Things To Do: Follow your dream, hear crows tell their tales, go back to the 60s by way of Amien Street

Our Picks

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

Jean Pack and the Slay Babies

On Friday night, Niamh Hayes of Cork-based dream-pop post-punk quintet I Dreamed I Dream is bringing her solo project, Jean Pack and the Slay Babies to Cleary’s Pub.

Hayes as Pack, released her debut EP Allora back in July, Consisting of five tracks, the record harkens back to the weirder side of 1960s pop, possessing the Christmas-y jangle of Pet Sounds, the reverb-heavy hits of producer Joe Meek and Phil Spector’s bombastic walls of sound. But, like the pop trio the Shangri La’s, Pack adds a bit of grit into the glistening dulcimers as, on the opening track, she sings “I woke up today with sick on my face.”

If the EP steals your heart, she and her band the Slay Babies will be up on Amien Street tomorrow, 27 March, with support from folk songwriter Cara Coyle and The Dolly, a new instrumental side project from Mark Stevens of the Onion Boys, which is inspired by the works of the experimental composers La Monte Young, Michael O’Shea and folk guitarist John Martyn.

The gig starts at 8pm. Tickets are €10 and will be available on the door.

Follow Your Dream

Over in Dún Laoghaire this Saturday, artist Bennie Reilly will be speaking about Follow Your Dream, her solo exhibition currently showing in the dlr LexIcon Gallery until 1 May.

Described as a celebration of the oddities and allure of nature, Follow Your Dream comprises Reilly's paintings and mixed media sculptures. Inspired by museums, natural history collections, and Reilly’s own experiences with nature, the artist uses her collection of personal photos, small objects and natural items amassed over the years to create images and three-dimensional decorative pieces.

At 1:30pm on Saturday 28 March, Reilly will be in the library’s gallery for a casual conversation with curator Brenda McParland, in which the pair will discuss Reilly’s show, her techniques and inspirations.

Admission is free.

E the Artist

Earlier this month, artist Daranijoh Sanni, better known as E the Artist, released his debut album Six. An ambitious maelstrom of synthesizers, found sounds, howling vocals and spoken word, drawing inspiration from the seven seals in the Book of Revelations, the album captured the raw power of the city’s underground scene, featuring contributions from artists like Mel Keane and Julia Louise Knifefist.

On Saturday night, 28 March, Sanni will be performing in Tengu to officially launch the record. Doors are open at 7:30pm, and he has a few “special guests” lined up to appear.

Tickets are available here.

sticks and mountains and huge lone birds

On Sunday, we’re sending you over to Howth where, at the College Lane Gallery, artist Róise McGagh will be launching her solo exhibition, sticks and mountains and huge lone birds.

The show is the culmination of McGagh’s month-long residency in the College Lane Gallery on Abbey Street and explores the relationship between the gallery and public space. Site-specific in their nature, the artist’s works in the exhibition articulate architectural forms observed in the gallery’s environment, and expands beyond College Lane’s walls to directly engage with the street outside.

Opening on Sunday afternoon at 4pm, sticks and mountains and huge lone birds will run until 24 April.

For more information, follow College Lane Gallery on Instagram here.

Made in Dublin

In February, the video production company No18Films started a documentary short series titled Made in Dublin, which delves into the storied lives of the city’s inhabitants.

Their first installation in the series, The Master Glove Maker, features a conversation with Brian Horn, a glove-maker who specialises in “table cutting,” a method where leather is stretched and measured by eye before the blade touches the skin. The son of George Horn of George Horn Gloves, Brian’s interview takes the viewer back to the 1940s when his father founded the company, recalling the golden age of glove manufacturing in the city and a factory fire that devastated the business in 1972, while also reflecting on the dying craft.

Earlier this week, they dropped the second episode, which details the history of the Cobblestone Pub as told by its owner Tom Mulligan and his son, Tomás Mulligan of the band Ispíní na hÉireann. The short offers an intimate portrait of the pub’s culture and characters, and presents one of the best versions of the events around the 2021 campaign to save the pub from being partially demolished and redeveloped.

Give it a watch here.

The Rookery Stories

If you’ve a decent tale to tell, it might be wise to head over to A4 Sounds Artist Studios and Gallery in Phibsborough on Tuesday evening for the Rookery Stories, the latest storytelling session hosted by folklorist Stephen Jack Cullen, otherwise known as Hog and Dice.

The Rookery Stories is a monthly storytelling event, which began back in January, which invites storytellers at every level, “from fledglings to old crows” to trade yarns, develop their craft and find community in an inclusive and accessible environment.

The third session begins at 6:30pm on Tuesday 31 March, and anyone who would like to tell a story can sign up at the front desk in A4 Sounds. The evening will then get underway at 7pm with an introduction by Hog and Dice, with six ten-minute stories being shared by participants.

To get a ticket, visit the A4 Sounds website here.

Sketches of Maeve Brennan

Finally, on Wednesday evening, editor Molly Hennigan will be in Books Upstairs to discuss the life and legacy of the writer and journalist Maeve Brennan.

Born in 1917, Brennan grew up on Cherryfield Avenue in Ranelagh before moving to the United States in 1934 where she worked at the New Yorker, writing sketches, short stories, essays and fashion notes. Publishing works including The Long-Winded Lady: Notes from The New Yorker, In and Out of Never-Never Land and Christmas Eve, Brennan became a well-known name in the States, but not in Ireland.

In more recent years however, her reputation has grown stronger back at home, with authors like Sinéad Gleeson championing her work and Ranelagh Arts holding a weekend celebrating her legacy last September. Most recently, in February, a new collection of essays, An Asylum for my Affections: Sketches of Maeve Brennan was published by New Island Books. Featuring ten contemporary Irish writers, the anthology seeks to offer a new and broader perspective on Brennan’s life and the impact of her work in the 21st century.

The anthology’s editor Molly Hennigan will be over in Books Upstairs at 6:30pm on Wednesday to speak with some of the contributors about Brennan’s legacy.

The event is free. But booking is required. Reserve a seat here.

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Art Help: with your work problem

Artist Grace Dyas is organising a four-week “rehearsal for reality”, which is designed for people who feel stuck, dissatisfied or disconnected from their work.

Participants are invited to bring real work problems into a structured, small-group process of staging, discussion and experimentation, in which the group will rehearse different ways of responding to a difficult situation – before taking them back into real life.

No acting or performance experience is required, and participants are never required to perform. The same small group meets across all four weeks, allowing for trust, depth, and continuity.

Facilitated by Dyas, the sessions will occur on Sundays between 3 and 5pm from 12 April to 3 May at the Dublin Fringe Studios in Temple Bar.

There are eight places available and the cost of the full programme is €300.

For more information and to sign up, contact Dyas on WhatsApp at 085 191 8419.

Open Call: Social Impact Residency at the Tara Building

The Tara Building has opened applications for its Social Impact Residency, offering space for a small number of individuals or teams (up to three people) working on projects that create positive social or environmental change.

The residency will span six months, and will include a complimentary membership for its duration, access to workspaces, meeting rooms, call booths and share areas, promotion of your work through Tara’s channels, and invitations to events, talks and community gatherings.

The deadline is 3 April.

For more information and to apply, visit the Tara Building website.

Ben de la Cour

Songwriter Ben de la Cour is bringing his signature “Americanoir” sound and acclaimed new album New Roses to the Cobblestone on Saturday, 4 April.

Organised by Foggy Notions, doors open at 7:30pm. Tickets are available here.

Listen to De la Cour’s single from New Roses, ‘Stuart Little Killed God (On 2nd Ave)' over on YouTube here.