DUBLIN | Festivals & Events

Dvblvnia said:

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!

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Viking74 said:

That Eucharistic Conference should be a barrel of laughs

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Dvblvnia said:

Yep, to coincide with our involvement in Euro 2012 the RDS will be playing host to an International All-Priest five-a-side over 75's Indoor Football Championship!

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thebig C said:

Yeah, I hear a new Italian guy will be making his debut....he can walk up 1 flight of stairs unaided

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Dvblvnia said:

Hahaha, big C! They'll probably win it again in that case!

Another event due to grace our city is the Tall Ships race. From the 23rd to the 26th of August, Dublin will host the final stage of race which will start in St. Malo and travel to Dublin via Lisbon, Cadiz and A Coruna. Like the Volvo Ocean Race in Galway, this race should bring the whole port area to life during the event and bring thousands of people to the city.

Keeping to matters maritime, the USS Enterprise - one of the United State's aircraft carriers (not the starship unfortunately) - will moor in Dublin on Sept. 1st where they'll play an American football match against Notre Dame in Lansdowne Road. It's been billed, "The Emerald Isle Classic."

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Capital takes centre stage as City of Science

DICK AHLSTROM, Science Editor

Wed, Jul 11, 2012

DUBLIN OFFICIALLY becomes Europe’s City of Science this evening when President Michael D Higgins opens the Euroscience Open Forum 2012 (Esof).

The five-day science meeting provides Ireland with an unparalleled opportunity to showcase the best of Irish scientific research.

The forum is the largest scientific meeting of its kind across Europe. The biennial gathering has attracted more than 4,000 delegates and will hear hundreds of presentations, including talks by five Nobel Prize winners.

Even as the meeting proceeds at the Convention Centre Dublin, the Science in the City Festival will be under way across the capital. Dozens of events are set to take place, with many free of charge. The festival is an attempt to promote a better public understanding and interest in the sciences, maths and engineering.

Ireland and Dublin secured the right to stage the Euroscience Open Forum 2012 after a tough international competition against main challenger Vienna more than four years ago and led by the State’s chief scientific adviser Prof Patrick Cunningham.

“After several years work to bring Euroscience Open Forum 2012 to Dublin, it is great to see that the event is finally upon us,” said Prof Cunningham on the eve of the event. “To have Esof in Dublin is a recognition of the fact that Ireland is a country that is serious about science. It will help to put Irish science on the global stage.”

The proceedings have been divided into a number of distinct strands including the main science programme, a careers programme for young researchers comprising “jobs zoo” event and a Science2Business programme that brings academic researchers and the business community together. There is also an impressive line-up of keynote speakers including former president Mary Robinson, musician Bob Geldof and commissioner for research, innovation and science Márie Geoghegan-Quinn, to name but a few.

A famous piece of Irish history will be resurrected tomorrow when geneticist Craig Venter delivers a talk entitled What is Life? This updates lectures of the same name delivered in 1943 by Nobel laureate and Austrian and Irish citizen Erwin Schrödinger when based at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.

Although a physicist, he discussed how science would reveal secrets of the genetic code, talks that eventually inspired a generation of scientists. These included later Nobel laureate James Watson who, with Francis Crick, discovered the structure of the genetic code DNA.

Dr Venter will move the What is Life theme into the 21st century in a talk at Trinity College Dublin and afterwards Dr Watson will provide a response.

Esof 2012 will be as topical in a news sense as it is interesting in a scientific sense. Dr Rolf Heuer, who heads the research lab that earlier this month likely proved the existence of the Higgs boson, will give a number of talks about the discovery.

Moreover, Charles Bolden, head of US space agency Nasa, will give a talk to 400 children and a keynote address. He will also reveal that Ireland is the first country to establish a relationship with Nasa which will mean third-level students conducting research in its labs in California.

David Fahy, Esof 2012 programme director, said: “The unique event brings together a who’s who of the world’s leading scientists. The Science in the City Festival has been a tremendous success since its launch on Friday and I would encourage everyone to participate in events which are running until Sunday.”

Director of IBM Research – Ireland Dr Lisa Amini said: “The Euroscience Open Forum is an opportunity that shines a spotlight on Ireland’s scientific community. We want other scientists to come in and see Ireland in this light.”

