> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.dublininquirer.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Things To Do: Things to eat, find out if you're normal, Maud Gonne's rebel picnic, and Sunday afternoon poetry - URL: https://www.dublininquirer.com/things-to-do-things-to-eat-find-out-if-youre-normal-maud-gonnes-rebel-picnic-and-sunday-afternoon-poetry/ - Published: 2026-08-27T12:22:54.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-27T13:54:35.000Z - Description: Our latest recommendations, and community noticeboard listings. - Author: Sam Tranum - Tags: Things To Do ## Our Picks *Our recommendations – no sponsored content, or adverts, just stuff we like.* This week Michael is on holidays, so I am stepping in to help with this newsletter, which he usually writes. I thought that would mean I'd have a free hand. In fact, it turns out he is sort of a micromanaging newsletter auteur, and so has left me his recommendations, which I am under orders to relay to you. And am happy to do it, it's great when someone has a vision. But I can't resist also adding a couple of things to eat at the top here, because one of my favourite things to do in Dublin is eat some of the delicious things on offer. I often check All The Food's [five things to eat](https://www.allthefood.ie/single-post/5-things-we-want-to-eat-in-dublin-this-week-139?ref=dublininquirer.com) – a mortodella and peach sandwich from Morso on Drury Street, and the Golae chicken skewers at Temple Bar Thai spot Achara caught my eye this week – and aspire to go try them but usually find I just eat what I happen to be passing. And this week, while I was walking to a meeting on a sunny afternoon, I happened to be passing Mini India on D'Olier Street, and had this delicious and affordable and hearty lunch there of samosa chaat – crispy samosas crushed up and smothered in chana masala (chickpea curry), with a tamarind sauce wiggled across the top. Which I'd definitely recommend. –Sam ***The Most Normal Woman*** This Friday, Tramp Press will be launching Roisin Kiberd's new collection, *The Most Normal Woman: Essays on Appearances*. In the book, Kiberd dissects the business of attaining perfection – or even normality – through consumption and body modification, the publisher says. Linking her personal experiences with Botox and eating disorders to broader phenomena, she explores subcultures including the underground drag scene and competitive dog shows to better understand how differing groups define and judge excellence. From Westport to Paris, Dublin to Berlin, Versailles to the Ringsend Recycling Centre, Kiberd takes us on a journey of obsession with an unanticipated answer to the question: am I normal yet? The book launch will be tomorrow evening, Friday 28 August, from 6pm at Hodges Figgis on Dawson Street. **A Conversation on American Politics** Look, I just want to reiterate that these are Michael's recommendations, not mine. I would not willingly subject myself to an evening of discussing how Donald Trump is ruining America, and the world. Cringingly peeking through my fingers at headlines in US papers is about all I can stomach at the moment. But I can see how it's hard to look away from a car crash, and, of course, how what happens in Washington impacts the rest of the world. So, with that in mind, if you might want to go over to Trinity's Long Room Hub tomorrow evening (Friday, 28 August) for this conversation between *Irish Times* columnist Fintan O'Toole and US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (a Democrat). Among the questions they will touch on, it seems, are: How has Donald Trump transformed the American political landscape? How has the Democratic Party sought to resist the country's slide toward right-wing authoritarianism? And what are the chances that the US might follow a different, more progressive path in the future? The event is set to start tomorrow evening at 6pm and you can get your (free) [tickets for it here](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-conversation-on-american-politics-with-pramila-jayapal-and-fintan-otoole-tickets-1998348397852?aff=ebdssbdestsearch&ref=dublininquirer.com). **Guggi** Also tomorrow evening, there's a screening of the film *Guggi,* at the Irish Film Institute in Temple Bar. A portrait of the Irish artist, from his anarchic days in 1980s Dublin with the post-punk, boundary-pushing band the Virgin Prunes, to his quiet life as a contemporary painter dedicated to the pursuit of beauty and the creation of paintings and forms that radiate calm. Filmed over two years in Dublin and the Provence, and blending rare archival material and interviews, director Ian Thuillier follows the artist in his studio, on the road, and in candid moments with long-time friends Bono, Gavin Friday, Jim Sheridan, and Sean Scully. The film will be on at 6:30pm at the IFI tomorrow evening, Friday 28 August, and will be followed by Q&A with Guggi, director Ian Thuillier and producer Gabriella Janni, hosted by poet Gary Jermyn. Tickets are available [here](https://ifi.ie/film/guggi/?ref=dublininquirer.com). **Maud Gonne and the Patriotic Children’s Treat** If you are not too worn out