When it comes to planning your weekends in Ireland, 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 year. Your weekend starts here:
Dublin
Ireland’s largest festival of traditional music, TradFest now also feature artists from the worlds of folk, nu-folk, and even (whisper it) rock and roll! TradFest also offers concert goers unique opportunities to experience live music in some of Dublin’s most historic places, including the nave of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and City Hall.
Weekend highlights are varied and include the TradFest Gala Night on Saturday at Dublin Castle; an interactive genealogy workshop to trace your Irish heritage; a céilí dance at The National Wax Museum and The New Folk concert at St. Werburgh’s church, celebrating women in folk music with a live performance from Ailbhe Reddy and more.
Dublin Smartphone Film Festival
The Dublin Smartphone Film Festival is a brand new international festival dedicated to celebrating work shot on Smartphone and Tablets,as no longer is expensive technology a barrier to creativity.
The festival was created with the goal of encouraging filmmakers to share the stories they have captured on mobile devices and to provide smartphone filmmakers with a platform to exhibit these stories to a wider audience.
Taking place on Saturday in Smithfield, the festival will screen a mix of Music Videos, Animation, Documentaries, Fiction and 350 Video, with screenings broken into five sections of 40 minutes or so. Tickets are €10 at the door.
Who Let The Dogs Out? Tasting Dinner
A five-course tasting dinner in LEGIT coffee company on Sunday evening will lead you on an exploration of pairing foods with beer instead of wine. The pop-up event is hosted by an expert chef and sommelier who will create the five-course dinner and explain each choice of craft beer by brewing company Lagunitas.
Tickets are €58 and the menu will feature: Pão de queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)
& Lagunitas - Little Sumpin Sumpin (Wheat Ale); Bouillabaisse (French Fisherman’s Soup) & Lagunitas - IPA (India Pale Ale); Orange Glazed Quail & Lagunitas - Pils (Czech Style Pilsner); Venison Burgers & Lagunitas - Wilco Tango Foxtrot (Brown Ale); Makowiec (Polish Poppyseed Cake) & Lagunitas - Cappuccino Stout.
Jazz Evening with Randy Ingram and Drew Gress
As part of the swanky live music programme at restaurant and bar Bagots Hutton, which showcases international jazz acts each month, this weekend’s act is a world class duo straight out of New York.
Randy Ingram (piano) and Drew Gress (double bass) are two of the finest exponents of modern jazz today and duo will be performing tracks from Ingram's very recent release for Sunnyside Records, The Wandering. No strangers to Ireland, Randy was last here touring with Kevin Brady and Dave Redmond. Drew was in Dublin back in 2015 with Tom Rainey's Obbligato project.
Tickets are available from €14 for the performance on Saturday evening. Grab a glass of Pinot and a charcuterie plate and sit back for something very special.
Galway
Want to sample some of Galway’s tastiest vegan food? Join this food tour for the ultimate vegan experience that will show you how tasty vegan foods are and encourage you towards a more ethical and healthy way of satisfying your palette.
Showcasing the best of Galway’s up and coming plant based food scene, the tour demonstrates that in Galway it is not only possible to be vegan – it’s downright delicious!
The amount of food you get on the tour is equivalent to a three course meal, and generous portion tasters are included in the ticket price of €45 at the stop offs at six of Galway’s best vegan foodspots. Whether you’re a vegan or just hungry to explore new flavours, this tour offers a different side to Galway’s food scene.
SUBTITLE European Film Festival
In conjunction with The Town Hall Theatre, SUBTITLE European Film Festival returns to Galway to present some of its most popular titles for a weekend ‘Best Of’. The weekend screenings will show the most popular, accessible comedies and dramas from Europe – which were huge hits in their own countries – to an Irish audience for the first time.
The line-up of foreign language films includes the Polish drama Beyond Words, the story of a successful Berlin lawyer who is plunged into an existential crisis after his father (presumed dead) returns from the blue; Number One, a French film which centres around a business executive attempting to crash through the glass ceiling and become the first woman to lead a major French company and winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, The Square, a Swedish flick starring Elizabeth Moss.
You can see all 11 films in the festival for €55 or get individual tickets from €8.
Kildare
Treat yourself or a loved one to a luxury escape with January’s Taste Club in partnership with Mastercard® at the newest addition to CLIFF Group, the Cliff at Lyons.
Arrive on 26th January and enjoy an overnight stay in your Estate or Lilypond room followed by an a la carte breakfast the next morning to fuel yourself ahead of the day’s Masterclass activities.
You will learn ‘How To Create A Restful Space’ as award winning architect, Garry Cohn takes you through colours, scents and tasteful finishes as well as a cookery class with the talented Cliff Culinary Team which will set you on the right path to light and healthy cooking. Why not finish your weekend with some yoga, meditation and mindfulness with Lee Tracey.
Priority booking is for Mastercard cardholders, spaces are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis
Cork
Ballincollig Winter Music Festival
Now in its ninth year, the Ballincollig Winter Music Festival is a fantastic and eclectic mix of artists and events centered around the festival hub at The White Horse pub.
Saturday’s line-up includes Irish Times’ journalist, Tony Clayton-Lea, as he brings a mix of lively debate, interesting interviews and live performances to The White Horse with his salon-style event Culture Vultures, while that night, Cork legends Rubyhorse are set to bring brand new material to the venue.
Sunday afternoon will be a riot of music with trad maestros Frankie Gavin, Alec Finn and Derek Hickey with special guest, Italian folk and world music star, Lavinia Mancus, with The Niall McCabe Band bringing the festival to a close that night.
Various workshops in traditional musical instruments, as well as a lesson in Sean Nós dancing, will take place throughout this vibrant gathering.
This event guide was brought to you with thanks to Mastercard®. Register on Priceless.com today to discover exclusive experiences and get privileged access to sporting events, shopping, dining and travel.
