Your guide to live, work, invest & study in Dublin

ILFD 2024

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International Literature Festival Dublin

Merrion Square Park

Over 10 days in May, from 17 - 26 of May International Literature Festival Dublin brings the best and brightest writers, performers, artists, and thinkers to Merrion Square Park in the heart of Dublin city, transforming the park into a literary village abuzz with conversation and ideas. Notable guests for ILFD 2024 include Richard E. Grant, Marilynne Robinson, David Nicholls, Marian Keyes, Colm Tóibín, Mariana Enríquez, Amor Towles, Josie Long, Liz Pichon, Derek Landy, David Almond & many more. Through live readings, discussions, screenings, guided walks, immersive activities and mor

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Dublin’s AI Landscape

As the founder of AI Ireland and the AI Awards, I’ve had the privilege of witnessing first-hand how technology serves as an enabler for problem-solving across various business sectors and societal issues. Far from the job-taking or sci-fi doom Terminator, it’s often portrayed as AI is a technology capable of human-like thinking and decision-making. It learns from data and evolves, thereby aiding in the resolution of intricate challenges and the automation of tasks. In November 2022, Generative AI like ChatGPT captured headlines, opening new possibilities for internet users’ everyday activities. When it comes to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME

BIMM is the largest and leading provider of music education in Europe. For over 35 years they’ve taken raw talents and turned them into industry pros.

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BIMM: Dublin’s music college

Looking for stars? Try BIMM Spotted a famous musician in Dublin recently? There’s a fair chance they were coming out of TU Dublin’s school of commercial music – BIMM. Situated on Francis Street in Dublin 8, the British and Irish Modern Music Institute – or BIMM – holds regular masterclasses for its students with world-class musicians. Over the past decade, Imelda May, Danny O’Donoghue of The Script, Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlain and even Hozier have paid surprise visits to BIMM’s students. US singer-songwriter

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Little Amal

Little Amal is the 12 foot puppet of a 10 year old Syrian refugee child at the heart of The Walk. She has become a global symbol of human rights, especially those of refugees. Since July 2021, Amal has travelled to 160 towns and cities in 16 countries. She has been welcomed by two million people on the streets and by tens of millions online. In each community that she visits, thousands of artists and civil society and faith leaders have created 440 unique events for her. Her journeys are moments of art and hope that draw attention to the enormous numbers of children fleeing war, violence and persecution, each with their own story. Her urgent message to the world is “Don�

Merrion Square Open-Air Art Gallery

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Dublin Treasures – Merrion Open-Air Art Gallery

‘Would you like to take my card?’ On a sunny Sunday morning in early spring, we’ve accepted business cards from 16 artists having browsed their works on the railings of Merrion Square Park. A card is not just a card here – it’s a magic ticket for these artists, and many of their lives have been changed by the people who accept them. Merrion Square’s outdoor art market is a real Dublin institution. It was first formally regulated by Dublin City Council in 1985, but as some of its veterans tell us, they were tying paintings to the railings long before that. It takes place every Sunday from 10am to 6pm on three sides of the park, as dozens of

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Bealtaine Festival

Various Locations

Bealtaine is Ireland’s national festival which celebrates the arts and creativity as we age. The festival is run by Age & Opportunity, the leading national development organisation working to enable the best possible quality of life for us all as we age. This year Age & Opportunity unveils an all-new festival theme, ‘Lust for Life’, which reflects a familiar experience for many older people. To celebrate the theme Bealtaine Festival has commissioned a new essay, ‘Lust of Life’, by writer, former Labour TD and Bealtaine Festival ambassador, Liz McManus, which explores the n

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Dublin Dance Festival

Various Locations

This May, DDF shares dance that takes a stand, ditches convention and claims its strength. Dance that embraces the lows, celebrates the highs and welcomes our future. This year, dance demands to be heard. It’s time to DANCE OUT LOUD. The Dublin Dance Festival believes in the power of dance to move, connect and inspire change. With so much of Ireland’s culture tied up in language and the past, dance has a unique power to explore and express what it is to be human, right now.