Arlene O’Neill, newly selected Dublin Rose, PhD researcher at Trinity and Esof 2012 ambassador, said: “It will give the rest of the world an opportunity to come and visit our great city, and make the link between world-class science and Ireland.”

© 2012 The Irish Times

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Your guide to Euroscience Open Forum 2012

Updated: 21:23, Monday, 9 July 2012

ESOF 2012 takes place in Dublin from 11-15 July

Euroscience Open Forum 2012 opens in Dublin's National Convention Centre on Wednesday and runs until Sunday 15 July.

ESOF 2012 gives scientists from around the world a rare opportunity to meet and present their work to peers, as well as find out about the latest advancements and challenges other disciplines.

Sessions throughout the week will also give would-be scientists and innovators career advice, as well as the opportunity to display their creations to attendees.

Topics due to be covered over the course of the week include climate change, human genetics, space exploration and agriscience.

A full programme for the conference is available on the ESOF 2012 website, with a number of keynote addresses likely to generate significant attention from those in attendance.

As part of the conference's opening ceremony delegates will hear speeches from President Michael D Higgins, Ireland's Chief Scientific Adviser Prof Patrick Cunningham, EU Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, Euroscience's President Prof Enric Banda and Minister for Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton.

This will be followed by a keynote address by Nobel laureate Jules Hoffmann, who will discuss European research on immune defences.

On Thursday former President Mary Robinson will talk about equity and climate science, while Nobel laureates James Watson and Peter Doherty will also address attendees.

In the evening NASA's Administrator, Maj Gen Charles F Bolden Jr, will talk about the new ear of space exploration.

The subject of string theory will be covered by Brian Greene on Friday afternoon, while campaigner Bob Geldof will also give a keynote address.

On Saturday Prof Rolf-Dieter Heuer will talk about the work being conducted at CERN - specifically relating to the Large Hadron Collider. This is one of Prof Heuer's first major addresses since CERN announced that it had likely discovered the Higgs boson particle.

Later that evening Craig Venter will speak to attendees about the genetic code and progress in the area of genome research.

The area of biology will also be addressed by Huanming Yang on Sunday, while Lars Steinmetz will talk about the road from genomics to personal medicine.

Pearse Lyons will give the final keynote of the conference, telling attendees about the building of a billion-dollar business.

RTÉ will be reporting on ESOF 2012 throughout the week, with coverage taking place on radio and television from tomorrow.

RTÉ.ie will also be covering the forum each day, with updates available online or through the RTÉ News Now app.

Story from RTÉ News:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0709/esof-2012-guide.html

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Tall ship arrives early in Dublin due to bad weather
Updated: 16:59, Saturday, 18 August 2012

Pogoria is one of 40 ships taking part in the tall ship festival

A tall ship expected to take part in a festival in Dublin Port, beginning next Thursday, has made an unexpected arrival at Dun Laoghaire Harbour this afternoon.

The ship, the Pogoria, had to leave the Bay of Biscay early because of bad weather.

The Pogoria is one of more than 40 tall ships due to take part in the Tall Ships Races 2012 next week.

Story from RTÉ News:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0818/tall-ship-pogoria-docks-in-dun-laoghaire-harbour.html

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Catmalojin said:

http://www.dublintallships.ie/

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Arrival of tall ships in Dublin expected to generate €30m for local economy

CONOR POPE

Tue, Aug 21, 2012

Sailors on board the Guayas from Ecuador, one of the tall ships arriving at Dublin Port yesterday, get set to participate in a race during the Tall Ships Festival 2012. The event starts this Thursday and continues until Sunday. It is expected that up to one million people will visit Dublin's docklands.Photograph: Cyril Byrne

UP TO one million people are expected to visit Dublin’s docklands later this week for the Tall Ships Festival, which organisers predict could generate up to €30 million for the local economy.

The festival, in Dublin for the first time since 1998, will not formally begin until Thursday. However, high winds on the crossing from the last stop in the Spanish city of La Coruña saw a number of the vessels blown into Irish waters more than 48 hours ahead of schedule.

