Things To Do: Become a synth aficionado, watch a banned football film, go on the annual pilgrimage to Dalkey

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Our recommendations – no sponsored content, or adverts, just stuff we like.

Home is where the art is

This evening at TØN Gallery in Temple Bar artists Des Murphy and James Flanagan will be launching Home is where the art is, their new two-person exhibition which draws on their lived experience of homelessness.

The culmination of their collaboration with artist and boat-builder Mark Redden, Home… questions traditional notions of who is an artist and what place has art in contemporary society?

Flanagan and Murphy’s work centres on the concept of home, not just as a physical place of shelter, but as a place of memory, dignity and belonging. Through pieces, created in non-traditional, non-studio spaces, the two artists look to challenge public perceptions of art and homelessness.

Home is where the art is opens today, Thursday 18 June at 6pm, and will run until 30 June.

Bloop Group

If you, like most Dubliners, have a burning desire to play a synthesizer, then the Digital Hub is the place to be this Saturday.

The Bloop Group, a synth-based community, is inviting electronic musicians and producers of all levels to hang out, play music and test out some gear. Hosted by Caroline Swords and Gary Byrne, the meet-up is fundamentally a social space for synth-enthusiasts, whether or not you have amassed an armada of gear over the years.

From 7:30pm, there will also be a few seasoned veterans in attendance, equipped with their modular synth cases to deliver some short sets of original music with accompaniment from visual artists who are going to make complementary visuals that will be projected within Bay 1 of the Digital Hub.

The hang-out itself will begin at 5pm on Saturday 20 June. Tickets for Saturday’s meet-up are available here, and to find out more about the Bloop Group, give them a follow on Instagram here.

Dalkey Original Print Fair 2026

The Dalkey Original Print Fair is returning this weekend, with its second edition featuring fine art prints by seven established Dublin-based printmakers.

Hosted at Our Lady’s Hall in the centre of Dalkey Village, the fair will include etching, linocut, monoprint, carborundum, collagraph and drypoint works by Susan Early, Emma Fitzpatrick, Niamh Flanagan, Ann Kavanagh, Fran Keegan, Liza Kelly and David McGinn. 

Admission is free, and the works will be available for sale directly from the artists.

The fair will begin at 11am on Saturday 20 June, and will run until 6pm on Sunday, 21 June.

For more information, follow the Dalkey Original Print Fair over on their Instagram here.

Dalkey Book Festival

Since we’ve already sent you all the way out to Dalkey, it is only fair that we ensure you have a plethora of activities to choose from.

This week will also see the return of the annual Dalkey Book Festival, which kicks off this evening Thursday, 18 June.

Most of today’s events are sold out. But if you want to head out early, you can always pop into Loreto Abbey at 8:30pm to see a panel discussion on American culture, featuring authors Jeanine Cummins and Mary Cregan, economist Mark Blyth, and beloved columnist Finn McRedmond.

Among the highlights on Friday is the talk "Obama to MAGA" at 4pm, in which We Need To Talk About Kevin author Lionel Shriver, Atlantic editor Cullen Murphy and How To Lose A Country author Ece Temelkuran will be unpacking American politics over the past ten years with Colm O’Regan.

Then, on Saturday at 11am, Hisham Matar, author of The Return will be speaking with Roddy Doyle about Matar’s new novel, My Friends, an examination of friendship, literature and a life in exile during the 1984 Libyan embassy siege in London. Or if Ece Temelkuran becomes your new favourite expert on the looming threat of fascism, then she will be speaking about her latest work, Nation of Strangers, with Rick O’Shea at 1pm.

Later, at 4:30pm, Cameo author and name frequently lost on the bookshelves among Roddy Doyle’s gargantuan back catalogue, Rob Doyle, will be chatting with The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas author and friend of Twitter John Boyne on the topic of “literary celebrity in the culture war era”.

And at 5:30pm, Wendy Erskine will be talking about her new novel, The Benefactors with essayist and author of the forthcoming collection The Most Normal Woman Roisin Kiberd in the Heritage Centre.

The Dalkey Book Festival will run until Sunday night. To get your tickets and see who else is on the bill, visit their website here.

Solax Film Club

On Tuesday, the pop-up arthouse cinema Solax Film Club will be hosting a screening of the 1983 Brazilian sports comedy Onda Nova at Hen’s Teeth.

