it is open from Thursday until Sunday from 10:00-18:00 every day. It seems there is neither a website nor a Facebook Page yet.

This weekend the Music, CD & Record Fair takes place in Dublin again. The venue is Filmbase and the times are Sat 10:30-18:00 and Sun 10:30-18:00. There will be 45 tables full of vinyl and CDs of all genres. There is an admission charge of EUR 2, but especially for all Dublin Event Guide readers there is free admission on Sunday if you show this concession voucher: www.irishrecordfairs.com/concession%20page.htm You can print it or show it on the phone.

Check all other detail on the facebook page at www.facebook.com/irishrecordfairs or on the website below.

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.

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.

At Merrion Square and at Customs House Quay two St. Patrick’s Festival Funfairs will take place. Admission to the funfairs is free, but you obviously pay for the different activities/rides.

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.

The BIG Upcycle Pop Up Market showcases the best of Irelands Upcyclers under one roof.

From fashion to furniture, gifts to art, everything for sale has been made from materials that may otherwise be considered useless but with a creativity, imagination and skill they have been transformed into high quality, high end products.

The Mart in the Old Fire Station in Rathmines is hosting this market. Admission is free.

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.

A number of St. Patrick’s Festival events take place in the Powerscourt Townhouse:

Sat: 15 March:
11:30 Free Tour of the Centre (meet at information desk)
12:30 Corus Choir
14:30 Hop Up Irish Dancing in Powerscourt Theatre (2nd floor)

Sun 16 March:
12:30 Corus Choir
15:00 Hop Up Irish Dancing in Powerscourt Theatre (2nd floor)
14:30-16:30 Traditional Irish Music

Mon 17 March:
13:00+15:00 Mo Hat Mo Gheansai – Performance
12:30-16:00 Face Painting & Balloon Sculpting
13:00+15:00 Free Tours of the Centre (meet at information desk)
14:30 +16:30 Irish Dancing (couryard stage)
15:00 Hop Up Irish Dancing in Powerscourt Theatre (2nd floor)

Admission is free to all events.

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 newest Science Gallery exhibition has the theme “Fail Better” and it will run from 07 Feb – 27 Apr. The title comes from Samuel Beckett’s “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” and the exhibition looks at beautiful and instructive failures. The purpose is to open up a debate on the essential role of failure in human creativity, in technology, science, design, business and sport.

20 unique exhibits, from a pair of explorer boots that caused Ranulph Fiennes to fail in an Everest attempt, via Christopher Reeve’s (Superman) original wheelchair, to a full-scale reconstruction of the the world’s worst or maddest invention: a big table that is meant to assist childbirth using centrifugal force.

I visited the exhibition and I definitely recommend it. Age-wise, I would think that it is suitable for children from Age 12/13 as long as the parents are prepared to read a good bit of explanatory text and then “translate” it for their children. There is no overly complicated stuff, but most of the exhibits are not self-explanatory. But there is a strong reason for bringing your kids: We have in general a negative attitude to Failure. This exhibition will help you to change that!

Admission is free and opening hours are Tues-Fri 12:00-20:00 and Sat+Sun 12:00-18:00.

A 5km Road Race takes place from 12:00 on Sunday. Participation is not free, but you can cheer on the runners for free if you wish. Start and finish is on St. Stephen’s Green North and in between they are zig-zagging and criss-crossing the small area between St. Stephen’s Green and the Canal/Mespil Road like an escaping rabbit. Have a look at the map here www.msbac.ie/images/stories/Images/StPats5KMap.pdf

One of the highlights of the St. Patrick’s Festival is the Big Day Out. It is a relaxed day around Merrion Square with street carnival, street performances, theatre, workshops, open-air shows, music, the SFI Discover Acience Zone, the UNESCO Literary Zone, a Gaeilge zone, art zones and more. Admission is free.

“Made by Hand” or “Hecho a manos” is a new Sunday weekly market in Viva, Portobello with most things made by hand and some vintage clothing and curiosities too. 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 Elizabeth Cooney-violin, Marc Coppey-cello and Finghin Collins-piano performing Haydn, Copland, Shostakovich.

