HAPPENINGS:

Craft Brews & Food Fair

Breweries and artisan food producers from around Ireland will be exhibiting this weekend for the Alltech Craft Brews & Food Fair.

The craft drinks gathering, which returns to the Convention Centre from March 14-16 will be showcasing over 300 craft beers, spirits and ciders from leading drinks producers.

The fair is a three-day celebration of Ireland¹s craft brews industry.

The fair joins the St Patrick¹s Festival 2019 as a featured event, and there will be great entertainment each day, with live music, a games area including foosball, air hockey and pool tables and Six Nations rugby on three of the largest screens in Dublin.

For further information and to book tickets visit www.alltechbrews.ie.

St Patrick’s Festival

Almost every Dubliner has fond memories of the St Patrick’s Day Parade so why not create some more for this event that gets bigger and better every year.

These days the festival is a five-day international affair, packed with all kinds of fun events to celebrate our national culture. 

The parade is still the main event, and it starts at midday at Parnell Square on the big day. This year’s theme is Storytelling so expect street theatre and pageant companies to dazzle the crowds with their artistic interpretations of the 2019 theme.

And as usual, Irish and international bands will deliver rhythmically captivating musical scores that are sure to echo through the streets of the capital.

You can get into the mood starting on Saturday, March 16, in Merrion Square, which will be transformed into a bustling Festival Village, with three days of fantastic events, fun adventures and glorious food, featuring a Gaeltacht area, Céilí Mór, circus and science shows, children’s readings and discos, live music, village hall talks, street theatre, world food stalls and much more.

Also worth checking out is Candlelit Tales, a troupe of musicians, dancers, storytellers and performers that have a passion for injecting new life into old and sometimes forgotten stories.

They’ll be performing in Whelan’s on Wexford Street on Monday, March 18, from 8.30pm. All the festival events are listed at www.stpatricksfestival.ie.

Parades in Fingal 

St Patrick’s Day in Fingal is set to be a bustling celebration of all things Irish, as over 136 groups are taking part in parades across the county. 

Locations and starting times on Sunday (March 17) are as follows: Swords (11am), Balbriggan (2pm) and Blanchardstown (3pm). 

There are also parades taking place in Rush, Lusk and Skerries, which are organised by community groups. The Rush parade begins at 1pm and the Lusk parade takes place at 1.30pm. In Skerries, the parade begins at 3pm.

St Patrick’s Day at Swords Pavilions

To celebrate this St Patrick’s Day, Swords Pavilions is hosting a number of activities from 11am to 4pm this Sunday March 17. The events include: 

• Free face painting from 10am to 4pm at the Centre Mall,  

• Irish Traditional Band – Outside Zara lower level from 1pm to 3pm, 

• Dance Hall Academy – Centre Mall from 2pm to 4pm. 

• Andrea Behan School of Dance – Lower Level in front of Dunnes Stores from 2pm to 4pm, and 

• Dance Your Way Studio at Swords Central (Penney’s), from 1pm to 3pm. 

Harbour2Harbour Walk

THE 14th annual Aware Harbour2Harbour Walk will take place on St Patrick’s Day from 10.30am.

Over 2,000 enthusiastic walkers are expected to take on the 16.2 mile/26km challenge, with the option of starting from Howth Harbour or Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

Suitable for most fitness levels, the walk on Sunday, March 17 will take participants along the scenic Dublin Bay route with a ‘Halfway Hooley’ hosted at Dublin Port Company’s public plaza. 

Participants can register now at aware.ie/events at a cost of €25 per person. All funds raised will go towards Aware’s nationwide support, education and information services.

Connected

Connected – An Art & Photography exhibition featuring exciting new work by 12 award winning and emerging female artists is open at the Copper House Gallery (St Kevin’s Cottages, off Synge Street, Dublin 8) until March 15.  

The opening hours are Monday-Friday from 9am to 5pm and Saturday from 11am to 4pm.

The exhibition will showcase the work of award winning artists and photographers and as the name suggests it’s all about ‘connection’ – how we can connect with each other, with nature, with art and most importantly with ourselves.

For more information, visit www.thecopperhousegallery.com