Must-see entertainment in Dublin

  • Stella Theatre

    Dublin

    A cinema night may not always be a glamorous event, but at the Stella Theatre it is. A narrow entrance opens up to sumptuous art deco glory with…

  • The inside of Devitt's pub

    Devitt’s

    Grafton Street & St Stephen's Green

    Devitt’s – aka the Cusack Stand – is one of the favourite places for the city’s talented musicians to ply their trade, with sessions as good as any you’ll…

  • Whelan's

    Grafton Street & St Stephen's Green

    Perhaps the city's most beloved live-music venue is this midsized room attached to a traditional bar. This is the singer-songwriter's spiritual home: when…

  • Light House Cinema

    North of the Liffey

    The most impressive cinema in town is this snazzy four-screener in a stylish building just off Smithfield Plaza. The menu offers a mix of art-house and…

  • The facade of the Smock Alley Theatre.

    Smock Alley Theatre

    Temple Bar

    One of the city’s most diverse theatres is hidden in this beautifully restored 17th-century building. It boasts a broad program of events (expect anything…

  • O'Donoghue's

    Dublin

    There's traditional music nightly in the old bar of this famous boozer. Regular performers include local names such as Tom Foley, Joe McHugh, Joe Foley…

  • Seating at Croke Park Stadium.

    Croke Park

    Dublin

    Hurling and Gaelic football games are held from February to November at Europe's fourth-largest stadium (capacity around 82,000), north of the Royal Canal…

  • Also known as the Bord Gais Energy Theatre it was designed by Daniel Libeskind.

    Bord Gáis Energy Theatre

    Dublin

    Forget the uninviting sponsored name: Daniel Libeskind's masterful design is a three-tiered, 2100-capacity auditorium where you're as likely to be…

  • Outside of the Bowery

    Bowery

    Dublin

    With its burnished wood, intricate chandeliers and ship-shaped stage, this music venue is one of the best-looking bars in the city. It features live…

  • Vaults Live

    Dublin

    An immersive theatre performance in an old schoolhouse that takes you through six scenes from the darker side of Dublin history with incredibly detailed…

  • Workman's Club

    Temple Bar

    A 300-capacity venue and bar in the former working-men's club of Dublin. The emphasis is on keeping away from the mainstream, which means everything from…

  • Project Arts Centre

    Temple Bar

    The city's most interesting venue for challenging new work – be it drama, dance, live art or film. Three separate spaces allow for maximum versatility…

  • Mother

    Temple Bar

    The best club night in the city is ostensibly a gay night, but it does not discriminate: clubbers of every sexual orientation come for the sensational DJs…

  • Ark Children's Cultural Centre

    Temple Bar

    Aimed at youngsters between the ages of three and 14, the Ark runs a range of age-specific programs, talks and interactive experiences designed to…

  • Abbey Theatre

    North of the Liffey

    Ireland’s national theatre was founded by WB Yeats in 1904 and was a central player in the development of a consciously native cultural identity. Expect…

  • National Concert Hall

    Grafton Street & St Stephen's Green

    Ireland's premier orchestral hall hosts a variety of concerts year-round, with an increasingly diverse roster of performances including author interviews…

  • Olympia Theatre

    Temple Bar

    This lovely Victorian-era theatre specialises in light plays and, at Christmastime, pantomimes. It also hosts some terrific live gigs.

  • Royal Dublin Society Showground

    Dublin

    This impressive, Victorian-era showground is used for various exhibitions throughout the year. The most important annual event here is the late-July…

  • Gate Theatre

    North of the Liffey

    The city’s most elegant theatre, housed in a late 18th-century building, features a generally unflappable repertory of classic Irish, American and…

  • New Theatre

    Temple Bar

    This small theatre's location above a left-wing bookshop should be a guide to the kind of thinking that informs most of the performances taking place on…

  • Gaiety Theatre

    Grafton Street & St Stephen's Green

    The 'Grand Old Lady of South King St' is more than 150 years old and has for much of that time thrived on a diet of fun-for-all-the-family fare: West End…

  • Button Factory

    Temple Bar

    A multipurpose venue where one night you might be shaking your glow light to a thumping live set by a top DJ, and the next you'll be shifting from foot to…

  • Donnybrook Stadium

    Dublin

    This purpose-built 6000-capacity arena is shared by a bunch of rugby teams, including the Ireland Wolfhounds (the junior national side), the Ireland Women…

  • Ukiyo

    Grafton Street & St Stephen's Green

    The basement rooms of this trendy sake bar can fit up to 20 people each for a night of singalong fun from the 30,000-odd songs on the menu (in a variety…

  • Cineworld Multiplex

    North of the Liffey

    This 17-screen cinema shows only commercial releases. The seats are comfy, the concession stand is huge and the selection of pick ’n’ mix could induce a…

  • Laughter Lounge

    North of the Liffey

    Dublin’s only specially designated comedy theatre is where you’ll find those comics too famous for the smaller pub stages but not famous enough to sell…

  • Vicar Street

    Dublin

    Vicar Street is a midsized venue with a capacity of around 1000, spread between the table-serviced group-seating downstairs and a theatre-style balcony…

  • Savoy

    North of the Liffey

    The Savoy is a five-screen, first-run cinema, and has late-night shows at weekends. Savoy Cinema 1 is the largest in the city and its enormous screen is…

  • Chaplins Comedy Club

    Temple Bar

    A regularly changing line-up of up-and-coming and local talent look for laughs at this all-seater club; failing that, there's always pizza and craft beer…

  • Samuel Beckett Theatre

    Grafton Street & St Stephen's Green

    The Trinity College Players' Theatre hosts student productions throughout the academic year, as well as the most prestigious plays from the Dublin Theatre…

  • Academy

    North of the Liffey

    A terrific midsize venue, the Academy’s stage has been graced by an impressive list of performers on the way up – and down – the ladder of success, from…

  • Leopardstown Racecourse

    Dublin

    The Irish love of horse racing can be observed about 10km south of the city centre in Foxrock. Special buses depart from the centre of Dublin on race days…

  • 3 Arena

    Dublin

    The premier indoor venue in the city has a capacity of 23,000 and plays host to the brightest touring stars in the firmament. Drake, Boyzone and Steely…

  • Helix

    Dublin

    The Helix, Dublin City University's theatre venue in Glasnevin, has established its reputation as a serious theatre with its mix of accessible and…

  • Aviva Stadium

    Dublin

    Gleaming 50,000-capacity ground with an eye-catching curvilinear stand in the swanky neighbourhood of Donnybrook. Home to Irish rugby and football…

  • Ha'Penny Bridge Inn

    Temple Bar

    A traditional old bar that features local comics on the rise upstairs at the Unhinged Comedy Club on Sundays and Wednesdays, and Irish music downstairs.

  • Sugar Club

    Dublin

    There are a huge variety of gigs, party nights and movie screenings in this intimate theatre-style venue on the corner of St Stephen's Green.

  • Ticketmaster

    Grafton Street & St Stephen's Green

    Sells tickets to every genre of big- and medium-sized show – but be aware that it charges a 12.5% service charge per ticket.

  • Irish Film Institute

    Temple Bar

    The IFI has a couple of screens and shows classics and new art-house films. The complex also has a bar, a cafe and a bookshop.