Weekender: |wiːkˈɛndə|– noun – what to do in Dublin this weekend.
PALS: IRISH AT GALLIPOLI
Wednesday to Sunday each week until end of April | National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks | €5, various times
Beginning this week in this unusual setting, ANU Prodcutions are telling the tale of Irish who fought at Gallipoli during World War I. It’s one of the untold Irish experiences of so-called ‘Great War’, and an event often associated with the Anzacs, and commemorated in the bleakly brilliant Eric Bogle song ‘And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda’. Running from Wednesday to Sunday of each week at the Museum, Pals is the story of the men of the newly formed Royal Dublin Fusiliers 7th Battalion, who swapped the gentlemanly rugby fields for death and terror in the trenches, and the Irish women back at home who went to work producing munitions and medical equipment. For more see www.pals-theirishatgallipoli.com
ONLY IN DREAMS : The Blue Album vs Pinkerton
Friday 6 February | Workman’s Club | €10, 8pm
Galway’s premier indie promoters, Strange Brew, are kindly treating us godless jackeens to an evening celebrating two occasionally maligned touchstones of the modern alternative sound. Despite the abundance of somewhat questionable decisions that followed in their wake, the first two Weezer full lengths stand as two of the most perfectly formed alternarock documents there are. Pieces of work so unquestionably great that their brilliance can withstand a thousand misjudged Lil’ Wayne collaborations. Taking to the stage of the Workman’s Club on the evening to shine a light on these unimpeachable classics will be Windings, Dott, Me and My Dog, Swimmers and So Cow. Each of whom will be performing 4 Weezer gems, two from The Blue Album and Pinkerton respectively. Who’s gonna do El Scorho? No One Else? Frankly, we can’t wait to find out.
THE SMITHFIELD MARKET FAIR
Sunday 8 February | The Generator Hostel, Smithfield Square | 12pm
With more products and treats on offer than ever before, The Smithfield Market Fair is back once again. One of the key forces in the development of Smithfield as a thriving cultural quarter, The Fair offers Irish independent retailers and designers the opportunity to ply their remarkable wares in a relaxed, community focused environment. Over 40 stalls are lined up for the event with a dazzling array of curious and trinkets to cater to every taste. From vintage clothing to jewellery to arts and crafts to whatever else you fancy, these lads have you covered. If retail therapy isn’t your thing there’ll also be a retro themed table quiz, live bands and DJs, a slew of food and drink options to provide sustenance and lots of family friendly activities set up to keep the nippers occupied throughout the day.
CITY, ASSEMBLED
Until Sunday 8 February | City Assembly House, South William Street | Free, 5-8pm
Subtitled ‘A Moving Panorama inspired by the Dublin Civic Exhibition’, City, Assembled is a collaboration between students from The School of Architecture at UCD and the National Film School at IADT. Like the Phoenix Rising exhibition staged at the Hugh Lane Gallery late last year and featured in these pages, City, Assembled is inspired by the 100 year anniversary of the 1914 Civic Exhibition that was hosted in Dublin and promised big plans for the city before the world decides to have other plans and dive headfirst in bloody warfare. The exhibition, curated by Cillian Briody, Matthew Mullin and David O’Mahony, features both historical artefacts and contemporary responses to the Civic Exhibition’s legacy.
THE RUGGER: ITALY vs. IRELAND
Saturday 7 February | RTÉ 2 | 2.30pm
February’d almost be as shite as January if it wasn’t for the focussed mayhem of the Six Nations, now ritually begun with a spellbinding montage from the good folks in the RTÉ Sports department, with Tom McGurk’s dulcet tones blathering on about the first shoots of spring with crocuses interspersed with Michael Kiernan drop goals and waxing lyrical about Saint Joe. Either way, Joe Schmidt’s team have really got the nation behind the team as they head for a World Cup at the end of 2015 (not just fat lads talking arse in bars, right), so lets pull on the jersey and all reminisce about Ro-BOD in preparation for huge games at home to the French and the English.