On Sat + Sun Music and Street Performances will take place in a variety of locations throughout Dublin:

Powerscourt Centre: 12:30-13:15 (Sat+Sun)
South King Street: 13:30-18:30 (Sat+Sun)
Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre: 14:00-14:45 (Sat+Sun)

St. Stephen’s Green North: 13:30-14:00 + 14:30-15:00 (Saturday only)
Dame Court Music Stage: 15:00-20:00 (Sunday only)

Join members of the Maker Faire Community and make your own badges based on patterns found in the “Costumes Parisiens” exhibition. Artist Niall de Buitlear will run this event from Monday 11 Mar until Friday 14 March and on Sunday 16 March. Admission is free and no booking is required.

A Women’s International Volleyball Friendly will take place between the Irish National Volleyball Team and the Northern Irish Women’s Volleyball Team. The match will take place in the Sports Centre of Trinity College.

Admission is free.

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

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

No no, a Poker Festival is not a new addition dreamt up by the St. Patrick’s Day Festival organisers, it is a separate event, but with so many Poker enthusiasts in Ireland, it could be quite popular. Now, you don’t imagine that a Poker Festival would be free, but I am assure that the viewing part is free. So if you want to go to the festival and view and experiece you doN#t have to pay anything, but if you want to play, obviously there are charges.

Between 100-250 players will take part in this 2-day festival from 14:00 each day. Check the details out on the websites here:

www.facebook.com/LsEventsPromotions
www.irishpokerboards.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18503

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

A St. Patrick’s Day Tour in the National Museum will let you examine artefacts in the collection which tell the story of Ireland from prehistory to the Early Christian period. Admission is free and no booking required. Places limited, first come first served basis. Meet at Reception.

The tour will take place from 14:30-15:30 and from 15:30-16:30.

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.

A weekly Jazz gig will take place in the Sunshine Cafe for your Sunday afternoon entertainment. The Jazzwise Duo (piano and double bass) play classic jazz including Broadway standards, Bossa Nova, Blues etc

A 2-day Paddy’s Day Weekender takes place in the Workman’s Club and the Garage.

The line-up is Overhead, The Albatross / Squarehead / The Notas / Other Creatures / Exploding Eyes / Otherkin / Death In The Sickroom / Jetsetter / Beach / Late City Edition / Galants / Gav & Thee Icons / Ad Ateris and lots of DJs.

The Sunday schedule is (copied and pasted from the Facebook Page):

SQUAREHEAD……………… 11.10-12
OTHER CREATURES ……….10.15-10.50
JETSETTER ……………………9.20-9.55
BEACH ………………………..8.25-9.00
WOMEN’S CHRISTMAS ….7.35-8.05
GALANTS……………………. 6.40-7.15
AD ASTERIS …………………5.50-6.20
followed by the Workman’s Karaoke Club until 03:00
On the first floor Sr Lisa Marie’s Guilty Pleas ures will be on from 23:00-03:00

In the Garage Bar a Rude Boys vs Soul Boys event with Ken Mooney (The Urges) and Fuxy (Dance Craze) will take place from 21:00-03:00.

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

Mutefish, a great band that attracted big crowds everytime they busked in Temple Bar, has moved indoors and is still great! They will will perform on the 3rd floor. Admission is free.

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

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 Dublin Blues Cartel will be in Whelan’s again and will perform mostly a version of New Orleans R’n’B with a classic rock twist, sandwiched with swing, Rock’n’Roll, Soul, Funk, Blues and rap of all eras. Admission is free.

The 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 surprisingly NOT available via the Sunday Roast Facebook Page this week. Instead, the organisers claim that “All acts are wonderful and special, so good we can’t tell you who’s playing cos it’ll blow your mind before you even appear.”

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.

At the Jawbone Gig night in Sin É, Acoustic Folk & Blues will be performed every Sunday. Admission is free. For the line-up check here www.facebook.com/pages/Jawbone-Dublin-Acoustic-Folk-Blues-Commune/724102984268967

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.

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

Monday is St. Patrick’s Day but it is the day with the least amount of activities at the St. Patrick’s Festival. Apart from the Parade there is not much else taking place. Unfortunately the City Centre will become quite uncomfortable after the parade with drunken teenagers everywhere already early in the day.

For years I am saying that some events should be provided after the parade so that people have something to do instead of just drinking but it is as if the organisations that are responsible for Dublin and for the festival just close their eyes. The Guards who are on duty on that day have the worst job.

So the good thing about St. Patrick’s Day are the days leading up to it, so make sure you enjoy the Saturday and Sunday and maybe even stay out of the City Centre on Monday.

