Our latest recommendations, and community noticeboard listings.
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Desmond Fennell book launch
Essayist Desmond Fennell is one of the names I immediately seek out whenever stepping into any of the city’s bookshops with a second-hand section. And I have done this enough to know that my chief competitor for his works is an anonymous buyer in the States.
Be it for his scathing critique of the public art that lines O’Connell Street, his local history of Dundrum as processed through the lens of the shopping centre, or his theory that there were two American Revolutions, with the second occurring in the early 20th-century, Fennell – who passed away in 2021 – covered a breadth of subjects with striking originality, like an Irish Christopher Hitchens.
And, while probably not a household name any longer, his work has gained a resurgence of interest due to his strong influence on Kill All Normies author Angela Nagel.
Over in Sandymount Hotel on Friday morning, a new collection of his essays, titled The Radical Thinking of Desmond Fennell, is due to be launched. Published by the Journal of Music’s new imprint, Boluisce Press, and edited by Toner Quinn and Jerry White, this new volume brings together his writings on the Gaeltacht, Northern Ireland, Irish media, national identity and the post-Western world.
As part of the launch, Fennell’s life and legacy will be discussed during a series of talks by Theo McDonald, Finbarr Bradley, Professor Michael Cronin, the book editors Quinn and White, and Fennell’s daughter Natasha Fennell.
The full seminar will run from 9.00 to 12.30. Tickets are on sale here.
Menageries by Gaba Zoo Cat
Over the past few months, Acid Granny keyboard player and Onion Boys guitarist Alex Moore has been releasing a string of spacey jazz tracks under the name Gaba Zoo Cat.
Part Captain Beefheart, part Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, Moore’s new solo project is like swampy funk with a heavy dose of ’60s psychedelic guitar and frail vocals that feel as if they were delivered in a daze one dewy morning.
Joining him here are a cavalcade of names, including Tongue Bundle’s Oli Ryan, who also co-produced the record, Acid Granny’s Robbie Reilly on guitar, Clara Webster on violin and Lily B. Hayes on viola.
Menageries is a collection of 10 hypnotic tracks that retain the eccentricity of Moore’s other bands. But it also displays a more soulful and sincere side.
The album drops on Bandcamp on Friday. For more information, check out Gaba Zoo Cat’s Instagram page here.
Walkinstown Apollo Cinema
The poet, publisher and (on six separate occasions in his life) painter Michael O’Flanagan is organising a celebration of the old Walkinstown Apollo Cinema on Sunday.
Due to take place between 14.00 and 16.00, the event, billed as “Apollo Day” is a one-off meet-up, in which locals and people who’ve attended the cinema, which screened films between 1953 and 1974, can get together to swap stories about their time in the old movie house.
If you’ve got a story from its heyday, or you dropped in later to attend the bingo nights and variety shows that occurred there before it was eventually demolished in the 1990s, your services are needed.
But, if you’re simply curious about the cinemas of yesteryear, or the history of the chain of Apollos (as there were branches in Kilmainham and Sundrive too), then you will be equally welcome.
Also, as part of the event, there will be an exhibition of photographs on display showing Walkinstown “from a by-gone age”. The celebration and commemoration will be held at Harty Avenue in Walkinstown. Entry is free.
Throwing Shapes at Anseo
It is rare that I would make a musical recommendation for a band without having heard a single track. But Throwing Shapes is going to be the exception.
The three-piece is made up of harpist, and frequent collaborator with singer-songwriter Maija Sofia, Méabh McKenna, composer R.F. Chaney, and violinist Gareth Quinn Redmond, whose work draws influence from the Japanese ambient-contemporary classical style of music kankyō ongaku – or “environmental music”, and who previously released the solo record Laistigh den Ghleo.
They are in Anseo on Sunday night, and it would be wise to grab a ticket here, because they are selling pretty quickly.
Salon Rogaire
Next Thursday, 12 June, poet, writer and musician Róisín nic Ghearailt brings Salon Rógaire, her Irish literary salon back to the Winding Stair Bookshop on Ormond Quay.
Now on its third outing, the salon is a queer-centric event, which brings together a range of writers and performers – curated by Nic Ghearailt – who deliver their respective works, be they poems, prose, short plays or songs as Gaeilge predominantly, although there are a few bits of English, and at their most recent event back in March, some Yoruba too.
On the bill for their Pride month gathering – Bród – are writers Lily Breathnach and Hana Flamm, before performance artist and poet Day Magee closes the night.
You’ve a week to brush up on your cúpla focal. Doors open at 18.30, and tickets are available here with all profits on the evening going to Trans Equality Network Ireland.
Mary Lavin and the New Yorker
On Wednesday in Books Upstairs, author Gráinne Hurley will be launching her new book: Gratefully and Affectionately: Mary Lavin and The New Yorker.
It is the first ever book which looks at the life of Irish-American writer Mary Lavin, specifically exploring the 18-year period where she wrote for the New Yorker magazine, where she published 16 short stories between 1958 and 1976.
Built upon almost 400 letters exchanged between Lavin and her editor Rachel MacKenzie, wherein they didn’t just discuss story edits, but holiday plans, a love of gardening and legal troubles, Hurley’s book gives readers an insight into the lives of two of the magazine’s most influential figures.
Hurley will be introduced by writer Kathleen MacMahon at the launch, which starts at 18.30. For more information, visit the event page here.
