Playstival
A more “innocent” approach to games and play will be the emphasis of a new summer festival for children and their parents taking place at the Airfield Estate in Dundrum next week. Ireland’s largest urban farm will be transformed over the weekend of Saturday, August 11 and Sunday 12 as Playstival with The Happy Pear arrives. Dedicated to play, fun and imagination, the focus is on “going back to basics” with no fancy technology or screens.
Rock ‘n’ Roll Dublin Half Marathon
The sixth annual Rock ‘n’ Roll Dublin Half Marathon returns the weekend of August 11-12. It serves as the Irish National Half Marathon Championships and features the best of local talent with live bands entertaining participants along the course.
The 2017 event saw record-breaking numbers as 15,000 runners from 57 different countries took part in the event across the four distances.
The 5k run starts at DIT Grangegorman at 10am on Saturday and the half marathon begins at 8.30am on Sunday before the 10k at 9.20am and the family fun run at 12.15pm. The Blizzards headline the Finish Festival on Sunday.
Dublin Comic Con
Returning for its sixth year, Dublin Comic Con is back at the Convention Centre in Dublin from August 10-12 with the best of pop culture and sci-fi from guests and sets to stalls, traders, artists and panels.
Whether you go to find rare collectibles, meet Hollywood actors and local artists, have your portfolio reviewed by industry professionals or simply cosplay there will be something to keep you entertained. Visit www.dublincomiccon.com for more information.
Lucienne Day: Living Design exhibition
A new touring exhibition showcasing the pioneering work of designer Lucienne Day, considered to be one of the most important and influential women textile designers of the 20th century, is running at Dublin Castle’s Coach House Gallery until September 15.
‘Lucienne Day: Living Design’, which is open daily from 10am to 5pm (free admission), tells the story of Lucienne’s design career unfolding in a sequence of photographs drawn from the archives of the Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation.
Orson Welles film event
To coincide with the release of a documentary, ‘The Eyes of Orson Welles’ on August 17, and the visit of its director to the Irish Film Institute on August 22, the IFI presents a season of films from August 11-29.
The films examine the work of Orson Welles within a broader cinematic context. The films selected have been split into three distinct categories: films that inspired Welles, films inspired by Welles and work from Welles himself.
Tickets for the Orson Welles season are now on sale from the IFI Box Office on 01-6793477 or from www.ifi.ie.
100 years of suffrage exhibition
The Houses of the Oireachtas, in collaboration with the National Museum of Ireland and with special thanks to the Sheehy-Skeffington family, has opened a public exhibition, ‘Votes for Women: Suffrage and Citizenship’, which will run until October 19.
Free public tours are available on weekdays when the Dáil and Seanad are not sitting. These tours begin at 10.30am, 11.30am, 2.30pm and 3.30pm.
Visitors can secure a tour place by booking in advance by contacting the Oireachtas at event.desk@oireachtas.ie or by phoning 01-6183271/3781.
You can also arrive in person at the Leinster House visitors’ entrance on Kildare Street approximately 15 minutes before a tour’s scheduled start time.
Kids Go Free at GPO Witness History
If you’re looking for an exciting day out in Dublin’s City Centre with the kids that is both educational and fun during the summer holidays, why not stop in and check out the GPO Witness History Visitor Centre?
This August, kids can visit GPO Witness History free of charge (when accompanied by a paying adult) making it the ideal day out for the entire family. The offer is valid for up to four children until August 31.
Located in the historic GPO building on O’Connell Street in Dublin, the centre is a great place for the whole family to learn about the seismic events that shaped Ireland’s modern history.
Mondays at The Mess
Richmond Barracks opened to the public as an interactive multimedia exhibition centre in May 2016 and this August sees the continuation of its third year of the popular Mondays at the Mess Lecture Series.
On August 13, ‘Independence and Dependants – The Military Service (1916-1923) Pensions Collection’ will be given by Robert McEvoy, Military Service Pensions Collection, Cathal Brugha Barracks.
Children’s Summer Tours
August is the last chance to catch one of the Children’s Summer Tours at Glasnevin Cemetery. These tours offers learning and entertainment for all the family.
Visitors will learn many fun and lesser-known facts about Glasnevin on this tour, including stories about assassinated parrots and grave robbing.
The tours run at 3pm on Mondays. See www.glasnevinmuseum.ie for details.