When it comes to planning your weekends during the summer season, you really are spoiled for choice. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Mastercard to bring you the ultimate event guide every weekend for the rest of the season.
Electric Picnic may be the talking point of every coffee break this week, but it's not the only exciting event taking place in Ireland this weekend... Check out what else is on (and doesn't include getting soaked in a tent!)
Dublin
People’s Park market, Dun Laoghaire
In the heart of Dun Laoghaire with the sea as its backdrop, this impressive food market takes place every Sunday from 11am-4pm, providing the perfect spot for chilling out after a brisk stroll down the East Pier.
The markets are known to serve as a springboard for emerging businesses and are a real champion of local food movements, with over 50 vendors setting up and serving their homemade grub for the day.
Top food picks include trendy Poké bowls from Shaka Poke, hand-rolled ice cream from Arctic Stone and elderflower juice and authentic vegetarian Indian cuisine. As well as the best artisan food and fresh produce, you’ll also see the works of local artists and craft stalls along the way.
B-mused is Dublin's only Saturday afternoon comedy show featuring a diverse mix of Improv, stand up, musical comedy, sketches and much, much more. Taking place between 3-5pm every Saturday afternoon upstairs in the International Bar (AKA the home of fantastic comedy in the city), this is the perfect way to spend a few rainy hours in town - for just €5 entrance fee.
Featuring an “eclectic bunch of actors, comedians, musicians and misfits”, the improv show here combines audience suggestions with warped imaginations to create scenes as unpredictable as they are hilarious.
With Dublin craft beers on tap and an old-timey atmosphere you’ll struggle to find in many other places, the International Bar is always full of craic. Top tip: If the thoughts of getting dragged into a comedy show on stage scare the bejaysis out of you, we recommend you head down early and grab a seat at the very back.
Ya Slip Ta Bang: A Sonic Bike Experience
Ya slip ta bang is an “interactive composition” mapped over the streets of Dublin that will unfold for visitors as they ride sonic bikes along specific routes of the city for a bike ride unlike any you’ve ever done before.
Accompanied by electronic music, the composition tells the story of recovering heroin addict, Lucy Dolan as she returns to the city, revisiting important places in her life and taking you on a 30-minute short route, or one-hour long route, of her life in Dublin and personal tales about each street you cycle along.
The sonic bike is a bicycle with frame-mounted speakers that plays different sounds and music dependent on where the cyclist goes and how fast they ride, via a mounted location-sensitive system, and is the first collaboration between London-based composer Kaffe Matthews and author Mia Gallagher.
The sonic bike experience is free and is part of the current Sound Check exhibition at the Science Gallery Dublin, where you can pop in for a grilled cheese sandwich after your cycle.
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Slam Sunday - Live Spoken Word Poetry Competition
Spoken word poetry has really kicked off in Ireland as of late, with performers like Stephen James Smith and Emmet Kirwan getting mainstream attention.
Slam Sunday is a popular social event for the younger generation who are enthralled by edgy poets such as John Cummins' self-described 'hippy-hop' spoken word style, as well as newcomers to the scene who are curious about this new artform taking Dublin by style.
Taking place every Sunday at 6.30pm in the basement of Filmbase in Temple Bar, this live slam poetry competition is a non-alcohol event and is easy going with lots of tea and coffees available. Want to join in? There’s an open sign up on the night for eight of the 12 slots if you fancy speaking your words to a crowd.
Otherwise, just settle in and prepare to be moved and amused by some of Dublin’s best-spoken word artists.
Galway
An intriguing event held in Róisín Dubh on Sunday night, Hipster Bingo is brought to you by “gentrification, moustache wax and a general air of disdain.” Yep, sounds extremely Hipster-ish, but also extremely good fun.
Banish the thoughts of a bingo hall filled with geriatrics, as this particular bingo event takes place in one of Galway’s coolest spaces. Tickets are €5, and prizes include potted plants (it is ‘Hipster Bingo’, after all), tickets to some the biggest and best comedy and music gigs Galway has to offer, beer, cuddly bears, paintings, cabbages, books, vouchers, the Buffy The Vampire Slayer official soundtrack, sweeties, novelties, and much, much more.
Cork
A festival dedicated to all things horticultural, the grounds at the picturesque Ballymaloe House will be transformed into a gardener’s wonderland this weekend for the annual Ballymaloe Garden Festival.
The grounds will be humming with food stalls, a busy bar, live music, various free gardening workshops and an eclectic mix of artisan craft shops, not to mention an abundance of seeds, shrubs and plants for sale.
A festival tent on the sunken garden of the Ballymaloe Walled Garden will host a wide range of talks, demonstrations and screenings, including a talk by a garden historian on 'The Story Behind Monet's Water Lilies', as well as talks on foraged foods and a guided walk through the estate’s organic veg.
Green-thumbed apartment dwellers will be pleased to know there’s a workshop on growing herbs, as well as plenty of indoor succulents and plants available for small indoor gardens.
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Let’s face it, it’s just not the weekend if you’re not treating yourself to a tasty snack or two. This farmer’s market in Midleton is known as the original farmer’s market in Ireland and was formed by Darina Allen.
Open every Saturday morning from 9am-1pm, you’ll find homemade breads, juices, vegetables, and gourmet snacks ranging from Ardsallagh goat cheese to irresistibly soft Lobster Rolls made on the spot using the freshest catch of the morning. Whether you want to stock up on artisan groceries for the week ahead, or simply browse around snacking from stalls at your own pace, this market is a must-see for locals and tourists alike.
Best part? Live music in the market varies from funky ukulele bands to classical orchestras.
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