NCAD graduation show
The National College of Art and Design’s graduation show is consistently one that I mark off on my calendar, purely because this annual exhibition has introduced me to a slew of talents over the last years, among them the artists Aisling Phelan, Rudi-Lee McCarthy and Carl Hickey.
That is starting again this Friday at the college. But, this year, NCAD’s Master’s of Fine Art students are branching out, with their own exhibition out in Tallaght at the Rua Red arts centre.
The Rua Red show, which opens on Friday and runs through until 14 June, will feature the work of Monika Crowley, Szymon Minias, Aoife Nolan, Melissa O’Donnell (whose work is featured above), Eileen O’Sullivan, Guia Rossi and Lana Zubovic.
Each of the seven artists engage with themes like ecology, craft and DIY repair culture, mortality and “domestic temporality”, the collective unconscious and post-digital networks.
As part of the exhibition, on Wednesday 11 June at 15.00, curator Georgie Thompson of the Irish Museum of Modern Art will lead a public walk-through alongside participating artists.
Then, on Friday 13 June at 13.00, there is “Decoder Loop // Tape.Echo.Signal”, a performative experimental conversation between the writer and educator Francis Halsall and the graduate artist Melissa O’Donnell.
For more information, visit the Rua Red website here.
It’s our birthday!
This Friday, the Dublin Inquirer is celebrating its 10th anniversary, in Anseo on Camden Street. The event starts at 6, and as part of the party, we will have a DJ set from Emmy Shigeta.
If you can’t come, but still like the idea of birthdays, we are launching a line of tote bags featuring some of our favourite headlines over the past decade. You can grab those here.
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Listings of events submitted by readers – you can submit yours for next week's newsletter, via this form.
Digital artists discord
If you’re a digital artist who is looking to network or make contact with others in your field, artist Aisling Phelan has set up a discord. Check it out here.
Axis Assembly bursary programme
Axis Ballymun is reminding all creatives to apply for its five-month bursary programme before the deadline at 18.00 on Friday, 13 June.
The Axis Assembly programme, which is open to artists at all stages of their careers, is offering €2,000 of bursary funding, and a further €2,000 of in-kind support, including dramaturgical and creative mentorship, working space, production, sustainability and tech support, networking opportunities, a showcase opportunity.
If you’re based in the greater Dublin area, and want to find out more, head on over to the application page here.
Dublin Art Book Fair 2025 open call
Temple Bar Gallery + Studios is now taking submissions for its upcoming Dublin Art Book Fair later this year.
The deadline for applications is Monday 20 October 2025. Please read the information provided on the application form here before submitting.
“Sheela / Sansun(a): Bridging Islands” at TØN 5 June
This evening, 5 June, TØN Gallery is launching “Sheela / Sansun(a): Bridging Islands”, the first solo show of Maltese artist Gabriel Buttiġieġ in Ireland.
Through expressionistic painting, the exhibition fuses the stories of two powerful figures in Irish and Maltese history: the mysterious Irish figure, Sheela na gig, and the prehistoric Maltese giantess, Sansuna.
The show will run until 26 June. For more information, visit the gallery’s website.
“Mise en Abysme” and “You Mustn't Go Looking” at Photo Museum Ireland
Currently showing until 29 June at Photo Museum Ireland, Meeting House Square, Temple Bar are two solo exhibitions – “Mise en Abyme” by Sharon Murphy and “You Mustn’t Go Looking” by Emma Spreadborough – which explore the role of performance, memory and imagination in contemporary photography.
Admission is free. For more information, head over to the Photo Museum Ireland website here.
Sounds Like Summer: Fingal Festival in a Van is back on the road this June
Fingal County Council and Creative Ireland are bringing back the Festival in a Van following its success last year.
Over six days, and across 12 stops, the portable festival will bring music, dance, spoken word and more over two weekends: 20 to 29 June.
Among those on the line-up are artists Pastiche (Malahide), D.McCabe (Rush), TemperMental Miscelayneous (Finglas), plus many more.
Tour stop locations include Skerries, Balbriggan, Mulhuddart, Howth, Baldoyle, Meakstown, and other towns, villages, and neighbourhoods across the county.
For more information, visit the festival’s website here.
Creative Brain Week
Now in its fourth year, Creative Brain Week is returning in June to entertainingly examine how brain science and creativity collide.
This year’s theme is “activating kindness”, and will feature scientists, psychiatrists, neurologists and psychologists from Ireland and around the world breaking down the importance of kindness and how it interacts with creativity, health and healthcare.
Once again taking place in Trinity College, it will run for a week beginning on Monday, 9 June.
Entry is free. But spaces are limited. To find out more, visit their website here.
Kilmainham to Thomas Street Project Active Travel Survey
If you travel or live near the Kilmainham to Thomas Street Active Travel route, Dublin City Council is carrying out a survey to find out about your experience here.
This study is a collaboration of DCC’s Active Travel Programme Office, the Trinity Centre for Transport Research, and the ADAPT Centre in UCD, and features as part of a broader “Data Insights for Active Travel” project.
For more information on the project, visit its webpage here.
Clontarf to City Centre Active Travel Survey
Dublin City Council is also conducting a survey for those using or living beside the Clontarf to City to City Centre Active Travel route.
If you have five minutes for this questionnaire, which is also part of the ‘Data Insights for Active Travel’ project, click on the link here.
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Looking for ideas for things to do in Dublin? We're here to help.
Our latest recommendations, and community noticeboard listings.
Our latest recommendations, and community noticeboard listings.
Our latest recommendations, and community noticeboard listings.
Our latest recommendations, and community noticeboard listings.