By the way, the story around St. Patrick seems quite a bit more aventerous that you might expect and maybe it wasn’t even him, but it should be a St. Palladius Day? Check it out here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick

The St. Patrick’s Festival takes place from 14-17 March and over the full four days the cultural programme “I Love My City” will run. There is a wide variety of events from music, via talks&discussions to performances and screenings. I am listing all the events here (even for Sat, Sun and Mon) because places are limited and you need to register for many of them.

The events are:

Fri-Mon
+ “Dublin Then & Now” – Exhibition of Dublin Painting & Sketching Club – City Assembly House from 10:00
+ “Street Feelings” – Documentary Screening about Donal Dineen’s 1986 move from Kerry to Dublin – Hugh Lane Gallery at 10:00
+ “i” – Exhibition of work from photographer Eamonn Doyle about Dublin – The Library Project at 11:00
(No booking required for these three events! “Street Feelings” will not take place on Monday.)

Friday 14 March
+ “One City, Many Cultures” – Milk & Cookie Stories storytelling evening – National Gallery at 19:00
+ “Jape at the RHA” – Performance by Irish electronic-rock band Jape – RHA Gallery at 19:30

Sat 15 March
+ “Remembering Luke Kelly” – Documentary Screening – O’Donoghues Bar at 10:00/12:00
+ “Past Times” – Tour about literary figures – Marsh’s Library at 11:00/12:00/13:30/15:00
+ “Dabledoo Music” – Multimedia experience for children – Little Museum of Dublin at 11:00/12:15/13:30
+ “I a Beckett Clown” – Workshop – The Warehouse at 11:00
+ “Banter: Irish Identity, Past, Present & Future” – Discussion – Freemason’s Hall at 16:00
+ “The Enchanted Banquet” – Food, Music and performances – National Concert Hall at 19:00
+ “Dhúisíos Ar Maidin / Woke Up This Morning” – Imram Blues Poetry Project – RHA Gallery at 20:30

Sun 16 Mar
+ “Document this…” – short documentaries, exploring the role of film as part of history – National Library at 18:00
+ “Waking Ned” – Film Screening – Grand Canal Dock at 19:30

Mon 17 Mar
+ Solo Space – Concert with voice, clarinet and fiddle – Chapel Royal at 17:00/19:00
+ Trad Trio – National Concert Hall at 19:30

Admission to all events (except the Enchanted Banquet) is free, but places are limited and for many booking is required via the website below.

At Merrion Square and at Customs House Quay two St. Patrick’s Festival Funfairs will take place. Admission to the funfairs is free, but you obviously pay for the different activities/rides.

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.

A number of St. Patrick’s Festival events take place in the Powerscourt Townhouse:

Sat: 15 March:
11:30 Free Tour of the Centre (meet at information desk)
12:30 Corus Choir
14:30 Hop Up Irish Dancing in Powerscourt Theatre (2nd floor)

Sun 16 March:
12:30 Corus Choir
15:00 Hop Up Irish Dancing in Powerscourt Theatre (2nd floor)
14:30-16:30 Traditional Irish Music

Mon 17 March:
13:00+15:00 Mo Hat Mo Gheansai – Performance
12:30-16:00 Face Painting & Balloon Sculpting
13:00+15:00 Free Tours of the Centre (meet at information desk)
14:30 +16:30 Irish Dancing (couryard stage)
15:00 Hop Up Irish Dancing in Powerscourt Theatre (2nd floor)

Admission is free to all events.

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade will take on Monday from 12:00. The theme is this year “Past” out of a three year “Let’s Make History” sequence, but I have to admit that in previous years themes didn’t mean much. The floats and walking groups were a little disappointing last year and (for me) the highlight are the marching bands, but the theme doesn’t play a role to them anyway.

What’s good about the parade? – If you get a good viewing position, you will have an hour of nice entertainment, Nothing that will blow you away, but still good entertainment and a generally fun atmosphere in the City Centre. Look out (or rather listen out) for the marching bands, especially the Louisiana State University Tiger Marching Band will probably impress. Eight Pageant Companies and 11 Marching Bands (6 less than last year) will take part.

What’s bad about the parade? – Unless you arrive extremely early, you will have serious difficulty getting a good viewing position and if you are in the fourth row or even further back, then you will miss most. Small people are extremely disadvantaged and please leave your buggy/pram/etc at home, there is really no room for it. The parade route is much too short to give people a chance to see it. You will read afterwards that more than 500,000 people saw the parade, but that is all nonsense. Nevertheless about 200k people could be there and that amount on a route of just 2.7km is just too high. which means that only half of the 200k actually see the parade.

