Things To Do: Really get to grips with the blackbird, celebrate referees, spend too much time in Trinity College

Our Picks

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

Thread Lightly

This evening, TØN Gallery in Temple Bar is launching Thread Lightly, its latest group exhibition.

Featuring the work of four artists – Alicia Donnan, Eva Vitkute, Fiona Somers and Sophie Scally – Thread Lightly explores themes such as memory, grief and loss.

Through photography, oil painting, woven tapestry and illustration, each artist reflects on how these shape sensations, identity and our relationship to the environment. The exhibition isn’t about offering resolutions, but instead inviting its audience to move through “emotional landscapes, to sit with their own reflection and to consider the ways in which we navigate our inner worlds”.

The exhibit opens at 6pm this evening, Thursday 14 May, and it will wrap up on 25 May.

For more information, follow on TØN Instagram here.

The Fifth Sun

Over the past two weeks, this year’s edition of the Dublin Dance Festival has been in full swing, and has pulled off the unimaginable feat of turning Bewley's into a nightclub. This evening, as the festival draws to a close, performer and choreographer Mufutau Yusuf will be over in the Samuel Beckett Theatre in Trinity College for the world premiere of his new show The Fifth Sun.

Inspired by the tradition of keening – a wailing lament sung at funerals – The Fifth Sun unfolds as both a eulogy and a renewal, reflecting on the past, confronting our turbulent present, and leaning cautiously towards an uncertain future.

A collaboration with Luail, Ireland’s National Dance Company, The Fifth Sun opens this evening at 7:30pm, and will also be staged on Friday and Saturday evening.

More more information, and to book tickets, visit the event page here.

An Lon Dubh – The Blackbird

There is no need to oversell this. Trinity College’s Long Room Hub will be given over to a day-long conference devoted to the blackbird on Friday.

Organised by the Department of Irish and Celtic Languages, the conference will be delivered in both Irish and English, and will celebrate the blackbird (or lon dubh) and its presence in literature, music, culture, and of course, nature.

Among the talks ecologist Timothy McCarthy will be giving an ecological overview of the Eurasian blackbird; Christina Cleary, assistant professor of Early Irish at TCD, will be talking about feathered figures in medieval Irish literature; Nicholas Carolan, director emeritus of the Irish Traditional Music Archive, will look at the blackbird’s presence in traditional music; and author Barry Lewis will be talking about the blackbird in early Welsh literature.

Yes, this is extremely niche, and yes, this is an excellent use of your annual leave.

The talks begin at 9am, and will continue until 5pm. You can register here.

Non-Aligned: Scenes from the Labudović Reels

Once you’re done at the day-long blackbird conference, a good idea would be to trek across Trinity’s campus to the Joly lecture theatre in the Hamilton building on Westland Row.

At 5:45pm on Friday, the Saints & Scholars Militarism and Neutrality Club will be hosting a special screening of the 2022 documentary Non-Aligned: Scenes from the Labudović Reels.

Directed by Serbian filmmaker Mila Turajlić, Non-Aligned delves into the work of the cameraman and photographer Stevan Labudović, and his work documenting the Non-Aligned Movement, a largely Yugoslav-led forum that opted to stand neither with the Eastern or Western Blocs during the Cold War.

Shot in Belgrade, New York and Algeria, the film dives into Labudović’s newsreel footage from the 1961 Non-Aligned summit in Belgrade, before becoming “a love letter to a vanished country” and a document of the affinity Turajlić feels towards Labudović. 

As part of the event, there will be a panel discussion on Yugoslavia and the Non-Aligned Movement chaired by Harun Šiljak, and a special screening of artist Petra Matić’s short documentary The City That Has Peace.

The 2023 Croatian documentary revisits the legacy of Zagreb’s International Student Friendship Club, which was active between the 1960s and 90s, through the experiences of Palestinian and Sudanese alumni. Matić will be in attendance to introduce the film.

Admission is free. To book a seat, visit the event page here, and for more information on Saints & Scholars, you can sign up to their mailing list here.

New Irish Works 2026

On Saturday, PhotoIreland will be hosting a guided tour of its 5th edition of New Irish Works over at the International Centre for the Image in Dublin 1.

