DUBLIN | Festivals & Events

[Catmalojin]

This thread is to complement saoró...'s 'Retail & Entertainment' thread. It's just a thread to post details of upcoming festivals and major events planned in and around Dublin, as well as review those which have already happened.

To start, here's a news story from yesterday's Irish Times:

Major Dublin new year's festival planned

Fri, Jun 17, 2011

A major annual new year’s festival is being planned for the capital by Dublin City Council, Dublin Tourism and Fáilte Ireland. The council and Fáilte Ireland are putting €100,000 towards the inaugural Dublin New Year’s Festival, with a similar investment planned over the next three years. Organisers expect “significant” private investment.

Fáilte Ireland is hoping the festival will maintain the upward momentum in overseas visitors created by the State visits of Queen Elizabeth and US president Barack Obama in May. “We just feel we are missing a trick here and there is definitely a potential to drive up the number of overseas visitors.”

© 2011 The Irish Times

I've always thought that we needed a proper new year's celebration, so it's great to hear that the council are planning it. An open-air concert in College Green would be a great way to ring in the new year.

[Catmalojin]

This weekend there are three festivals on:

Dalkey Book Festival
Dublin LGBTQ Pride Festival
Street Performance World Championship (including an attempt to break a world record for the largest number of people dressed as Wally from Where's Wally?)

And another big event are the two Take That concerts in Croke Park tonight and tomorrow night, which has a class-looking stage:

[plank007]

Anybody going to Oxegen? Lineup is class this year! Got my tickets booked!

[saoró...]

Good to hear about new years, nice one! Wonder what they have planned?

Not the maddest festival out there, but theres also pipeworks :P

[plank007]

Oxegen 2011 highlights...

[Catmalojin]

Seen lots of advertising for these festivals around the place recently:

Absolut Fringe
Dublin Contemporary 2011

Also, next week, it's Arthur's Day on Thursday (22 September) and Culture Night on Friday (23 September).

[Catmalojin]

Just over four weeks to Christmas! Love the buzz around the city this time of year. Too bad I have exams between now and then.

[Catmalojin]

I had given up hope of it actually happening, but I saw an advertisement for it today on a lamppost: NYE Dublin. It will run from 30 December to 1 January, inclusive.

I have to say it looks fantastic! I'm seriously impressed with it. Hopefully it's a big success.

[Catmalojin]

Three-day event in Dublin to celebrate new year

OLIVIA KELLY

Fri, Dec 30, 2011

AN OUTDOOR concert featuring Paul Brady, Damien Dempsey, Dublin band the Coronas and a performance of Riverdance will be held in Dublin’s College Green tomorrow night.

The area in front of Trinity College will be cordoned off from 2pm tomorrow to 6am for the over-18s event which runs from 8pm to 12.30am. Tickets for the show cost €10.

The New Year’s Eve concert is part of a three-day festival which begins today. South William Street will also play host to live music and street performances including stilt walkers, mime artists, a clown policeman, jugglers, fire breathers and face painters.

The festival is being sponsored by Fáilte Ireland, Dublin Tourism, Dublin City Council, and Dublin City Business Improvement District. Concert tickets are available at nyedublin.ie and ticketmaster.ie. Ten per cent of ticket sales, after VAT and booking charges, will be donated to Focus Ireland.

Dame Lane will be laid out with food stalls and a vintage flea market, while food and festive gift markets will be held on Duke Street, Wolfe Tone Square and Barnardo Square. There will be street theatre and projections on to buildings on Lower Liffey Street.

Light projections will also feature on the facade of Trinity College on each of the three nights.

A free children’s disco will be held at City Hall, Dame Street today and tomorrow from 1pm- 4pm. On New Year’s Day, Meeting House Square in Temple Bar will feature children’s entertainment with balloon modelling, face painting, puppet and magic shows and a food market and picnic area.

The square will also feature a diaspora message screening where those living abroad can email a picture to diaspora@nyedublin.ie which will be shown on a large screen during the day.

© 2011 The Irish Times

[Catmalojin]

Some more news on the New Year's Eve festival:

Festive events to ring in the new year

OLIVIA KELLY and STEPHEN MAGUIRE

Sat, Dec 31, 2011


Rock band the Coronas with concert MC Michele McGrath. Dublin will ring in 2012 tonight with a New Year's Eve countdown concert on College Green that will include The Coronas, Damien Dempsey and members of the Riverdance troupe.