Some people think the parade is an unmissable highlight of the St. Patrick’s Festival, others think it is the worst part of it. I think it has improved a lot from the 80s and 90s, but last year was not that great and in general I have been more often disappointed than not. So, if you want to SEE the parade, come REALLY early (people at the front arrive at 08:00!!) or consider watching it on TV. If you come to town for the atmosphere, then do that but don’t be disappointed if you only see masses of mad Leprechauns.

The parade will start at Parnell Square then go down O’Connell Street, cross the Liffey, go along College Green, Dame Street to Christ Church and then end at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

After the parade, avoid Grafton Street, Temple Bar and many other City Centre locations, it ain’t pretty. And it is a pity that nothing is done about the post-parade madness.

The tiny village of Stepaside, on the southern fringes of Dublin, will have their own St. Patrick’s Day Parade. It will start at Kilgobbin Lane and end at St. Patrick’s Park.

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.

St Patricks Day BEGORRAH! – is the all day music event in Sweeney’s. Music kicks off at 13:00 and will continue until 02:30.

The line-up is Crow Black Chicken | Cold Comfort | Lightning Kids | Ben Prevo | Black Bottle String Band | The Boneyard DJS

Admission is free.

Once the St. Patrick’s Day Parade is over, the celebrations in the City Centre come to a dramatic and pre-mature end. This year, you can continue showing your St. Patrick’s Day outfit at the St. Patrick’s Day Catwalk on Wolfe Tone Square.

Organised by the Lerechaun Museumin Jervis Street, this catwalk continues the festivities, gives all the Leprechauns in Dublin another chance to display their cool clothes or just watch others doing the catwalk.

There will be a Ceili Band performing and Catwalk Participants can win prizes for Best-Dressed, Most Creative, No Help from Mammy, Most Embarrased Friend, Cutest, Most “Out There” & Best Presentation. MC will be comedienne Katherine Lynch.

A St. Patrick’s Day Live Music Party is taking place in Whelan’s with 11 bands.

The line-up is Segrasso, Thieves, Houdini, Silent Noise Parade, Soldiers Can’t Dance, Loop Culture, Whitetrash & The Spear Headed, Sparraw Hawks, Watch the Sky, Galants, Bear Plays Spoons, Birds

Admission is free when you register your attendance via the Facebook Page here www.facebook.com/events/245637562285046/

A 2-day Paddy’s Day Weekender takes place in the Workman’s Club and the Garage.

The line-up is Overhead, The Albatross / Squarehead / The Notas / Other Creatures / Exploding Eyes / Otherkin / Death In The Sickroom / Jetsetter / Beach / Late City Edition / Galants / Gav & Thee Icons / Ad Ateris and lots of DJs.

The Sunday schedule is (copied and pasted from the Facebook Page – Apologies for the shouting and odd time notations):

OVERHEAD, THE ALBATROSS…. 11.30-12.30
THE NOTAS………………………… 10.30-11.10
EXPLODING EYES………………… 9.35-10.10
OTHERKIN…………………………. 8.40-9.15
SONANCE HOTEL……………….. 7.45-8.20
DEATH IN THE SICKROOM……. 6.50-7.25
LATE CITY EDITION……………… 5.55-6.30
GAV AND THEE ICONS…………. 5.05-5.35
Followed by Workman’s Saturday Residents Trev Radiator/Gav xmas and Brian Ashe (Leaders of Men)
On the first floor (22:30-03:30) Seany Bee + Niall D’Arcy will play House and Disco

In the Garage Bar a 12 hour Rock and Roll Party will take place with

Lisa Moore……………………………… 3-5
Sean Goucher (#1s/The Pacifics)…..5-7
Rob Gilligan+Michelle Farley……….7-9
Gav Icon (Gav and Thee Icon’s)…….9-11
The Rev. Tony Bones…………………..11-1
Ken Mooney (The Urges)…………….1-3

A weekly free Craft Beer Walking Tour started last Monday in Dublin. Meeting Point is in the Beerhouse and during the evening you will visit four Craft Beer Pubs. The tour is free and you pay for your own beer.