The triennial exhibition, which opens on Friday 15 May, brings together – as the name strongly implies – new works by 10 selected artists and photographers. The 10 for this instalment are Austin Hearne, Billy Kenrick, Ciara Richardson, Debbie Castro, Dorje De Burgh, Emily O’Connell, Garry Loughlin, Kate Nolan, Mandy O’Neill, and Miriam O’Connor.

And as part of the launch, the artists will be in the centre on Saturday at 12pm to lead visitors on a walk through the show, offering insights into their process and the projects behind their respective works.

The artist tour is free, but booking is essential and can be done here.

New Irish Works 2026 will run until 9 August. For more information on the exhibition, read the full programme here.

Women of the South City Market

If you’re around Anglesea Road on Wednesday afternoon, it would be wise to head into the Pembroke library where historian-in-residence Antonia Hart will be giving a talk about the women who worked in South City Market.

Now the home of George’s Street Arcade, the market was built in the late 19th century, and Hart will be looking at its female traders. In particular, she will be re-telling the story of how, in 1892, the stalls and shops were destroyed, and how the business community came together to rebuild the market.

Hart, in February 2025, shared the story about the fire on RTÉ’s Sunday Miscellany, which you can listen to here. But if you want to learn more about the market and its women, Hart will be in the library at 1pm on 20 May to deliver this new lecture.

For more information contact pembrokelibrary@dublincity.ie or telephone them at 01 222 4840.

The Charlie O’Leary Story

Finally, on Wednesday evening Draíocht arts centre in Blanchardstown will be screening the documentary about the referee and former kit-man of the Irish national football team: Charlie O’Leary.

Directed by Joe Lee (406 Days: The Debenhams Picket Line and May-17-74: Anatomy of a Massacre), The Charlie O’Leary Story charts the life of its titular subject, an inner-city football icon.

Born on Townsend Street in 1924, O’Leary, as a teenager, founded the street football league for teenagers in East Wall, before becoming one of the country’s first FIFA-affiliated referees. Over the course of his career as a ref, he oversaw matches at the national, European club, and international levels, before, in 1986, Jack Charlton invited him to become the national team’s kit-man, a role he would hold during the 1990 Italian World Cup.

The Charlie O’Leary Story will screen in the centre’s main auditorium at 7:30pm, and afterwards, there will be a Q&A with director Lee, producer Fergus Dowd and O’Leary.

Book your tickets here.

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Howth Maritime & Seafood Festival

The Howth Maritime & Seafood Festival returns this year with a new summer slot, taking place on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 May, moving from its traditional September slot.

Running daily from 12pm to 6pm, along Howth promenade and harbour, this year’s edition will feature a live cooking stage, workshops, and live music from acts including The Wren, Havana Roots, Luka Bloom and Kíla.

For more information, visit the festival’s website here.

Somewhere

On Friday 15 May, author Jessamine O’Connor will be launching her debut novel Somewhere in Dubray Books on Grafton Street.

The launch begins at 6:30pm, and O’Connor will be joined by fellow author Una Mannion as guest speaker.

Somewhere is published by Lilliput Press. For more information, visit their website here.

O'Czytani Polish Literary Festival

The O'Czytani Polish Literary Festival, Ireland's largest Polish literary festival, is returning for its sixth edition this year.

The festival, which will be taking place in Inchicore and Trinity College, brings together writers, artists and readers from Ireland’s Polish community, and will be headlined this year by Szczepan Twardoch, author of the novels Morphine, Drach and The King.

Launching on 26 May at Biblary Community Centre and Library in Inchicore, the festival will take place on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June.

For more information, and to reserve a spot at one of its many talks, visit the festival Eventbrite page here.

Mayor’s Fest

On Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June, Fingal mayor Tom O’Leary will be hosting Mayor’s Fest, a two-day family festival at Skerries Mill.

Beginning each day at 2pm, Mayor’s Fest will include a Taylor Swift tribute act, live sets from the bands Smash Hits and Risky Business, and a Disney Princess Show.

Mayor’s Fest is free to attend.

Visitors can unwind at Mayor’s Fest with food and refreshments at the on-site Windmill Café or at the additional food concessions operating throughout the weekend.  

Please note there will be no parking onsite at Mayor’s Fest. 

For more information on Mayor’s Fest, visit the Events in Fingal website here.