Some of the early arrivals were badly damaged by the stormy seas as they made the crossing from northern Spain.

Repair work is now under way ahead of Thursday’s gala opening.

Eight young trainees from Dublin were on board the Guayas, the training ship of the Ecuadorean navy, which was damaged on the voyage.

Capt Amillar Villavicencio said winds of more than 100km/h and 10m waves had shredded eight sails and damaged masts on board. “We are used to sailing in the Pacific and it is called that because it is pacific,” he said. “The best teacher for sailors is the sea and we have a master here.”

Another vessel suffered a broken mast in the stormy conditions on the crossing, while a third had to be towed into Dublin Port after suffering significant damage on the high-speed crossing.

The Tall Ships Festival has a budget of €3.6 million and festival project manager Mary Weir said it would generate €25-€30 million for the local economy.

“We all can remember seeing paintings of tall ships down as far as Capel Street Bridge in Dublin, but now we don’t see them as much any more, so I think that actually draws people. It’s a very family-orientated event,” she said.

While the big draw will be the 40 vessels moored in Dublin docks, there will also be a range of other events including skateboarding, outdoor cinema events, clowns and al fresco opera.

There will be 55 musical acts, including Duke Special, Delorentos and The Minutes. Grand Canal Dock will host a family zone, and Hanover Quay will have skateboarding, beatboxing and wakeboarding. A photography exhibition and a range of workshops will take place at CHQ.

“This is not about sailing lessons. It is about using a tall ship to teach people comradeship and it has rightly been described as a life-changing event,” said the head of operations at Dublin Port, Séamus McLoughlin. “When the young people join the ship, they are complete strangers and at the end they will be a team of people with a common focus.”

When asked about weather for the weekend, Mr McLoughlin said he was “not good at praying, but I am going to resort to that”.

The Government has provided some €450,000 in funding for the festival. Minister for Tourism Leo Varadkar described it as “a very important tourism event for the capital city, and for Ireland”.

It would be “a great opportunity to see so many of these wonderful ships within walking distance of Dublin city centre”.

© 2012 The Irish Times

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Tall Ships festival begins in Dublin
Updated: 13:42, Thursday, 23 August 2012

Up to one million visitors are expected to come to Dublin for the event

Dublin's Tall Ships festival officially got under way this morning with most of the sailing contestants now berthed on the Liffey.

The festival, which runs until Sunday, is expected to attract one million visitors and generate up to €30m for the local economy.

A Mexican naval training ship, the Cuauhtemoc, was first over the finishing line for the last leg of the race from Spain.

It docked this morning at Sir John Rogerson's Quay.

Most of the 45 ships taking part in the event are now tied up for the festival, which will involve hundreds of different events including films, concerts and water sports.

The festival's official opening ceremony takes place today at 2pm.

The gathering of such ships is a huge logistical task for Dublin Port, and involved a €3m investment from various stakeholders.

Story from RTÉ News:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0823/tall-ships-dublin.html

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Tight security at David Guetta concert in Marlay Park
Updated: 17:16, Friday, 24 August 2012

A tight security operation involving 175 gardaí and 400 private security personnel is in place at Marlay Park in Dublin this evening for a sell-out concert by French DJ David Guetta.

The concert is expected to attract a similar demographic to the dance music event in the Phoenix Park seven weeks ago when nine people were stabbed.

Tonight's concert is considered a higher security risk than other events in Marlay Park this weekend.

Gates are now open at the venue and the first act began at 5pm with the headliner due onstage at around 9pm.

Around 22,000 tickets have been sold. Nobody under 17 will be admitted.

Sniffer dogs, the garda public order unit and mounted gardaí are on duty.

Full-body searches are being conducted at the two entrances and security personnel are using metal detector wands.

An exclusion zone is in place around the venue, backed up by a court order. Gardaí will be able to ask anyone to move on in this area.

Promoters MCD said a zero-tolerance policy is in place and anyone intoxicated on drink or drugs will not be admitted.

Story from RTÉ News:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0824/marlay-park-concert-tight-security.html

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The Yanks are coming -- all 40,000 of them!

