Things To Do: Discover a lost dream maker, welcome a bit of brain fog, find out the mystery of life, appreciate a bat

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Flora Kerrigan: Dream Maker

Over on the Irish Film Institute's Archive Player, an intriguing retrospective on the experimental short films of Flora Kerrigan has dropped this week.

Born in Cork in 1940, Kerrigan studied in Crawford Art College, before becoming a member of the Cork Cine Club in the late 1950s and 1960s. During that period, she created a series of animation and live-action short films on 8mm film, featuring her friends and family, which uses absurdist humour and dream-like scenarios to explore female sexuality and desire.

Though earning accolades during the eight years this retrospective showcases, her filmmaking life seems to have ended when she moved to London in the late 1960s, according to the IFI. After that, she shifted over to photography, became involved in the Women’s Liberation Movement, and wrote poetry under the name Eamer O’Keefe.

The works contained in this collection, titled Flora Kerrigan: Dream Maker, were only recently discovered by Sarah Arnold of Maynooth University and Kasandra O’Connelly of the IFI during their collaboration on the Women in Focus research project last year, which celebrated independent amateur female filmmakers Margaret Currivan, Agnes Heron, Beres Laidlaw, Sister Maureen MacMahon, and Kerrigan.

Kerrigan’s work, which is now preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive, brings to mind the surrealism of Luis Buñuel or the very early shorts of David Lynch, particularly The Grandmother, as well as the playful animated opening titles of 1960s comedies like Blake Edwards’ The Pink Panther. And as part of this presentation, her shorts feature a new musical accompaniment by avant-garde free-improvisational pianist Paul G. Smyth and double-bass player John Edwards. 

Kerrigan’s work is now streaming on the IFI Archive Player here. Or, if you want to see her for the first time on the big screen, it will also be showing in the IFI next week, 21 November, at 3.30pm.

Aer Milam

Last week, Pallas Projects launched Aer Milam by artist Caroline Mac Cathmhaoil, the final exhibition of its 2025 Artist-Initiated Projects programme.

Organised in partnership with BETA Festival, as part of the art and technology festival's third edition, which is currently underway, Aer Milam presents a series of sculptural and video works that link death practices, commercial flying and queer feminist electronics in “an act of technocratic resistance”.

As part of the exhibition, which will run until 22 November, Pallas will also be hosting a lucid dreaming workshop on 20 November, which promises to “reveal the mystery of life”.

Tickets for the workshop are available here. Admission is free, but the potential wisdom is priceless.

A Splendid Gateway, Rathfarnham Castle

In his 1838 book The History of the County of Dublin, historian John D’Alton’s notes on Rathfarnham Castle were almost mournful as he reported on its pitiful state.

Once, this late 16th-century manor had been “a splendid gateway” by the Dodder. But, in the present, that beauty had faded. Its hills, he wrote, were covered with “rank herbage”, its rivulet was “stagnant and sedgy”, and the fish pond was “clogged with weeds”.

The castle was mouldering, “and the crumbling, unsightly offices in its immediate vicinity, even more loudly proclaim those evils of absenteeism”, he wrote.

The passage presented a terse re-telling of the Castle's story, from its beginnings as a defensive stronghold, to a grand Georgian residence, before falling into neglect and later being restored. And on Sunday, his observations - which you can purchase in De Burca Rare Books for a modest €1,650 or read online here for slightly less – serve as the inspiration for a new group exhibition in the castle itself.

Curated by Casey Walshe and Banbha McCann with support from the Office of Public Works, A Splendid Gateway brings together 15 artists, including painting, sculpture, works on paper, and installation, to create a dialogue between artists, artworks, and the historic setting of the castle.

Drawing on D’Alton’s writing, the exhibition uses the phrase "a splendid gateway" as both a historical reference and a metaphor for artistic possibility. Among the artists who will be presenting works are Leda Scully, Kathy Tynan, Richard Proffitt, Eleanor McCaughey, and Lesley-Ann O’Connell.

A Splendid Gateway opens on 16 November, and will continue until 4 January. Admission is free.

I forgot anteaters exist: Mice Hell on Bats, A4 Sounds

Next Wednesday, A4 Sounds Artist Studios and Gallery is launching a new "info-dump" series, titled "I forgot anteaters exist", which is devoted to the special interests of others.

Each session will invite someone new to come into the studios are share their knowledge on a topic of their choosing, be it related to their unusual area of expertise or a rabbit hole they’ve recently crawled down.

To kick things off, illustrator Mice Hell will be discussing bats, which she says “are just mice who are into leather”.

Having previously created several bat-themed shows for Dublin Digital Radio, for this seminar, which starts at 6.30pm, she will bring attendees up to speed by showing photographs of the endearing critters and presenting some of her own field recordings.

The main info-dump will run for about 30 to 45 minutes, before the floor is opened up for anyone else to participate in dumping a bit more information into the room, before everyone is invited to chat a bit more out in the garden at the very end of the night.

For more information and to book a ticket, visit the event page here.

When the world shifts

Since May, a group of multidisciplinary artists and individuals affected by brain injuries have been getting together in Smithfield and improvising through movement, music and storytelling. 

A collaboration between theatre artist Joan Somers Donnelly and Headway Ireland, a support service for people with brain injuries, these sessions have asked “what it means to be present and to play when the world is on fire, the traffic sounds outside the window never stop, and your concentration just isn’t what it used to be”.

Beginning next week, the group will be performing some of their experiments at the Kirkos arts venue on Little Green Street, which promises to “welcome brain fog, mild confusion, repeating yourself, forgetting and misremembering, asking the audience, phoning a friend, losing your balance, moving in and out of sync, taking breaks, and repeating yourself”.

The first of these live performances will be at 7pm on Thursday, 20 November, with the second the following Thursday, 27 November, also at 7pm.

Tickets for both nights are available here.

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Fingal’s Historic Structures Structures Fund 2026

Fingal County Council is now inviting applications under the Historic Structures Fund for large-scale repairs or conservation projects to protected structures and buildings that enhance Architectural Conservation Areas within the Fingal area. 

Applications for privately owned buildings or from community groups should be submitted to the Conservation Office of Fingal County Council by email: conservation@fingal.ie  by the closing date of 16 January 2026.

Criativa Night Market

On 29 November, Zembrero Mexican Restaurant in The Station Building on Hatch Street will be hosting the Criativa Night Market, a unique night celebrating Brazilian creativity, handmade art and sustainable fashion.

The market, which begins at 6pm, will showcase the works of Brazilian female artists and creators, and will feature a fashion show devoted to upcycled denim.

Visit the event’s page here to book a ticket.

National Climate Demonstration

On Saturday 15 November, over 50 groups and civil society organisations from across the country will join together for the National Climate Demonstration, demanding the government deliver faster, fairer climate action.

Organised by Stop Climate Chaos, the march will begin at the Garden of Remembrance at 1pm.

For more information, visit demonstration’s event page here.

Fortlawn Park public consultation

Fingal County Council has commenced the public consultation on its proposal to construct 21 new homes at Fortlawn in Blanchardstown.

The scheme will deliver additional homes within the community, including age-friendly housing designed for older persons who can no longer remain in their current homes but wish to stay connected to their local area. It also incorporates measures to address concerns about ongoing anti-social behaviour, fostering a safer and more inclusive environment for all.

Residents and other stakeholders are invited to submit their opinions on the proposal through the Fingal County Council Consultation Portal here.  This deadline for submissions and observations is 5 January 2026.

The plans and particulars of the proposed development are available on the portal and can also be viewed at Civic Offices, Blanchardstown or County Hall, Swords until 10 December.