Things To Do: Read the Evening Herald’s letters section, mail order a drama, and rejoice as Smithfield Square gets used for a whole weekend

Our Picks

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

Dreamtown, IFI

This evening at 18.30, director Steven McKenna will be down in the Irish Film Institute in Temple Bar to discuss his debut feature film, Dreamtown, as part of the cinema’s Irish Focus series.

Dreamtown is a late-in-life coming-of-age film, which tells the story of Mickey Richards, an ageing rockstar who never realised his dreams of making it big, and who, at the age of 56, must reconnect with his estranged son.

Joining McKenna after the screening will be Anthony Murphy, who plays Richards, and cinematographer Jaro Waldeck.

Tickets are available here.

Displaced Hearts

In July, cassette label Fort Evil Fruit released Displaced Heart, a collaboration between the Palestinian poet Moe Moussa and Poppy H, an east London experimental artist who uses smartphones to record and mix their music.

Composed of 12 tracks, Displaced Hearts sees Moussa share his experience of life in Gaza through spoken word accompanied by the dark and murky gothic ambient instrumental created by Poppy H.

Fort Evil Fruit is selling a limited number of cassette versions of the albums, as well as digital versions here, with all proceeds from the album will be going to charities supporting Palestinians affected by the genocide.

History on your Doorstep, Volume 8

The eighth volume of History on your Doorstep, a journal by the Dublin City historians in residence, came out yesterday, and in between compiling this newsletter, I’ve been dipping into this latest offering.

In particular, one essay that has captivated me is "A Lady and a Jolly Flapper are as far apart as two worlds" by Katie Blackwood, Dublin North Central’s historian in residence.

Blackwood discovered a letter sent into the Evening Herald in September 1928 by a young woman who wrote under the pen-name “Jolly Flapper”. Her subjects were the unchivalrous young men who had refused to offer up their seats on a tramcar leaving O’Connell Street one night. She wondered if they were too lazy or too feminine, or maybe they were too weary from “parading” about all evening, she wrote. “But then they should have some consideration for two ladies who had been dancing from 8 p.m."

What ensued was a war of letters, 64 in total, and penned by a whole host of people using atrocious noms de plume like “Wo(e)man” and “Sit Tight”. “Jolly Flapper” was condemned and supported. Some wrote poems, and others fired back using verses as well. The roles of women in public spaces were scrutinised. Men bemoaned their fashion choices and expressed their anxieties about how the new generation of women were driving, cycling, even flying.

“When ladies start Atlantic flying and Channel swimming, is it not the time for them to be treated the same as men?” pondered one angry reader.

Blackwood’s documenting of this dispute in the letter section of the newspaper is fascinating, amusing, and frustratingly familiar. An obscure debate from the late 1920s reflected on the social climate of Dublin in that period, with its everyday instances of sexism and classism. But equally, it feels like a lot of these talking points are still being circled now.

The new History on your Doorstep is available here, or you can give it a gander in your local library.

The Works Festival

This weekend, The Works Festival is returning to the CIÉ Hall in Inchicore for a third year.

The Works, a grassroots indoor arts festival organised by Smithfield Creatives, will be taking place on Friday, 15 August and Saturday, 16 August, and will be showcasing live music, spoken word, a craft fair and an Irish dance céilí (an event which probably isn’t as harrowing as I recall it to be as an awkward teenager shipped off to the Gaeltacht in pre-Neo Gaelic Revival times).

Among the acts on the bill across Friday and Saturday are instrumental funk band Chief Keegan, indie outfit Domnida, songwriter RVE, folk artist Kenan Flannery, and spoken word from noir writer The Vagabond Queen. The one I have pencilled in is the shoegaze trio Left Iris who are at the main stage on Friday evening, and who, if you want to join them on their world tour of Dublin, are playing over in Whelan's on Saturday night to launch their new EP Love Songs with support from Telekura.

Tickets for The Works are available here, and tickets for Left Iris’ EP launch are on sale here.

Ballymun: Then and Now

On Saturday, 16 August, at 12.15 the Irish Film Institute will also be screening a series of shorts by young filmmakers from Ballymun as part of the IFI Family Festival 2025.

Inspired by the IFI Irish Film Archive’s recently digitised Ballymun Community Films collection, Ballymun: Then and Now consists of four films, created by students from the Our Lady of Victories boys and girls National Schools with artist Helen Flanagan.

Entry is free, but you’ll need to book a seat here.

Before Saturday, you can also watch the Ballymun Community Films collection here.

Picturing Derry, IMMA

Heritage Week is upon us once more, and on Tuesday, 19 August, over in the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Sylvia Stevens and David Fox, the directors of Picturing Derry, the 1985 documentary about conflict photography during the Troubles, will be speaking with Dr. Isobel Harbison to discuss the making of and response to their film.

