Things To Do: Shuck an oyster, mind your heart and rejoice as spring begins in Blanchardstown

Our Picks

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

Late at 118: HeartBeat

Earlier this month, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland opened Heart: more than a beat, its inaugural exhibition in Humanarium, the university’s new café and free exhibition space.

The exhibition celebrates the heart, how it works, and how we can keep it working better for longer by exploring the science and stories behind every heartbeat. As part of the exhibition, the RCSI is also hosting a special event this Friday: Late at 118: HeartBeat is a free evening of music, talks and hands-on activities intended to get your heart pumping.

Nutrition coach Ciara Turley, known otherwise as The Tummy Fairy, will be discussing heart-healthy foods, author and journalist Sophie White will be explaining how fiction can set your heart aflutter, and there will be a silent disco with DJ and KiiKO singer Emmy Shigeta.

Late at 118… starts at 6:30pm tomorrow, Friday, 27 February. Admission is free, and while I don’t want to stress you out ahead of an event intended to promote a healthy heart, you might want to get on those tickets quickly before they’re all gone. Book them here pronto, and exhale deeply.

Heart: more than a beat is free to view from Monday to Saturday during café opening hours. The exhibition is suitable for ages 12+. More information here. 

All Shucked Up

All Shucked Up, the annual Guinness, oyster and music festival descends upon Howth this weekend.

Up in the Abbey Tavern tomorrow evening at 8pm, Irish 1980s rock icons Leslie Dowdall (In Tua Nua) and Flo McSweeney are set to share a stage for the first time with their brand-new show Natural Women, which pays homage to the works of Linda Ronstadt and Carole King.

Meanwhile, there will be free shows throughout the area, with The Richie Buckley Organ Quartet playing in Wrights Findlaters at 8:30pm, the Yum Yum Old Time String Band in O’Connells at 9pm, and Shobsy will be in The Harbour Bar at 10pm.

Among the highlights on Saturday:

• At 1pm, Nicole Dunne of Howth Foraging will be leading a family friendly coastal forage.
• Then, the Bloody Stream is hosting a showcase of rising talent from 2pm, featuring Taylor Byrne & The Lavender Scare, DC Dolls, Telekura and And He, The Fool.
• At 7:30pm, the Abbey Tavern will be holding the east coast oyster shucking championship,
• And, at the same time, if you’d rather not demonstrate your shucking skills, Betty Boo will be playing a gig up at The Summit Inn, with support from Luthorist, Jehnova, and VISIONALI.

Finally, on Sunday, there will be an oyster masterclass with Sarah Browne of Oysome at the Abbey Tavern at 2pm, and later, at 7pm. Jack Lukeman will be performing there too, with support from EllyD.

For more information on the full line-up, and to book tickets, visit the festival’s website here.

Art Mart

On Saturday and Sunday, Hen’s Teeth in Blackpitts will be the venue for the latest Art Mart pop-up art market.

Among the local artists on the line-up this time are Domino Whisker, Áine Byrne, Holly Pereira, James Kirwan, Our Type, Ashwin Chacko, Séan Harte and Sleep Corvid. Johnny Cigarette will also be doing live portraits and Sando Paradiso, the sandwich shop, will be selling exactly what you think they would be selling.

The market opens at 11pm. For more information, visit the Hen’s Teeth website here.

The Stoney Collection

On Sunday afternoon, the Stoney Writers Group will be launching its second volume of work in Books Upstairs.

The Stoney Collection, Volume 2 is the second anthology published by the writers' group, which was founded by Lorna Keane. Featuring 24 emerging writers of poetry and short stories – ranging from modern realism and tragic thrillers to fantasy tales and surreal satire – this latest edition brings together some of the best works produced by the group over the past year.

The launch is at 2pm on 1 March. Admission is free, but booking is essential, and can be done here.

If you can’t go, but are keen to get involved in the group, which meets every month in the Third Space up at Smithfield, follow them on Meetup here.

Dublin International Film Festival

The Dublin International Film Festival has once again descended on the city, and last Sunday, I was fortunate enough to catch the premiere of Displace: The Battle of Dublin.

Directed by James Redmond, and filmed across four years of protests and public meetings, the black and white documentary delves into dereliction, the housing crisis, the shortage of artist workspaces, overcrowded accommodation and the movements that have emerged in response to these issues.

If you haven’t been able to catch any films so far, there is still plenty of time, and screenings to note in the calendar.