HEAVY RAIN expected today and tonight could put a dampener on New Year’s Eve celebrations across the State, but a brighter day is expected to herald the new year tomorrow, according to Met Éireann.

Dublin is hoping to compete with international cities in its new year celebration for the first time this year with a three-day festival that began yesterday and climaxes tonight with a concert.

The outdoor concert featuring Damien Dempsey, Dublin band the Coronas and a performance of Riverdance will be held on Dublin’s College Green tonight.

The area in front of Trinity College will be cordoned off from 2pm today to 6am for the over-18s event which runs from 8pm to 12.30am. Tickets for the show cost €10.

The festival is being sponsored by Fáilte Ireland, Dublin Tourism, Dublin City Council and Dublin City Business Improvement District. Concert tickets are available at nyedublin.ie and ticketmaster. ie. Ten per cent of ticket sales, after VAT and booking charges, will be donated to Focus Ireland.

Minister for Tourism Leo Varadkar said he hoped there would be a good attendance, which also includes outdoor markets, street theatre and children’s events. “It’s the first attempt that we’re making to take away some of the new year’s tourism market from Edinburgh and New York and other cities so hopefully if people are free they’ll take part in that,” he said on RTÉ radio yesterday.

The ringing of the Christ Church Cathedral bells to welcome in the new year in Dublin will begin at 11pm tonight. The performance, led by ringing master Leslie Taylor, is this year expected to be a record-breaking event.

The cathedral’s 19 bells, ranging in weight from a quarter of a ton to 2¼ tons, will be swung through 360 degrees, which will be a world record in number of bells ringing “full circle”, organisers said.

In addition to the closure of College Green, South William Street in Dublin will be closed to traffic tonight and tomorrow from 8.30pm to 10.30pm.

AA Roadwatch has warned of heavy traffic around the country over the weekend. Road conditions are expected to be very wet today and there is a chance of some ground frost later in the night. It also reminds motorists that stopping distances are 10 times longer in ice and to slow down and leave plenty of time to reach their destination.

The Irish Aviation Authority has warned people about the danger of releasing Chinese-style lanterns into the sky tonight. Spokesman for the authority Paddy Kennedy said the lanterns have become hugely popular in recent years but are dangerous.

“We certainly don’t want to be seen as party poopers but the release of these lanterns cause two very real dangers. The first is that they can be ingested into the engines of aircraft and some contain metal parts.

“Also it has been the case on previous occasions that these lights can be mistaken for distress signals and lead to false alarms for emergency crews,” he said.

The lanterns, which are brought up into the air by the heat from candles inside, can reach heights of up to 1,000ft. However Mr Kennedy warned that unless people have sought permission to release the lanterns from the authority, it is illegal to do so.

Meanwhile Mr Varadkar has announced Dublin Tourism will be taken over by Fáilte Ireland from the new year as part of the Government’s programme to reduce the number of agencies and quangos.

Monday's Bank Holiday: The law for employees

NEXT MONDAY, January 2nd, is a bank holiday, but not a public holiday. Although January 1st falls on a Sunday, the public holiday remains the 1st and is not transferred to Monday.

The National Employment Rights Authority says an employee who works tomorrow is entitled, in addition to their agreed rates, to benefit from the public holiday.

If the business is closed on the public holiday and an employee would normally be due to work, then they get their normal day’s pay.

If the business is open and the employee works, they are entitled to either, paid time off or an additional day’s pay. This additional day’s pay is what was paid for the normal daily hours last worked before the public holiday.

If an employee is not normally rostered to work, then they will be entitled to one-fifth of their normal weekly wage.

If someone ceases to be employed during the week before a public holiday, having worked the four weeks preceding that week, that person is entitled to benefit in respect of that public holiday.

If a person is on temporary layoff they are entitled to benefit for the public holidays that fall within the first 13 weeks of layoff.

The Department of Justice has said that for pubs, the normal Sunday trading hours of 12.30pm to 11pm will apply tomorrow.

© 2011 The Irish Times

Hopefully it's a big success!

[Catmalojin]

Capital rings in new year with street concert

CONOR LALLY

Mon, Jan 02, 2012


City centre revellers ring in the new year on Saturday night as Dublin's first New Year's Eve Countdown Concert at College Green brings thousands to the capital. The concert was one of the final events in an action-packed three-day new year's festival.Photograph: Cyril Byrne

AN ESTIMATED 10,000 revellers enjoyed the inaugural New Year’s Eve free open air concert in Dublin city centre. Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar said the event had run so successfully it would be greatly expanded in future years.

