Dublin culture round-up (because the festivities don’t stop after St Paddy’s Day)

Today, Irish folk melodies are in the air and the St Patrick’s Day parades are flooding Dublin with a sea of green, but the Irish capital has even more to offer culture-seekers throughout the year. Here’s our guide to the most exciting festivals and events you can expect to find in this fair city in 2015.

A photograph by Andrew Nudig from Resonate at the Gallery of Photography

Photography
Resonate at The Gallery of Photography, until 29th March 2015

As part of A Year of Irish Design, Dublin’s Gallery of Photography is hosting Resonate, a three-week long exhibition of Irish fashion photography. The collection includes work from 23 leading photographers, as well as a study of the locations, models, textiles, climates and cultures explored in the work. The Gallery of Photography is based in the creatively rich area of Temple Bar. An Arts-council funded organisation, it holds an active programme of free events, lectures and discussions throughout the year.

Food
Dublin Bay Prawn Festival, 23-26th April

In April, top chefs and food lovers from across the UK and Ireland will be flocking to the pretty seaside fishing village of Howth, just outside Dublin, for the unique Dublin Bay Prawn Festival. Overlooking the harbour, this festival is now in its fifth year and offers some of the best seafood in the country (don’t just take it from us, TV chef Rick Stein has said that the Dublin Bay prawn is the best he’s ever tasted). In the tented village you can catch cookery demonstrations from celebrity chefs and master classes from fishmongers. Howth’s award-winning restaurants will serve up speciality seafood, which you can eat in the salty sea air while you sip your Guinness and listen to traditional local music.

Literature
International Literature Festival, 16-24th May 2015

A month before the annual Bloomsday festival in June, which celebrates the work of iconic Irish wordsmith James Joyce, the International Literature Festival is held, making summer the perfect time to visit if you’re a literary buff. When you’re not walking the streets in search of Leopold and Molly Bloom, you can attend talks, readings and public debates with over 50 international writers and poets, as well as poetry slams and introduction sessions for budding writers. Expect to rub shoulders with the likes of Julian Barnes and Jeanette Winterson, who have both made appearances in previous years.

Dance
Dublin Dance festival, 19-30th May 2015

Arguably the most exciting event on the Irish dance calendar, the Dublin Dance Festival is held each year in May, with performances from both Irish and international dancers in venues throughout the city. In 2011 the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan staged a spectacular show, bringing tonnes of rice to represent sand and water. You can anticipate as much innovation this year, with contemporary dance troupes like the Liz Rouche Company and Meg Stuart’s Damaged Goods on the bill, as well as modern Flamenco superstar, Israel Galván.

Music
Electric Picnic, 4-6th September 2015

Packing a punch in the line-up stakes, Electric Picnic is a boutique festival in the vein of England’s Latitude and Wilderness. Set just a few miles outside Dublin in County Laois, this four-day festival serves up a banquet of music, comedy and spoken word performances, including headlining spots from Belle & Sebastian, George Ezra and the phenomenal The War on Drugs, one of 2014’s hottest bands. The full list is to be announced soon.

Performing arts
Tiger Dublin Fringe, 7-20th September 2015

Step aside Edinburgh, the Tiger Dublin Fringe has got big things planned for this year’s performing arts festival. Celebrating its 21st year in 2015, organisers will be scheduling an explosive programme of comedy, theatre and dance, specialising in new and exciting approaches to the arts. The focus here is on the eccentric and it’s not uncommon to see performances taking place in parked cars and public toilets.

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