Deadly festival for Dublin City

SPECIAL guests including Amy Huberman, ‘Moone Boy’ David Rawle, Theo Dorgan and music stars Heathers will be all be taking part in a night of stories and songs in St Patrick’s Cathedral to mark this year’s Bram Stoker Festival.

An initiative of Dublin City Council and Fáilte Ireland, the Bram Stoker Festival will be celebrating Dublin’s dark side over the October Bank Holiday Weekend.

Conceived as a celebration of Dublin-born gothic writer Bram Stoker and his illustrious novel ‘Dracula’, the city will be getting ghastly from October 23-26. 

The guests listed  above will be part of the line-up for ‘Soundings, Bram Stoker Edition’, a night of stories and song to inspire, entertain and alarm, that will be presented by Dylan Haskins and Lisa Hannigan in St Patrick’s Cathedral.

‘I Got the Seanchai, I Got the Secret’, a bilingual story-telling evening hosted by Una Mullally and Vickey Curtis, will feature Róisín Ingle (Irish Times), Clara Rose Thornton (Dublin slam poetry champion), Temper-Mental MissElayenous (bodhrán-beating poetry-woven rapper), Niamh Beirne (Pettycash), Roisin Agnew (Guts Magazine), Joanne McNally (comedian) and Louise Bruton (Legless In Dublin).

Artist Maser will also return to Ireland to create an interactive installation in Smithfield while Macnas traverse the city in a Twilight procession.

 Ray Yeates, Dublin City Arts Officer, said: “The Bram Stoker Festival is Dublin’s annual celebration inspired by one of our most famous writers and a gateway to our gothic city. Everyone eagerly awaits this spooky feast.”

Manager for Fáilte Ireland, Mark Rowlette, added: “The Bram Stoker festival showcases Dublin in a new and unique way – many visitors would be unaware of Dublin’s Dracula connection and this festival brings it to the fore. “Not only that but it is a significant addition to the autumn calendar which unlocks a fun, creative and intriguing side to the city. We believe Bram Stoker has the capacity to entice potential visitors to come to Dublin outside of the summer season and are delighted to support it.” 

Dubliners and visitors to the city are invited to follow the fun using #BiteMeDublin and watch out as landmarks and buildings across the city light up in blood red.

 With many more additions to the Bram Stoker Festival line up to be announced in the coming weeks, look up www.bramstokerfestival.com for further details.