“I think for next year it’s something we’re going to build on. We’re going to have a bigger party; more stages, more music, more people and bigger fireworks.”

“So I think it’s a really good start for what could be a bigger celebration in years to come.”

The New Year’s Eve Countdown Concert at College Green included a variety of Irish acts such as Paul Brady, Bressie, Damien Dempsey, the Coronas and some of the Riverdance troupe. Gardaí said while there were a small number of public order incidents in the south inner city on the night, none appeared to be linked to the concert.

“We have no reports of anything serious happening at all,” a Garda source said.

The concert was one of the final events of the maiden three-day NYE Dublin Festival, which involved a number of free public events, including an outdoor skating rink on Wolfe Tone Quay.

The “Big Brunch” in Temple Bar’s Meeting House Square yesterday featured a Vintage Tea Dance and music from the Electric Ceili and the Fingal County Youth Orchestra.

The festival also included a children’s rattle’n’roll disco in City Hall and a New Year’s Eve concert in St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral.

The festival was produced and promoted by Davis Events and supported by Fáilte Ireland, Dublin City Council and Dublin City Business Improvement District.

© 2012 The Irish Times

Great news that it's going to be continued!

Plenty of photographs going around (here's a few from Broadsheet). I have to say I love that they used Trinity College as a projection screen, it looked brilliant!

[CraigKingOfireland]

Originally Posted by Catmalojin

Great news that it's going to be continued!

Between Obama's speech and this, I wonder if Dublin City Council are starting to see the potential College Green has as a pedestrianised square... one can only hope they start actively exploring the possibility.

[Catmalojin]

Originally Posted by CraigKingOfireland

Between Obama's speech and this, I wonder if Dublin City Council are starting to see the potential College Green has as a pedestrianised square... one can only hope they start actively exploring the possibility.

Hopefully! It's a fantastic civic space and utilising it properly would be hugely beneficial in terms of tourism, for one thing.

[Catmalojin]

Not long to go now...

St Patrick's Festival launch science gets green light

RONAN McGREEVY

Fri, Feb 24, 2012

ST PATRICK’S Festival in Dublin will have a science theme this year, coinciding with the city’s designation as European City of Science.

The pageant on St Patrick’s Day will feature floats and displays seeking to answer some of science’s most engaging questions, such as “How is a rainbow formed?”, “What makes the weather change?”, and “How is electricity made?” There will also be a scientifically themed treasure hunt, which will involve a free trail through a collection of Dublin’s landmark buildings.

Dublin’s status as European City of Science will culminate in the European Science Open Forum, which takes place from July 11th to 15th.

The St Patrick’s Festival takes place from March 16th to 19th and will feature céilís and the Festival Big Day Out for children on March 18th.

For the first time there will be an “I Love My City” initiative, which will be staged in some of Dublin’s best-known venues, such as the National Gallery and the National Museum, and will seek to highlight all the good things Dublin has to offer. The launch was attended last night by Minister for Tourism Leo Varadkar and Lord Mayor of Dublin Councillor Andrew Montague.

© 2012 The Irish Times

[JD47]

St Patricks day is whopper in New York. I might go back over there this year.

[Catmalojin]

It's that time of year again!

http://www.stpatricksfestival.ie/

Road closures for St Patrick's Day parades
Updated: 16:35, Friday, 16 March 2012


Tens of thousands expected at Dublin parade

There will be a number of road closures to facilitate the St Patrick's Day parades around the country.

AA Roadwatch has details of road closures and diversions across the country:

In Dublin city centre, the parade gets under way at midday and departs from Parnell Square onto O'Connell Street, over O'Connell Bridge and onto Westmoreland Street.

It will make its way down Dame Street and Lord Edward Street and through to Patrick St before finishing up just past St Patrick's Cathedral.



There will be a number of road closures in the city but gardaí will reopen roads as the parade passes.

There will be no parking along the route of the parade from 7pm tonight.
The following roads will be closed from 5am to 3pm: Dominick St Upr, Mountjoy St (to junction of Wellington St), Middle Mountjoy St, Palmerston Place, St Mary's Place North, Granby Row, Parnell Square North & East, part of O'Connell St and O'Connell Bridge.

Westmoreland St, College Green, Dame St, Lord Edward St and Christchurch Place will close from 5am to 4pm.

Nicholas St, Patrick St and New St South will close from 7am-4.30pm.
Dublin Bus will operate alternative drop-off and pick-up points.

The St Patrick's Festival Funfair will take place at Custom House Quay from tomorrow until Monday.