Directed by Ícaro (Francisco C) Martins and José Antonio Garcia, Onda Nova (or New Wave) looks at women’s football in Brazil, which was banned until 1979, with women only being permitted to form teams in 1983, the year Martins and Garcia produced their film.

Described as an “erotic and anarchic” comedy, Onda Nova looks at a group of young players who form Gayvotas Football Club, and face the prejudices of a conservative society as they prepare for an international match.

Created with the support of footballers Walter Casagrande, Pita and Wladimir, all of whom make cameo appearances, Onda Nova was banned by the Brazilian dictatorship before its release.

And this Tuesday 23 June at 6:30pm, you’ll be able to catch the 4K restored version of this cult comedy with an introduction and “relaxed” post-film discussion.

Tickets for the screening are available to purchase here.

Dublin Modular NCH

If you happen to catch the modular synthesizer bug over the weekend, might we advise you venture over to the National Concert Hall on Wednesday?

To close out this year’s edition of NCH’s Metronome series, a celebration of electronica, experimental, improvised and contemporary music, queer artist-run electronic music and arts collective Dublin Modular will be fusing modular and hardware electronics with acoustic instrumentation and immersive digital art.

Featuring multidisciplinary sound artist and Dublin Modular founder Tadgh Kinsella, composer Sonia Killmann, artist, designer and harpist Genevieve Howard, and Mark Bergin of creative audio studio Folding Waves, the event promises to “blur genres, sounds and worlds.”

Curated as a celebration of queer identity, experimentation and collaboration, Dublin Modular’s Metronome session intends to give the NCH’s Studio a “vibrant snapshot” of the country’s evolving electronic music landscape.

Metronome: Dublin Modular starts at 8:30pm on Wednesday, 24 June, and given the collective’s knack for selling out events, it would be wise to secure a ticket here sooner rather than later.

Stray Sod

Finally, next Thursday at 6pm, the International Centre for the Image will be launching Stray Sod, the new book from Finnish photographer and artist Maria Lax.

Stray Sod is an investigation into the Irish folklore phenomenon from which its title derives, and which describes a clump of grass that has been enchanted by fairies. In essence, those who dare to step on the patch of land will be led astray by this, a curse so mild in the age of Google Maps.

Lax’s publication draws from first-hand accounts that were unearthed in the National Folklore Collection, with these stories describing instances in which individuals are forced to navigate a world characterised by sudden shifts into unfamiliarity and strangeness. Lax then draws parallels between these stories and the destabilising effects of the fast-changing political and technological environment of today.

You will be able to order a copy of the photobook on the night or via the Library Project’s website here.

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Late at 118: MOVE

On Friday evening, 19 June, the Humanarium on St. Stephen's Green will be hosting its latest Late at 118 session, an after-hours celebration of movement in all of its forms.

Among those who will be exploring how movement shapes our bodies this time are dancer Monica Loughman, athlete Michael McKillop, DJ Little O and Masamba Samba.

Late at 118 starts at 6:30pm. Admission is free, but booking is essential and can be done here.

Dublin 8 Mega Yard Sale

After hugely successful events in previous years, the Dublin 8 Mega Yard Sale is back this Saturday (21 June) from 12 to 4pm.

The clutter-clearing community extravaganza is a great opportunity to snag a bargain and raise money for charity.

Residents are encouraged to set up a stall outside their house or on their street corner to sell unwanted goods. You can register your stalls here.

For more information contact whatsupindublin8@gmail.com.

Hedgehog Rescue Dublin

Hedgehog Rescue Dublin is seeking volunteers for a few shifts from Mondays to Fridays.

Volunteers must be over 18, with the work suiting a vet nurse or animal care student with some animal experience (not necessarily wildlife).

Duties will include cleaning cages to a high standard, weighing and feeding hedgehogs and birds, laundry, washing dishes, floors, updating records and charts.

If you are interested, contact Yvonne on WhatsApp at 0868810492.

Grey Squirrel Feasibility Study

Would you like to see the red squirrels return to the parks and gardens of Dublin and Wicklow?

Biodiversity Ireland is carrying out a feasibility study on the landscape scale control of the invasive grey squirrel and are asking you to have your say.

For more information and to complete the survey, visit Biodiversity Ireland’s website here.