This is an open mic night with Special Guests every Monday. Arrive, sign in (from 19:00) and play. 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 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 Crafty Monday Sessions is an Open Mic night for acoustic singer/songwriters and original bands. Admission is free.

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.

A new series of lunchtime lectures entitled “Introducing Christ Church” takes place each Tuesday in March. Each session will feature a different speaker. The lectures last about half an hour and will be followed by a short break for tea and coffee and discussion.

The topics are

+ Tues 04 March: Canon Kenneth Kearon: “What are Cathedrals For?”
+ Tues 11 March: Ian Keatley, Director of Music: “Music at Christ Church Cathedral”
+ Tues 18 March: Professor Raymond Gillespie “Christ Church and its History”
+ Tues 25 March: Canon Roy Byrne: “The Silver of Christ Church”

Admission to the lectures is free and the series is supported by the Friends of Christ Church.

A new series of lunchtime lectures entitled “Introducing Christ Church” takes place each Tuesday in March. Each session will feature a different speaker. The lectures last about half an hour and will be followed by a short break for tea and coffee and discussion.

The topics are

+ Tues 11 March: Ian Keatley, Director of Music: “Music at Christ Church Cathedral”
+ Tues 18 March: Professor Raymond Gillespie “Christ Church and its History”
+ Tues 25 March: Canon Roy Byrne: “The Silver of Christ Church”

Admission to the lectures is free and the series is supported by the Friends of Christ Church.

Fall Out Boy will be in Tower Records for a signing and to meet their fans. The Chicago rockers will be in Dublin to perform in the Olympia that night.

The first 150 people to get to the store on Tuesday will get a wristband and will get to meet the band and have their record signed. Wristbands will be given out on a first come first served basis. One wristband per person.

The spanish documentary “Trabajando con la muerte / Working with Death” by Svillian director Miguel Olid will take place. After the screening there will be a debate with Miguel Olid and Spanish journalist Aurora Martínez. The documentary will be in Spanish with English subtitles.

Each year 55 million people die in the world, this is the equivalent of the population of France. The goal of this documentary is to investigate the reasons that make some people choose a profession in direct and tie relationship with the death. These professionals deal with persons that are going to die or just died. They are forensics, funeral housed employed or graveyard employed.

Admission is free.

The Central Catholic Library invites to a lecture by Stephen J. McCormac with the title “Irish Clerics and their Churches from Earliest Times to 1050?.

Admission is free.

Lecturer Dr Nollaig Ó Muraíle, Roinn na Gaeilge, NUI Galway will talk about “The Irish genealogies – Irish history’s poor relation?”, a lecture of the Irish Texts Society.

The lecture will begin with an account of the early and medieval Irish/Gaelic genealogies, before looking at the pioneering efforts to edit genealogical texts, beginning with John O’Donovan in the nineteenth century. It will be noted that the Irish annals have fared better in editorial terms than the genealogies and consideration will also be given on how the genealogies are viewed by historians. The lecture will conclude with an overview of the genealogical texts produced over the past century and of what remains to be done in an area of scholarship that has been neglected and misunderstood.

Admission is free and no booking is required.

This Free workshop will teach people how to develop a positive mental attitude, enhance their communication skills and attract positive people into their lives. Each attendee will also receive a voucher for a free Life coaching session.

The law of attraction is the name given to the belief that “like attracts like” and that by focusing on positive or negative thoughts, one can bring about positive or negative results. The group exercises will gently take you out of your comfort zone. So come along for a night of fun learning and positivity.

A social event for atheists and anyone else who is interested wil take place.

This month’s speaker is Gary Keogh, a theologian and lecturer at All Hallows College, DCU and Hibernia College. He is the author of numerous articles on religion in Ireland and recently published a book on Richard Dawkins – ‘Reading Richard Dawkins: A Theological Dialogue with New Atheism’ – in which he argues that theology needs to test its boundaries and venture into dialogue with those with antithetical positions.

Sseduced is a brilliant Raw Food restaurant in Temple Bar and to make raw food you need to ensure that your food is never warmer than 42 degrees. Sseduced does this using some kitchen equipment that is called Thermomix. It is one of these machines that does just everything for you (not only raw food!), but that also has a price according to the richness of functionality.

On Tuesday a Themomix representative will be in Sseduced to give a live demo. She will show you the functions of the Thermomix, while teaching you how to avoid harmful additives in your food and save money on your shopping bills.

