Event guide: International Literature Festival Dublin, Tame Impala and more in Ireland this week
Event of the weekInternational Literature Festival DublinFrom Friday, May 15th, until Sunday, May 24th, Merrion Square Park, Dublin, various venues, times and prices, ilfdublin.comOver 10 days of public interviews, panel discussions, readings, workshops, podcasts, film screenings and debates, International Literature Festival Dublin brings together established and emerging authors in one of the city centre’s smartest green spaces. There are too many author highlights to list, but try to get to Tana French (Friday, May 15th, Synge tent, 8pm, €14), Richard Armitage (Saturday, May 23rd, Speranza tent, 8pm, €20), Jay McInerney (Sunday, May 24th, Speranza tent, 3pm, €14) and Colm Tóibín (Sunday, May 24th, Speranza tent, 7pm, €20). Best panel discussion? Book a ticket for Is This a Golden Age for Irish Short Stories? (Sunday, May 24th, Le Fanu tent, 1pm, €12), with Lucy Caldwell, Eoin McNamee and Lucy Sweeney Byrne. GigsRoad to Great EscapeMonday, May 11th, and Tuesday, May 12th, Dublin, various venues, 7.30pm, €28.95, ticketmaster.ieA batch of emerging Irish and international acts race between three Dublin venues before appearing later in the week at Brighton’s Great Escape Festival, regarded as one of the most important tastemaker events in the music calendar. Irish acts performing at Whelan’s, the Grand Social and Workman’s Club include Cork’s Babyrat, Dundalk’s Reggie, Dublin’s Sell Everything and Galway’s Jamie McIntyre. International acts include Em Beihold, from the United States, and Ellie Coves, from Germany.Tame ImpalaWednesday, May 13th, 3Arena, Dublin, 6.30pm, €239/€101.75/€91.75, ticketmaster.ie Tame Impala is led by Australian singer and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker To say that the Perth multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker applies his modus operandi – which is to create “melancholy, dreamy music that is the result of one person constructing an awesome symphony of sound” – to wonderful effect is an understatement. His shows on this tour reportedly fuse psych-rock magnificence with dazzling production values. You want lasers? You got lasers.Jed Levy-Phil Robson QuartetMonday, May 11th, Crane Lane Theatre, Cork, 9pm, €15, cranelanetheatre.ie; Thursday, May 14th, Dolan’s, Limerick, 8.30pm, €15, dolans.ie; Friday, May 15th, Clew Bay Hotel, Westport, Co Mayo, 8.30pm, €15, clewbayhotel.comThe American saxophonist Jed Levy first met the British jazz guitarist Phil Robson in 2017, since when they have worked together extensively. The recorded outcome of their collaboration is a new album, The Unpredictability of the Sea, featuring original tunes by each musician. The common denominator, Levy says, is persuasive music that “bridges tradition and modernity”. On this brief tour, Levy and Robson are joined by the bassist Mark Hodgson and the drummer Shane O’Donovan. Also Saturday, May 16th, Ballina Arts Centre, Co Mayo, 8pm, €20, ballinaartscentre.com; and Sunday, May 17th, Arthur’s, Dublin, 4.30pm, €22, eventbrite.ieREAD MORE‘My brother kicked me in the balls, but I threw a knife at his head. We were in a strange world after our parents died’Met Gala 2026: From Beyoncé to Blake Lively and an unrecognisable Bad Bunny The best and biggest music festivals to see around Ireland this summerHow weight-loss drugs are reshaping modern life: ‘I’m paying €250 a month not to eat’ Love Is a StrangerFriday, May 15th, and Saturday, May 16th, Juniper Barn, Ballymote, Co Sligo, 7pm/noon, €145/€80, anotherlovestory.iePresented by the people behind the annual charmfest that is the Another Love Story boutique festival (which this year runs from