Meetups and events

COVID-19 Restrictions: No social meetups should take place until further notice.

Moving somewhere new can be daunting; spending time-out with other new arrivals who have shared your experience can really help you to settle in.

If you want to meet up with your fellow nationals in the city, both Meetup and InterNations run groups that can make that happen. Or try one of Dublin’s many thriving groups for ex-pats from different countries: these include associations for private individuals – like Oi (Brasil) and Irlandaitalina (Italy) – as well as associations such as ISEA (Spain) for business people. Universities and many of the larger colleges also have societies run by and for students from various individual countries.

Meetup is also useful if you are interested in meeting the locals. The site enables you to join groups that cater to every interest under the sun, from astronomy to hiking, soccer to coding and even board games and surfing. Each group is different, so regularity and location of meetings varies; but it can be a great way to get to know like-minded people with similar interests.

Young couples walking on Killiney Hill

If you’re looking for one-off events, like concerts, comedy gigs or festivals – many of which are free – Eventbrite is an excellent source and makes it easy to search for and book tickets in one place. Dublin.ie’s What’s On page also has a huge range of regularly updated activities and events.

A particularly good way to meet both international and local people is through a Language Exchange or Conversation Exchange: a regular event during which speakers of different languages come together to pair with an English-speaking person (usually an Irish person) in order for each to practise the other’s language. It’s great for meeting people with an interest in your own culture and language. And if English is not your first language, any shyness or embarrassment you may have about your proficiency is offset by the opportunity to demonstrate your fluency in your native language.

Another great way to settle-in in Dublin is to volunteer through the Volunteer Centre. Helping-out with groups offering services to various causes can really help you to feel part of a community, as well as connecting you with people who care about similar issues.

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