During the demo, you will be taken through a delicious menu from entrée to dessert, all in the space of two hours. You won’t even need to clean up afterwards; the preparation and cooking are done in the Thermomix, which washes itself when it’s finished.

The following dishes will be prepared:
Cashew Cream And Milk
Black Olive Tapenade
Carrot And Celeriac Salad With Cranberries
Spinach And Avocado Raw Soup
Vegan Fruit Sorbet

Admission to the demo event will be free.

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

Ben Prevo & friends play saucy Blues & soul every Tuesday

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

The Plateau Sessions is an open mic night that features some special guest acts from all over Ireland.

The line-up this week is Meridian Sway, Trampoline Scene, Okis Wagon plus more.

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

A free improv comedy night with the Improrphans takes place.

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

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

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

Admission is free.

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

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 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.

Michael Spitzer is Professor of Music and Head of School at the University of Liverpool where he leads the Department’s work on Classical music.

A music theorist and musicologist, he is an authority on Beethoven, with interests in aesthetics and critical theory, cognitive metaphor, and music and affect. His RIAM lecture ‘Analysing Emotion in Bach’s Sonata for Unaccompanied Violin in G minor’ will examine one of the composer’s great works for solo violin.

Admission is free.

“Working in Europe” is a talk on current career opportunities in the European institutions with Joan Flanagan (Education Officer, European Commission). Admission is free and all are welcome. Booking though 01-8733996 is recommended.

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

The RDS Library Speaker Series continues with Dr Arnold Horner (Specialist on the geography of Ireland) talking about ‘Mapping Ireland Two Hundred Years Ago’

“A generation before the great famine, a small group of engineers and their survey staff, set out to map and report on much of Ireland’s extensive bog-lands. The ‘Bog Commissioners’ were based at the Dublin Society headquarters, and their engineers included men of the calibre of Richard Griffith, Alexander Nimmo and William Bald. This talk tells the story of a remarkable enterprise and the resultant maps of the landscape of early nineteenth-century Ireland.”

The Dublin Laptop Orchestra present the recital ‘The Laptop as an Instrument’ on Wednesday. The event is organised by the Music Composition Centre. Admission is free and all are welcome.

The Dublin Laptop Orchestra make music with laptops, built-in cameras, motion sensors, golf controllers, and anyone that plays anything. Their aim is to bring some theatricality and ‘physical presence’ into electronic music performance

The public lecture “The Open Society and Its Immigrants – A Story of Avoidance, Conflict and Accommodation” by Professor Paul Scheffer, Tilburg University discusses that migrants from every corner of the world have changed the urban communities in Europe in the post-war era.

“The deficit of most studies in the field of migration is that the interaction of natives and newcomers is not analyzed, but moralized. What we need is a more open-minded view of the frictions and clashes characteristic of any mass migration process. In the 1920s, the founder of the Chicago school of sociology, Robert Park described a cycle of ethnic relations that progressed from ‘isolation through competition, conflict and accommodation to assimilation’. The history of migration in America and Europe shows us that most integration processes entail avoidance, conflict and accommodation. The conflicts surrounding immigration can be productive, if we succeed in rethinking the idea of an open society,”

The public lecture “The Open Society and Its Immigrants – A Story of Avoidance, Conflict and Accommodation” by Professor Paul Scheffer, Tilburg University discusses that migrants from every corner of the world have changed the urban communities in Europe in the post-war era.

“The deficit of most studies in the field of migration is that the interaction of natives and newcomers is not analyzed, but moralized. What we need is a more open-minded view of the frictions and clashes characteristic of any mass migration process. In the 1920s, the founder of the Chicago school of sociology, Robert Park described a cycle of ethnic relations that progressed from ‘isolation through competition, conflict and accommodation to assimilation’. The history of migration in America and Europe shows us that most integration processes entail avoidance, conflict and accommodation. The conflicts surrounding immigration can be productive, if we succeed in rethinking the idea of an open society,”

Admission is free, but places are limited.

“Seamus Heaney and Catholicism” with Prof Eamon Duffy is a talk in the series “Raids on the Articulate: Theology and Poetry”

It will take place in Theatre G15 in the Irish School of Ecumenics, Loyola Institute Building, TCD.
Admission is free.