The fair will be open from 10am-10pm on Saturday and Sunday and from 10am until 8pm on Monday.

To facilitate the fair, Custom House Quay will close from 8pm tonight until 6am on Tuesday.

Story from RTÉ News:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0316/road.html

[Catmalojin]

Very busy bank holiday weekend for the city this year:

• Bloom in the Phoenix Park all weekend.
• Dublin Fire Brigade's 150th anniversary parade today.
• Forbidden Fruit music festival from today until Monday in Kilmainham.
• Bavaria City Racing on Sunday.
• Flora Women's Mini Marathon on Monday.
• The Olympic Flame on Wednesday.

[thebig C]

I'm heading into town to see the street racing. My friends office overlooks the quays

[Catmalojin]

Thousands turn out to see Olympic torch in Dublin
Updated: 19:37, Wednesday, 6 June 2012


Ten-time hurling All-Star Henry Shefflin toured Croke Park with the torch

The Olympic torch has toured several locations around Dublin, culminating in a public celebration in St Stephen's Green.

Thousands of people also turned out for events in Howth, Croke Park and O'Connell Street.

The torch is visiting Ireland as part of the 70-day London 2012 torch relay and crossed the border from Northern Ireland early this morning.

Dublin is the only city outside Greece and the United Kingdom to host the flame.

The torch was passed between two former Olympic boxers, Belfast's Wayne McCullough and Dubliner Michael Carruth, during a special ceremony at the border.

Thousands then lined Howth Harbour in Co Dublin to greet the Olympic torch on its first official stop in the Republic.

Local student Cillian Kirwan from St Fintan's High School in Sutton had the honour of running with the flame into Howth, where he was greeted by President Michael D Higgins and Lord Sebastian Coe of the London Olympics.

President Higgins told the large crowd the flame's arrival in Ireland symbolised the growing closeness of the relationship between the UK and Ireland.

After a brief ceremony where the Olympic hymn was sung by schoolchildren from Howth, the torch was brought under garda escort to Croke Park - where Kilkenny hurling star Henry Shefflin, representing the GAA - carried it along Croke Park's skywalk.

A collection of sports stars and other famous faces carried the torch throughout the morning.

Soccer star Paul McGrath received a warm reception from the crowd, as did singers Jedward who ran with the torch along O'Connell Street.

The flame was finally brought to a public celebration at St Stephen's Green where Sonia O'Sullivan lit the Olympic Cauldron to commemorate the visit.

Organisers say the trip south was aimed at illustrating both the success of the peace process and the all-island nature of the Irish Olympic team.

Story from RTÉ News:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0606/oly...lin-today.html

...

[Dvblvnia]

Originally Posted by Catmalojin

Very busy bank holiday weekend for the city this year:

• Bloom in the Phoenix Park all weekend.
• Dublin Fire Brigade's 150th anniversary parade today.
• Forbidden Fruit music festival from today until Monday in Kilmainham.
• Bavaria City Racing on Sunday.
• Flora Women's Mini Marathon on Monday.
• The Olympic Flame on Wednesday.

You're quite right Catmalojin. The place is buzzing at the minute with the number of events occurring all around the city. We also host the International Eucharistic Congress next week at the RDS, Croke Park, Pro-Cathedral etc. which will bring a huge number of priests, nuns, bishops, monsignors, monks and so on from around the world to Dublin. I was around Ballsbridge today and the RDS is already full of people setting up tents and marquees everywhere so it promises to be a big event there. It will be interesting to read the traffic statistics for May and June at Dublin Airport to see if these events have had a noticeable effect on the numbers travelling to and from the place.

Other posters are also correct in observing the potential of College Green as our national gathering place. London has Trafalgar Square, Paris has Place de La Concorde, Rome Piazza Navona, Washington the Mall. Dublin lacks a gathering space for civic, commercial, political and social activity. The Garden of Remembrance serves some of these functions but is too choked with traffic and too small to realise this. The Georgian squares are too covered in trees and associated with lounging about to become epicentres of activity. Indeed Stephen's Green used to be the focal point of Dublin with public hangings carried out in the 1700s in front of all Dublin and sundry.

College Green, if properly developed would fit the bill perfectly. It is at the mid-point of the ceremonial heart of Dublin, surrounded by beautiful and imposing architecture, a sufficiently large expanse and close (but not overly) to the seat of political power in Leinster House. Get rid of the trees, banish the polls, improve the shopfrontage and unleash College Green for all to see!