First aired in the late 1980s on Channel Four’s show The Eleventh Hour, Picturing Derry features interviews with British and Irish photographers, journalists, news editors, collectives and artists. Before and after the talk, which will be on in the Matheson Creativity Hub at 13.00, the 57-minute documentary will be shown on a monitor.

It is also, allegedly, available online, according to IMMA, but the British Film Institute begs to differ. Resourceful and determined individuals may be able to find it somewhere in the “datacombs”, and to them I say: Godspeed, all’s fair during Heritage Week. Otherwise, you can simply wait until Tuesday.

The talk is free. But booking is required. To reserve a space, visit the event page here.

Dublin City Fleadh, Smithfield Square

Considering the fact that Dublin City Council passed up on using more than €600,000 worth of grants to turn Smithfield Square into a cultural hub, it almost behooves us to find any reason to go down to the bare plaza and give it some life.

Fortunately, on 23 and 24 August, Smithfield Square will be hosting the Dublin City Fleadh, formerly the Smithfield Fleadh.

Among the highlights at the two-day event will be The Cobblestone Tent, which is being curated by The Cobblestone Pub, a brand new arts and crafts tent, and workshops for playing the bodhrán and making straw hats.

Beginning at 13.00 on Saturday 23 August, among the acts lined up to dole out a hearty dose of fleadh are Zoe Conway and John McIntyre, Keane Connolly McGorman, The Fingal Mummers and Peter McKenna.

For more information, visit the events page here.

Holdings

Back in June, we told you that artists Clara McSweeney and Mel Galley were holding a housing pub quiz to fundraise for their upcoming artwork Holdings as part of the Fringe Festival.

The good news is, in September, they will be unveiling this project, and the even better news is that you won’t need to leave your home to see it. The show will come to you in the form of a “mysterious package”, a phone call and a cryptic website.

Holdings was created in response to housing and data research as part of the Data Stories project at Maynooth, and is tied to discussions around the notion of housing as an investment and how data is used to shape planning. And if you decide to partake, this whole debate can occur within the confines of your own home.

While the show isn’t starting until 5 September, spaces are booking up fast. Plus, McSweeney and Galley need to collect addresses ahead of time.

Tickets are €12 plus postage, and can be purchased here.

Noticeboard

Listings of events submitted by readers – you can submit yours for next week's newsletter, via this form.

Dublin Punk Picnic

On Saturday 16 August, all subcultures are encouraged to head over to the Yeats Memorial in Stephen’s Green for a community punk picnic.

As part of the event, the Dublin Union of Punks will be conducting a Princess of the Punks competition, with the coveted crown going to the punk (gender is irrelevant) who displays the most style, strangeness and charm.

For more information, visit the Dublin Union of Punks website here, follow them on Instagram at @dupunks or email them at punc@tuta.io.

Help find a 2004 football match programme

Clara McGann is writing a club history based on All Blacks AFC and Breska Rovers AFC.

Currently, she is researching material relating to a friendly Junior/Amateur International, which involved the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (played at Century Homes Park, Monaghan, on 21 August, 2004).

She'd love to source a teamsheet/programme (if one exists), photos, newspaper articles, etc. She has combed archives and spoken to players and management, as well as clubs. Hence, she is now reaching out to the wider public. She can be contacted at claramcgann9@gmail.com.

Liffey Valley to City Centre Scheme Public Information Event

The Busconnects Liffey Valley to City Centre corridor project will commence in September. Ahead of this, two public information meetings are planned in the coming weeks.

On Wednesday, 20 August, you will be able to speak with members of the team leading the scheme in Ballyfermot Civic  Centre between 12.00 and 19.00, followed by the Clayton Hotel Liffey Valley at the same time on Wednesday, 27 August.

For more information, visit the Busconnects scheme page here.

Clean Coasts Big Beach Clean 2025

The Annual Clean Coasts Big Beach Clean is back for 2025 and beach enthusiasts are encouraged to take part and register their beach clean-ups.

Taking place from 19 to 21 September, volunteers across the country will join the action to clean litter from their beaches, waterways and towns.

August Craft Month, Dublin Makers

August Craft Month, a month-long celebration of local craft returns this year, with more than 300 events from more than 900 craft makers across the country, including workshops, exhibitions, open studios and festivals.

Among the events in Dublin, there is a Celtic tweed tour at Balbriggan Retail Park on Tuesday, 30 September, a woodturning workshop at the Séamus Ennis Arts Centre in Naul on Saturday 23 August and a family felting workshop at the MART Studios in Harold’s Cross also on 23 August.

For the full island-wide programme and to get involved visit the Craft Month website here.

Fingal Interactive Climate Story Map

Fingal County Council has launched a new Climate Action Story Map, an interactive digital tool that showcases the steps the council is taking to address climate change.

Developed to increase transparency and public engagement, the story map highlights key climate actions from departments across the organisation, from sustainable transport and energy efficiency to green infrastructure and education.

To view the map, visit its webpage here.

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