Had your fill of the Tall Ships? Well, The Diary advises you to keep an eye out for the USS Fort McHenry which I can reveal will dock off Dublin next week.

Last Tuesday in the Irish Independent I revealed how a spectacular showpiece concert is being held in The O2 on Friday night for the thousands of American visitors attending the next day's sold out American football game at Aviva Stadium between Notre Dame -- known as the 'Fighting Irish' -- and Navy -- their rivals from the US Naval Academy of Maryland.

Up to 40,000 Americans are set to travel to Ireland for the game in what was described to me this week as "the biggest single movement of US citizens in peace time".

It won't just be Dublin Airport which will be swamped; wealthy Americans will be landing in private planes at small airports all over Ireland.

A welcome invasion which is expected to boost the economy by €100m, and countrywide to boot.

"These will be affluent, highly educated Americans, many of them Irish-Americans keen to trace their roots, wherever that might take them in Ireland.

"Let's put it this way: they won't be spending the weekend in hotel bedrooms drinking their duty-free," a source said.

But the most eye- catching arrival will be the USS Fort McHenry, a 16,261 tonne amphibious dock landing ship which provided humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to the victims of Haiti's devastating earthquake in 2010.

www.independent.ie

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Ships weigh anchor as city counts the booty

OLIVIA KELLY

Mon, Aug 27, 2012

Tall ship Danmark sails away from Dublin yesterday at the end of the four-day festival which attracted over a million visitors to the city

Getting into the spirit of the festival

Crowds on the Dublin quays during the festival. Photographs: Cyril Byrne/Julien Behal/PA Wire

THE ORGANISERS, market traders and spectators at the Tall Ships Festival couldn’t have wished for a better day yesterday for the ships to set sail from Dublin’s river Liffey quays.

On a rare day of summer sunshine tens of thousands lined the quays from early morning to bid farewell to the ships following the festival which organisers say attracted crowds of more than 1.15 million over its four-day run.

Some of the best views of the ships were to be had yesterday afternoon, not from Dublin city, but from the Dublin Bay coastline as the ships let the wind into their sails on the open sea.

The East Link Bridge was raised to allow the 40-strong fleet begin its journey from Dublin Port led by the Naval Service LE Emer at 11am.

The Parade of Sail, which marks the official end of the festival, travelled to Dún Laoghaire harbour and, after a 21-gun salute, sailed to Howth.

Visitors to the festival have since last Thursday toured the ships and attended free outdoor music events with acts including Ash, Ryan Sheridan and Cathy Davey. There were also walking tours, water sports, skateboarding displays and street theatre.

However one event was cancelled yesterday following a request by an Garda Síochána. The youth charity Foróige had hoped to break the record for the largest number of people performing the actions to 1970s Hues Corporation number Rock the Boat.

The event would have involved more than 1,600 people sitting in a line on the ground at Sir John Rogerson’s Quay. It was stopped by gardaí for safety reasons related to the large crowds in the area, organisers said.

Speaking at the event yesterday morning Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar said the festival had been a great boost for tourism in the city.

“It has been an amazing couple of days for Dublin. Probably more than a million people have been to see the ships. The sun is shining and it has really helped with the Government’s policy of building tourism and building the city. It really is fabulous.”

The festival was the “biggest event in Ireland this year”, Mr Varadkar said, and would have produced huge revenues for businesses in the city.

“It looks like the economic benefit to the city will be over €30 million. The hotels are full and the restaurants and bars are full too, and that’s really important. It is the sort of event we’re going to need to support in the future if the numbers add up.”

However several market traders said they expected takings to be down over the four days.

Justin Costello of O’Flynn’s Gourmet Sausage Company said the crowds seemed smaller than expected. “Today is good, because of the weather, but we’ve to finish up at 2pm. Friday was very poor, yesterday was good, but the Waterford Tall Ships Festival was much busier,” he said.

Andrew Haydu of DownEast American Style barbecue stall said it was tough to make a profit, but he hoped the last few hours yesterday would increase his takings. “Friday was grim, but Saturday was pretty good.”

Niall Nevin of Olhausen Vintage Sausage Van said that, while crowds were large, people were spending less: “People are very conscious of spending anything.”

© 2012 The Irish Times

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