1. Temple Bar Trad Fest
What better way to kick off the New Year than with the biggest and best traditional Irish music and cultural event in Ireland – Dublin’s Temple Bar Trad Fest! The 6 day (and night!) festival is a jam-packed feast of Irish music, dance and craic. With over 200 free events across 17 venues there truly is something for everyone – pick up an instrument at an open session or master class, join the open mic, dance a jig or simple sit back and enjoy the talent on show. Running from the 22nd-27th January Temple Bar Trad Fest is not to be missed.
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2. Dublin iWalks Series
Explore the many stories of Dublin at your leisure with our series of Audio Guides. Guide yourself through the streets of the capital and discover the history that lies around every corner.With 8 new audio guides being introduced this Spring including, Literary Dublin, Rock n Stroll, Georgian Merrion Square….we’ve created a tour just for you!
Click here to learn more about the current iWalks series
3. St. Patrick’s Festival
Join us in Dublin for 5 days of street theatre and performance, pageantry, spectacle, music, dance, literature, comedy, film, and family events. Ireland’s national holiday rolls into 5 days of street parties in Dublin with the St. Patrick’s Festival Parade being the highlight on St. Patrick’s Day, Sunday 17th March.
Click here for more on St. Patrick's Festival
4. Malahide Castle and Gardens
Malahide Castle and Gardens have reopened to the public after closure in 2011 for refurbishment. This historic landmark north of the city, showcases the legacy and history of the Talbot family who lived in the Castle from 1195 – 1975. Part of the regeneration of the Castle demesne includes Avoca Food Hall & Restaurant in the Courtyard buildings. A must see visitor experience, Malahide Castle & Gardens is just 30minutes from the city centre.
Click here to learn about Malahide Castle and Gardens
5. Dublin City +
Where can you find picturesque seaside villages surrounded by sandy beaches and rugged coastline, a bustling city and rolling countryside? Yes, Dublin! Pack you hiking boots and head to the Dublin Mountains where the trails and forests allow offer leisurely strolls or more intense hikes on the Dublin Mountain Way. Or take the DART train and stop off a the many fishing villages along the coast, and take a sailing trip in Dublin Bay.
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6. Dine in Dublin Restaurant Week
Make the most of the culinary delights Dublin has to offer with value menus, great entertainment and events with participating restaurants! From mexican at Havana, to contemporary at Saba, to fusion at The Rustic Stone, there's something to suit all tastes!
‘Dine in Dublin Restaurant Week’ takes place twice annually, in March and October. Stay tuned for the fantastic value menus!
More information here
7. UNESCO City of Literature
Dublin’sliterary tradition dates back over a thousand years, the appreciation of writing and the richness of all its forms is something that Dubliners display as a matter of course. Literary awareness is a form of currency in Dublin, where her writers are not remote figures,but a large part of the everyday landscape and much valued by Dubliners. You can find out more about Dublin’s famous writers at: The Dublin Writers Museum, the James Joyce Museum, the James Joyce Centre, The Shaw Birthplace, the National Library of Ireland and Dublin is home to the famous Book of Kells which is housed in The Old Library, Trinity College.
Find out more about Literary Dublin
8. The Gathering Dublin
The Gathering Dublin is set to bring everyone who loves Dublin back for a year of fantastic events. Dublin, voted one of the world’s friendliest cities is hosting over 100 events from sporting and genealogy to business and clan gatherings. The Gathering Dublin 2013 welcomes first-timers and ex-pats to Ireland for a chance to make memories and fondly visit old ones.
To find out more about The Gathering Ireland click here
9. Theatre
Dublin is home to some of the world's best theatre, from musicals to cutting-edge drama offering a host of historic, happening and hugely entertaining productions. From the shiny new Bord Gais Energy Theatre at Grand Canal Dock, to the national theatre The Abbey established in 1904 to the renovated Smock Alley Theatre in the Old City of Temple Bar Dublin offers theatre genres for all.
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10. Festival Season
154 venues welcoming over 150,000 free visits on Culture Night. 100 buildings cool and classic, modern and medieval opening their doors for free tours and talks during Open House Dublin. 16 days and nights of cutting edge theatre, comedy and music in Absolute Fringe. 500 performances of the very best of theatre in Dublin Theatre Festival. 100 gigs in 3 days in 6 venues…phew and that’s just the beginning! Festival Season in September and October will enthral you.
For more on Festival Season click here
11. Sporting Capital 2013
Dublin is a capital of sport in 2013. Kicking off in February with the RBS 6 Nations Rugby Ireland goes into battle on home turf (Aviva Stadium) against England and France. In March the All Ireland GAA Club Finals take place on St. Patrick’s Day, 17th March, in Croke Park, while the Heineken Cup Final comes to the city in May. The Dublin Horse Show in August takes centre stage, along with the Rock n Roll Dublin Half Marathon! And GAA once again takes over in September in Croke Park.
Find out more about sport in Dubin in 2013
12. Museums, Galleries & Exhibitions
It may come as a surprise to many that Dublin is home to world class museums and galleries that are completely free admission! From medieval and renaissance manuscripts and Egyptian papyrus texts at the Chester Beatty Library (European Museum of the Year 2002), to Caravaggio, Picasso , Yeats and Monet in the National Gallery of Ireland, celtic and prehistoric gold artefacts and Iron Age Bog Bodies in that National Museum of Ireland. Discover all this and a whole lot more without spending a cent!
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13. NYE Dublin
Young or old, a Dubliner or a visitor, performer or spectator, the NYE Dublin Festival is the perfect celebration of the New Year. NYE Dublin Festival (December 31st) sees the city transformed into a massive outdoor playground with music, dance, fireworks, pageantry, and heaps of family fun. The Countdown Concert on College Green is the hottest tickets in town.
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