Whether you’re into music, theatre, art, literature, history and heritage or comedy, you’ll find some cultural happening to suit your taste.

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Dublin On Stage: The Abbey Theatre

Part of the city’s social fabric The Abbey Theatre has long been part of our city’s story. Nestled in the bustle right at the heart of Dublin 1. You’ll find it amidst the comings and goings from Busáras and Connolly station, the Luas clangs past its door and the River Liffey’s squawking seagulls are within earshot too. President Michael D. Higgins regularly attends opening nights, a straight run for him down the quays from his residence at Áras an Uachtaráin in the Phoenix Park. The last time I wandered down that direction, there was a

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The National Gallery: ‘Say What You See’

In a picture painted in 1916, Joanne Drum points out a dead body on O’Connell Bridge. In another picture, she spots a group of onlookers gathered high up on the parapet of a building. And in another she notices what’s written on the destination plate of a tram (Terenure) on College Green in 1901. Joanne is Education Officer at the National Gallery on Merrion Square. Joanne Drum: If you look at a picture with somebody standing beside you saying “have you noticed that tiny detail up in the corner?’, sometimes that can really bring it to life and make the whole experience more meaningful. More rich. Dublin.ie: This is the National Gallery of Ireland. But plenty of your pictures have Dublin as their subject, don’t they? Joanne Drum: Look at the work of Jack B Yeats – not only was he working in Dublin but he was painting and drawing and sketching what he saw around him all the time so he was kind of documenting the history of this city. And he was there at such an important time in history. This is a man who not only lived through two world wars but also all the conflict and change that was happening in Ireland at the time as well.

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A City of Words: Dublin Comedy Improv

You walk up the side stairs of The International Bar. On Wicklow Street. You stroll into a dark room, pay a tenner and, instantly, you hear laughter. You’ve just made the smart move to go to see Dublin Comedy Improv. Weekly improv at The International Bar Dublin Comedy Improv is just one of the giggle-inducing acts that The International Bar Comedy Club hosts every night of the week. However, the comedy club has only been going since 1998, Dublin Comedy Improv – or DCI, for sho

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Seven Stories of Creativity – Anne O’ Mahony, The Dressmaker

We all know Grand Canal as the home of Google but unbeknownst to many, tucked among the tech giants is a building where ancient crafts are still practised, THE DESIGN TOWER. The Tower’s seven stories of studios play host to jewellers, fashion designers, conservationists and more. After meeting Violinmaker, Michiel De Hoog Dublin.ie revisited the Tower and met Dressmaker Anne O’ Mahony. Anne O’ Mahony creates made-to-measure pieces as well as costumes for film and theatre, including The Gat

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Dublin Canvas: Colouring the county

Colouring the county one traffic box at a time A series of colourful traffic control boxes has added art to the streets of Dublin city as part of the Dublin Canvas project. It’s probably the first time most of us have even noticed these boxes. Their old dull appearance was nothing to admire. Now works of art, they showcase the artistic talents of people across Dublin. Dublin Canvas is the community street art project behind these pieces. Its main goal is to make the city more beautiful and it has definitely achieved this. David Murtagh, the project’s co-ordinator, gave us some background on the project. From trial run to runaway success Dublin Canva

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Supernatural Dublin – Vampire capital of the world

We’re proud of our vampire writers in Dublin. And we’re right to be. If you were selecting an all-time first XI of authors in this, well, vein, then Bram Stoker and Sheridan Le Fanu would be first and second on your list. Stoker, creator of the world’s most important male vampire in the world (Dracula) was born in Clontarf. Sheridan Le Fanu, creator of the pre-eminent female vampire (Carmilla), was born on Dominick Street. But then what happened? Was the city of their birth so thick with inspiration (Marsh’s Library, St Michan’s church, etc) that when they came to write fiction (mostly in England), vampires naturally suggested themselves as subjects. Or was there

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Jenny Siung, Chester Beatty

Dubliners know where to find Armageddon, The Whore of Babylon and The Seven Headed Beast. They’re in the Book of Revelations. But where would you find the actual book? Well it so happens that most probably the earliest copy in existence (it’s called Papyrus 47) is right here in Dublin, at the Chester Beatty. It’s just one of the myriad treasures of this museum. There are Egyptian Books of the Dead, Japanese picture scrolls, Art Deco French book bindings: the range and depth of the collection is extraordinary. Chester Beatty himself – the man who made this collection – was a mining magnate. Jenny Siung, Head of Education

the rusty, metal doors guarding the steps to the crypts of St Michan's church

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Supernatural Dublin – St Michan’s Church

Do the vaults really contain restless spirits? St Michan’s Church is situated behind Dublin’s Four Courts on Church Street, just around the corner from the Jameson Distillery in Smithfield. It was originally founded in 1095 and is the oldest parish church on the northside of Dublin. It was rebuilt in 1685 and contains a large pipe organ, which Handel is said to have played during the first ever performance of his ‘Messiah’. The interior has changed little since Victorian times and the main church still holds mass every second Sunday, but what lies beneath is

view of grass pitch and hill 16 from stands in croke park

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Croke Park: From Hill 60 to Hill 16

Croke Park. It’s not just a stadium. As Tim Carey, author of Croke Park: A History says: “More than perhaps any other sporting venue, Croke Park represents something that is beyond sport”. The stadium is the home of Gaelic games in Dublin, but it has always had a deeper importance – one that’s intimately connected with the birth and evolution of the Irish nation. “It is freighted with historical significance,” says Carey. &

two tone portraits of owen boss and louise lowe smiling

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Meet 2 Dubliners – Louise Lowe & Owen Boss, Theatremakers

Meet the people behind Anu Productions Louise Lowe and Owen Boss have worked together for almost 20 years. And many of those years have been spent at their co-founded venture – Anu Productions. Louise Lowe is a theatremaker, while Owen Boss is a visual artist. And, together, they have created a company that takes an interdisciplinary approach to dramatic performances. Combining their skills, they create unique works and experiences. To find out more, Dublin.ie’s Derek O’Connor sat down with them to discuss their work and how it’s shaped by the city of Dublin. Combining visual arts and theatre One of the main goals of Anu Productio

the white-haired, white-bearded john sheahan is lit up on a dark stage

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Meet a Dubliner – John Sheahan, Musician

Being in The Dubliners always made you feel like a bit of an ambassador for the city. I mean we were all instantly recognisable, and I think people felt at one with us. There’s a nice feeling of unity about being a Dub. And Dubliners in general never made any great fuss of their own sons and daughters who became well known (laughs). When The Dubliners celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2012, I had been with the band for 48 of those 50 years. I served an apprenticeship as an electrician in the ESB, and worked there as a draftsman for a few years. But the music was always a hobby, and at a certain point I had to give it up and join the lads. It was precarious in the early days, but there was always a great sense of adventure about the whole thing. We were doing it for the craic as much as anything else, and gradually it became a living. I think anybody who can extend their hobby to the extent that it becomes their livelihood, that’s a real privilege. Especially anyone who’s making music.

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A Poem For Dublin: Liffey Swim

In my dream, the Blessington Street Basin fills with the Liffey’s stout-­bottle waters, but still the swimmers come, in droves, on the stray sovereign of an Irish summer’s day. The river courses through the city, turning concrete roadways to canal banks that shrug their shoulders into dark water; a man rises, seal­-like, in his caul of silt, to wave. At the sluice gate, where the river bends out of sight between toppling buildings, a black dog jumps, again and again, into the water. And there, at the edge of vision, my parents, ready to join the swimmers, gesture their cheerful farewells.