after the book launch/politics talk/film you went to on Friday evening, there's an "illustrated lecture", you might want to check out on Saturday afternoon. James Curry, one of Dublin City Council's historians in residence, will be discussing the life of Maud Gonne (1866–1953), who the *Dictionary of Irish Biography* [describes](https://www.dib.ie/biography/macbride-edith-maud-gonne-a5110?ref=dublininquirer.com) as an "advanced nationalist, political activist, and subject of most of the love poetry of W.B. Yeats". This will include the story of the [Patriotic Children’s Treat](https://www.rte.ie/news/regional/2024/0630/1457377-patriotic-childrens-treat/?ref=dublininquirer.com), an event she helped to organise in Drumcondra in 1900. When Queen Victoria visited Ireland in April of that year, a children's event was put on in Phoenix Park. "Nationalists criticised the event and claimed only 5,000 of the 35,000 children in the city 'had allowed themselves be used for a Unionist demonstration'," according to an RTÉ [article](https://www.rte.ie/news/regional/2024/0630/1457377-patriotic-childrens-treat/?ref=dublininquirer.com) about the event. Later that year, in July, Gonne and others put on a picnic in the park for children who hadn't attended the queen's version. Curry's talk on all this will be at Dublin City Library on Charleville Mall from 2.30pm to 3.30pm Saturday. You can [book your spot here](https://dublincity.spydus.ie/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/ENQ/WPAC/EVSESENQ?SETLVL=&RNI=26672781&ref=dublininquirer.com). ***Shades of Red* and *Once*** On Sunday, Books Upstairs on D'Olier Street is hosting an afternoon of poetry reading, from 2pm. Vivienne McKechnie will be reading from her newest collection, *Shades of Red*, and Jo Slade from hers, *Once.* The poems will explore a range of themes, from loss and the Irish landscape, to trauma, the climate crisis, and what it means to be a poet and an artist in these times. Attendance is free but booking is essential. You can get [your ticket here](https://booksupstairs.ie/all-events/poetry-reading-mckechnie-and-slade/?ref=dublininquirer.com). ****Want to spread the word about your upcoming event?** If you [let us know about it](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Wl8SBMTRIT1rNHcy57%5FYWEsDtoBf1kdOF8xkCJXMqX8/edit?ts=680f92a4&ref=dublininquirer.com), we're happy to include a listing for free in the noticeboard below. Email amy@dublininquirer.com. ## Noticeboard *Listings of events submitted by readers – you can submit yours for next week's newsletter, via* [*this form*](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Wl8SBMTRIT1rNHcy57%5FYWEsDtoBf1kdOF8xkCJXMqX8/edit?ts=680f92a4&ref=dublininquirer.com)*.* **Technologies of Peace** The new exhibition [Technologies of Peace: Art and Transition in Contemporary Europe, 1989–2026](https://imma.ie/whats-on/the-technologies-of-peace-1989-2026-exhibition/?ref=dublininquirer.com), is opening Friday 11 September from 6:30pm–8:30pm at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Kilmainham. The exhibition "aims to explore the concept of peace, the tools of peace and how they are deployed through an artistic lens". It will focus specifically on the period between 1990s to the present day. You can [RSVP for the opening here](https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=4G3k3mkrLUKjeNYOGPOnXX18AMOeq4tLubdArfHNQo5UM1ZLMU5ZM1FBTTJFNldaVUsyWTBOWDBNQS4u&ref=dublininquirer.com). **The Darndale Sentiment Survey** If you live in Darndale, Belcamp or Moatview, Dublin City Council wants to hear from you. It's running a survey, asking about your experience of living in the area, your thoughts on current services, and what the council should prioritise going forward to make the area an even better place to live. You can [weigh in here](https://engage.dublincity.ie/en-IE/projects/darndale-sentiment-survey?ref=dublininquirer.com). **Mapping Ireland’s Creative Mycelium // Ealaíonrú East** Many creative people struggle with conventional networking, finding it performative shallow and isolating, write the organisers of "Mapping Ireland's Creative Mycelium". In this next session they are finding inspiration from the mycelium networks of mushrooms. The workshop is on 3 September, and you can get your [tickets here](https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/mapping-irelands-creative-mycellium-tickets-1998527850600?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm%5Fsource=ig&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fcontent=link%5Fin%5Fbio&fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAadSEbqDiIFwlLbKn75FHESUSwswTnKvzb8RDTc0kpUfB9KudA2XADvRzv6G3A%5Faem%5Fj%5F4mVDH3lM08rsNmrRMNYw&utm%5Fid=97760%5Fv0%5Fs00%5Fe0%5Ftv3). Things to Do is free to read, but it's not free to produce. So we'd be grateful if you'd consider contributing a little bit each month to help keep it going. [€1/month](https://www.dublininquirer.com/#/portal/signup/69cabdc47eef0d000192fe0e/monthly) [€2/month](https://www.dublininquirer.com/#/portal/signup/69ca80b57eef0d000192fc2b/monthly) [€3/month](https://www.dublininquirer.com/#/portal/signup/69cabe107eef0d000192fe14/monthly)