Friday, August 21st, until Sunday, August 23rd), Love Is a Stranger is a roaming miniature event featuring a conscientiously curated line-up. Music acts performing across the two days/nights include Moxie, Robocobra Quartet, Caoi De Barra, Seán MacErlaine and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh. Providing music before and after the live acts are the DJs Danilo Plessow, Cían Ó Cíobháin and Marion Hawkes. PoetryCork International Poetry FestivalFrom Tuesday, May 12th, until Saturday, May 16th, various venues, times and prices, corkpoetryfest.netChristina Hennemann will feature at the Cork International Poetry Festival With roots going back to 1993, Cork International Poetry Festival has a deserved reputation for highlighting the work of Irish and international writers. This year’s five-day event is no different, with a full programme of events featuring the Irish poets Tim McGabhann, Gerard Smyth, Enda Wyley, John F Deane, Máighréad Medbh and Annemarie Ní Churreáin. International visitors include Xaime Martínez, from Spain; Patricia Smith, from the US; Christina Hennemann, from Germany; Anna Gruver, from Ukraine; and Shangyang Fang, from China/US.Henry Normal and Jan BriertonWednesday, May 13th, Róisín Dubh, Galway, 7pm, €16, roisindubh.net; Thursday, May 14th, Dolans, Limerick, 7.30pm, €23, dolans.ie; Friday, May 15th, Ambassador Theatre, Dublin, 7pm, €29.90, ticketmaster.ieJan Brierton and Henry Normal This is an intriguing pairing of English and Irish sensibilities. Home audiences will be familiar with the Dubliner Jan Brierton’s humorous and frank poems about love, ageing, grief, domestic situations and contemporary relationships, all of which feature in her recent collection Everybody Is a Poem: Midlife in Rhymes. Henry Normal is one of the writers of English comedy TV gems such as The Royle Family and Mrs Merton (both with Caroline Aherne) and Coogan’s Run (with Steve Coogan). More recently he has worked with BBC Radio 4 on shows that blend poetry, stories and comedy. Arts festivalCavan Arts FestivalFrom Thursday, May 14th, until Sunday, May 17th, Cavan town, various venues, times and prices, cavanartsfestival.ieWith limited funding, provincial arts festivals rely on volunteer staff, local sponsorship and enthusiastic supporters. There is all that and more in this year’s Cavan Arts Festival, which features theatre (Fiona Maria Fitzpatrick’s Nothing But an Old Weed, Thursday, May 14th, Townhall Arts Centre, 7.30pm, €15), comedy (Aoife Dunne, Friday, May 15th, Townhall Arts Centre, 7.30pm, €25) and music (DUG/Zoé Basha, Saturday, May 16th, Townhall Arts Centre, 7.30pm, €30). In keeping with the psychogeography of the area, the writer Pat McCabe curates a special edition of Radio Butty, his acclaimed free-form cabaret show (Sunday, May 17th, Con Smith Park, 2.30pm-5.30pm, free).Still runningDaniel Chester: Bog to BloomUntil Sunday, May 31st, Easter Snow Gallery, Séamus Ennis Arts Centre, Naul, Co Dublin, 10am-4pm, tseac.ieDaniel Chester's Blue Lake Daniel Chester’s exhibition is characterised by natural history and the landscapes of rural Donegal, Fermanagh, Leitrim and Sligo. Often unappreciated and endangered, these areas are important carbon sinks and biodiversity hubs. “Somewhere in the tangled chaos of vegetation, figures, shapes, light and darkness, a presence exists,” Chester says. “I aim to find a blend between the real and the fiction.”Book it this weekRobyn, 3Arena, Dublin, June 24th, ticketmaster.ieFéile Vega, Lisnavagh House & Gardens, Rathvilly, Co Carlow, August 14th-16th, eventbrite.comThe Bishop Exchange Podcast, Vicar Street, Dublin, September 6th/7th, ticketmaster.ieOprah Winfrey, 3Arena, Dublin, September 14th, ticketmaster.ie
