Dingle Town
Upstairs from Dingle Record Shop, this great late-night hangout is part jazz venue, part pizza restaurant and part wine bar, with moody blue and red…
Must-see entertainment in Ireland
County Donegal
An Grianán Theatre is both a community theatre and major arts venue for the northwest, presenting national and international drama, comedy and music. It…
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…
Tralee
Siamsa Tíre, the National Folk Theatre of Ireland, recreates dynamic aspects of Gaelic culture through song, dance, drama and mime. There are several…
The Midlands
Mullingar's arts centre runs a regular program of music, comedy, drama and art exhibitions. In summer there are family-friendly traditional music sessions…
Limerick City
Permanent home of the Irish Chamber Orchestra, with regular concerts from visiting acts, plus opera, drama, comedy and dance. The campus is 4.5km east of…
Wexford Town
Housed in the 18th-century market hall, this centre hosts exhibitions, theatre (including occasional productions in Irish), dance and music, and has a…
County Waterford
This excellent theatre, in an atmospheric 18th-century building set in a courtyard off O'Connell St, stages art-house films, music, dance and plays.
County Sligo
A former abattoir is home to innovative theatre company Blue Raincoat, whose program includes original productions plus Yeats in the summer.
Temple Bar
This lovely Victorian-era theatre specialises in light plays and, at Christmastime, pantomimes. It also hosts some terrific live gigs.
County Clare
In a striking modern building, Clare's cultural centre hosts theatre, dance, traditional music, film, photography, art and more.
County Donegal
In a striking glass-and-aluminium structure, Letterkenny's cultural centre hosts music and drama, fine arts and film screenings.
County Waterford
Intimate arts venue Central Arts stages exhibitions, drama, comedy, live-music gigs and open-mic nights; check listings online.
Kilkenny City
One of the classic experiences of a trip to Ireland is catching a game of hurling at the Kilkenny Cats' hallowed home stadium.
The Midlands
On tree-lined Oxmantown Mall, this is a vibrant place with a regular line-up of art exhibitions, films, theatre and concerts.
County Waterford
In a beautifully refurbished Georgian building, Waterford's flagship theatre stages plays, musicals and dance performances.
County Sligo
This well-regarded 340-seat theatre presents concerts, dance and drama for children and adults.
Dingle Town
First releases and art-house films screen at this family-run 150-seat cinema.
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…
Bunratty Castle Medieval Banquet
County Clare
Candlelit medieval banquets at Bunratty Castle are replete with harp-playing maidens, court jesters and meaty medieval fare (vegetarian options available)…
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…
Cork City
If you tire of the pubs, the live music and the theatre, there's always the dogs. Greyhound racing is big in Ireland, particularly with families, and…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Galway City
A festival of Irish dancing and music, this long-running summer extravaganza is led by Máirín Fahy, a local diva of the fiddle. The glossy production is…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
County Meath
The National Hunt season has its yearly climax with the Grand National, held here on Easter Monday. The course is 25km north of Dublin; special buses run…
Dublin
Gleaming 50,000-capacity ground with an eye-catching curvilinear stand in the swanky neighbourhood of Donnybrook. Home to Irish rugby and football…