On Saturday, 28 February, at 12:30pm, Gary Lennon’s environmental documentary An Irish Atlantic Rainforest will be showing in the Lighthouse. It takes as its subject the sculptor Eoghan Dalton, who, in 2009, abandoned city life for a derelict 73-acre farm on the Beara Peninsula. The land was ecologically damaged, overgrazed and choking with invasive species, and his radical solution was to step back and let nature heal itself.

Tickets are available here.

Then, at 7pm in Haymarket House, there is a curated programme of Irish music videos, featuring videos for the likes of CMAT, Curtisy, HousePlants, Ahmed, With Love and Michael D. Higgins, and directed by up-and-coming directors including Eilís Doherty, Aiesha Wong and Pippa Molony.

Those tickets are available here.

On Sunday, at 3.15pm, there is Dublin On Screen, a double-bill of short films showing in the Lighthouse. First up is Vinny Murphy’s The Women Flower Sellers of Grafton Street, in which its titular subjects detail how they were viewed and treated over the decades, both as street traders and as women.

Afterwards, there is Robin in the Hood, a musical retelling of the story of Robin Hood. Directed by Kristin Vollset, the story reframes Robin as a Dublin horse owner, and Marian as a travelling busker. Both feel trapped by an unfair system, but with the help of the city’s urban horse tribe, they try to break free.

Tickets are available here.

As part of the festival, the Irish Times will be presenting The DIFF Film Club, a series of conversations with acclaimed filmmakers and actors. In this series, on Saturday at 2:30pm, costume designer Ellen Mirojnick will be in the Haymarket House to discuss her work in films and shows including Basic Instinct, The Greatest Showman and Bridgerton.

Tickets for her talk are available here.

Afterwards, at 4pm, actor Alice Krige will be talking about her filmography, from Chariots of Fire to Star Trek: First Contact, her work in theatre, and her latest film, The Restoration at Grayson Manor, shot in Stradbally.

Those tickets can be booked here.

Spring 26

Finally, on Wednesday, to mark its 25th birthday, Draíocht in Blanchardstown will be staging a major new group exhibition, Spring 26, featuring new works from 26 graduate visual and early career artists with a Fingal connection.

Running until 2 May, and spread across the ground and first floor galleries, Spring 26 is curated by Aisling Prior and aims to support and celebrate the breadth of work from Fingal’s rising talents in video, painting, sculpture, textiles, photography, drawing, print and installation.

Its line-up includes Maria Atanacković, Maya Brezing, Matthew Coll, Uisce Jakubczyk, Nicole Manning, James McLoughlin, Kerrie O’Leary, Eileen Leonard Sealy, Aoife Ward and Diarmuid Woodcock.

Noticeboard

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

Back Home at the Scene+Heard Festival 2026

On 27 and 28 February, as part of Scene+Heard Festival, Ukrainian artist Masha Khalieieva will be presenting Back Home, a poetic one-woman performance exploring memory, migration, and what remains when home no longer exists as a place.

Performed at Smock Alley Theatre’s Main Space at 6:30pm on Friday and Saturday, the piece blends physical theatre, personal testimony, and Ukrainian folklore.

Tickets are available here.

Rebels & Heroines: A Celebration of Women in Opera

This March, Irish National Opera will mark International Women’s Day with ‘Rebels and Heroines - A Celebration of Women in Opera’, an evening devoted to the fearless, dynamic and unforgettable women of the operatic stage. 

Organised in partnership with the Royal Dublin Society, the recital will feature soprano Jennifer Davis alongside mezzo-soprano Sarah Richmond and pianist Aoife O’Sullivan.

Rebels & Heroines will be staged in the RDS Concert Hall at 5pm on Sunday, 8 March.

Mammy Mia!

For Mother’s Day, on Sunday, 15 March, Sing Along Social will be bringing their new show Mammy Mia! to The Sugar Club.

Promising an extravaganza of ABBA hits as well as a few classics from the likes of Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Sinéad O’Connor, Mammy Mia! will start at 2:30pm.

Tickets are €18 and you can book them here.

When Gemini Meets the Goat

On 26 March, Reds Gallery will be launching When Gemini Meets the Goat, an exhibition by Noel O'Donoghue and Enrique Lazzaro.

Running until 1 April, the two-person show brings together the two distinct artists' visions that share a deep connection to landscape and portraiture.

Curated by Tony Strickland, the launch is at 6pm, and will feature Glenda Dunne as its guest speaker.