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International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival

Various Locations

The Dublin Gay Theatre Festival is an annual event, celebrating contribution of gay people to theatre, past and present. The Festival was founded in 2004 to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Oscar Wilde, in his native city. With an emphasis on new or recent international and Irish works with a broadly gay theme or relevance, the Festival has grown to become the largest event of its type in the world. The Festival creates new opportunities for visibility and affirmation for existing and emerging gay artists and theatrical works. The Festival’s criteria for inclusion into the prog

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On a House Like a Fire

Bewley's Cafe Theatre

Sometimes in a gesture, or in a turn of phrase, sometimes in the scent of hairspray, or glimpsed in an old photograph, a person reappears. ​In this evocative and moving show, writer-performer Michelle Read collaborates with composer Brian Keegan, to recreate the experience of remembering her mother, Margaret, through fragments and glimpses of her life. ​‘Keegan’s atmospheric music unspools throughout… full of affection and warmth’ Irish Independent Margaret lived with Alzheimers and loved to walk by the coast. Michelle uses the things she has left of her mum, including pho

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New Era, New Éire

Smock Alley Theatre

Set in a working-class suburb of South Dublin, the play centres around JT O’Brien and his father Stephen “Buzzer” O’Brien as they deal with the recent death of JT’s mother Marie. Both BoyFace and Standard Practice Productions are award winning production companies in the world of cinema. This is the first theatre production for both companies, who hope to provide an entertaining and poignant look into modern Dublin, the power of memory and the inevitability of change. Age 15+

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Fáilte Amal / Welcome Amal

Wood Quay Amphitheatre | City Hall, Castle Street

In the heart of Dublin, a group of curious 10-year-olds from all over the city gather to give a fáilte chroíúil to 10-year-old Amal. The children have been preparing for her arrival and have imagined heartfelt, generous, and genuine ways to welcome her in a way she will understand.  The children will present Amal with a bespoke hand-crafted bracelet embossed with their words of welcome in many languages.  Led by the wonder-full and imaginative Branar with performer Zita Monahan, this event features music composed and performed live by Colm Mac Con Iomaire, and bracelet design and ma

Our Stories

Jennifer Rothwell, fashion designer.

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Meet a Dubliner – Jennifer Rothwell, Fashion Designer

In conversation with Jennifer Rothwell Jennifer Rothwell is an Irish fashion designer, who spent many years living between the Big Apple and the Fair City. After graduating from Dublin’s NCAD in 1995, she gained practical experience with some of New York’s biggest design companies. Then, upon her return to Dublin, she launched her own brand: Jennifer Rothwell Design. By the following year, she had won the ‘Brown Thomas Designer Award’ at Dublin Fashion Week. And, since then, her designs have attracted celebrity cli

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Life on campus for the international student

Ireland might be a small country, but our universities and colleges are incredibly diverse. Every year, tens of thousands of students from over 130 countries come here to study.

image of dog strolling through old-fashioned park gate

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Dublin Treasures – Blessington Street Basin

Down by the Secret Garden On the south side, the secret garden was always the Iveagh Gardens. However,  music, comedy and food festivals have taken place there in recent years, meaning that the garden isn’t so secret anymore. These days, to find the city’s true secret garden, you have to head north. Up O’Connell Street, then North Frederick, across Dorset Street and on up Blessington Street until you come to black wrought iron gates. In you go. And you’re there. What to expect at Blessington Street Basin The Blessington Street Basin

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Profit with Purpose: Three Dublin Social Enterprises

The importance of sustainable and social enterprises Making your startup or existing business sustainable or ethical is a smart, future-proof option. Customers are now much more informed and aware of the environmental impact of their purchases. A more sustainable product or service will create a positive brand image that will impact the bottom line of many businesses.

Ruth Johnson - Dublin City Archaeologist charged with protecting, managing and investigating our oldest heritage.

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Ruth Johnson – Dublin City Archaeologist

Dr. Ruth Johnson is Dublin’s City Archaeologist and she is charged with protecting, managing and investigating the city’s oldest heritage – much of which is underground. As well as conservation projects, Ruth has input into new developments across the city and a role in policy development advocacy. We spoke to her about how she works and what’s going on across the city – under the ground, in our oldest graveyards and in half-hidden houses. In conversation with Dr. Ruth Johnson Ruth began her career working on a community excavation project in Yorkshire, while doing her A-levels. This piqued her interest in archaeology and she went on to do

caryna camerino leans against the doorways of camerino bakery

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Camerino Bakery: From startup to success story

Stress baking. It’s a thing, you know. It’s what Caryna Camerino used to do after another difficult day at her old job in human resources. It was also the starting point of her successful Dublin startup: Camerino Bakery. HR to hotbuns: Caryna Camerino’s startup story Caryna Camerino, a first generation Canadian who has lived in Dublin for the past 17 years, wasn’t always a baker. However, food was always a big deal at home – partly because her father, who was from Rome, is a stickler for authentic Italian cooking. Such a stickler, in fact, that she loved going to friends’ houses where she could enjoy a regular TV dinner, like n