The King Kong Club is a weekly music game-show in the Mercantile. Each week 6-7 bands/solo artists play three songs each. At the end of all the performances a clap-off with the King Kong Club Clap-o-Meter takes place and the winner goes through to a semi-final and it all culminates after six months of competition with The Grand Final, held in front of a panel of celebrity judges.

The list of performers is not yet announced on their Facebook Page and I am not sure if it will be put up there, but check it anyway.

Every Wednesday the Comedy Improv show “Laughter Lines” takes place in The Duke (between Grafton Street and Dawson Street). Normally admission is EUR 8, but for the next two Wednesdays 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 in Rathmines. This is YOUR chance to show everyone what you can do, alternatively you can just listen to the talented Singer/Songwriters. Admission is free.

The March edition of the Inn Jokes Comedy Club will be on Wednesday. Colm O’Regan is the MC and organsier and he will feature Kevin Gildea, Michael Mee and Ronan Grace.

Admission is free.

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

The 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.

In conjunction with the Dublin Shops photography exhibition by Paul Tierney, the Irish Architectural Archive is running a series of lunchtime lectures.

The next one will take place on Thurs 20 March: “Cathedrals of Consumption: Department Stores in 19th Century Dublin” with Dr Stephanie Rains, NUI Maynooth.

www.iarc.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Dublin-Shops-Lecture-Series1.pdf

The Dublin European Institute invites to the seminar “European Democracy in Crisis”. The key-note speaker will be President Michael D. Higgins and the speakers are Prof. Brigid Laffan (European University Insitute), Prof. Kevin O’Rourke (Oxford), Prof. Linda Senden (Utrecht). To attend, RSVP by 18 March to dei@ucd.ie. The event will also be live-streamed at www.europedebate.ie

Admission is free.

’20th-century Irish composers’ a lecture by Dr Mark Fitzgerald (DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama) is part of the ‘In Tune: A Millenium of Music at Trinity College’ Lecture Series.

For more details check the website below.

Admission is free.

“The Wolf in Winter” by John Connolly will be launched and musicians Jonny Kearney and Lucy Farrell will perform. Admission is free, but ticketed and you can get free tickets only when you collect them in person at Smock Alley Theatre or at the Gutter Bookshop. If you book online you have to pay a EUR 1 fee.

(Maybe the organisers should explore some other ticket services. I hear there is at least one that provides a free service for free events. ;-) )

“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

TTT is a multi-disciplinary practice with particular emphasis on landscape architecture and garden design. Jimi Shields + Maria Vlahos will talk about TTT. Admission seems free, but we can’t be completely certain.

The Lecture “Birds, migration and weather” with Dick Coombes (BirdWatch Ireland) is an illustrated talk for Springtime. Admission is free.

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

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

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

The 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.

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.

Pádraic E. Moore (writer and independent curator) leads an informal and speculative discussion on the art-historical context of Patrick Scott’s work. In this talk Moore will focus in particular upon a series of artworks Scott produced over many years which have become known as The Gestural Drawings.

Admission is free, but you have to book on the site below.

The Book Launch for “From Dubura to Guitar: The Diaspora of Afghan Musicians” takes place and admission will be free.

Nasruddin Saljuqi, a leader of the Afghan community , wrote the book for everyone who is interested in the history, organology and social context of Afghanistan music; and who hopes to build an artistic relationship among Afghan Diaspora and western countries. The book promotes integration via music nationally and internationally, develop the skills of Afghan immigrant musicians who were displaced during war to western countries, shares example of integration by learning and performing music, and gives cultural awareness of diverse ethnic backgrounds and indigenous communities.

Speakers at the launch will be Sheryl Lynch, ethnomusicology lecturer at St. Patrick College, Dublin; Professor John Baily, musician and reader at Goldsmith University; Dr Muhammad Umar Al-Qaderi, Islamic Theologian, who will speak on Music in Islam as well as the author Nasruddin Saljuqi.

You can enjoy a performance of traditional Afghan music given by John Baily, Emeritus Professor of Ethnomusicology at Goldsmith College London, and Veronica Doubleday, accomplished musician and music researcher. John and Veronica are a married couple and performed together at concerts and festivals throughout Europe and the US.

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

“Ska ‘n’ Reggae” is the theme in the Dive Bar (downstairs in Turks Head) every Friday. The Bionic Rats play live and the DJs Tommy Rash and Fukszy are on the decks until late. Admission is free.

The Cravingz, a 4-piece rockabilly band from Dublin, will perform.