Take a look at this year’s programme of events …
Whether you’re wandering into a secret room, sitting in a cathedral or stepping into a boxing ring, this year’s Culture Date With Dublin 8 is an invitation to see the city differently and to be inspired by the stories it holds. Curator Grace McEvoy shares her top picks from this year’s programme, shaped by two themes – Songlines of the City and Gulliver 300 – inviting audiences to explore the capital as a living archive.
St Patrick’s Cathedral
The City of Our Dreaming is a newly commissioned work celebrating 75 years of The Guinness Choir. At its heart is a poem by Paula Meehan, set to music by composer Seán Doherty. Performed in the soaring surroundings of St Patrick’s Cathedral, the piece is a lyrical meditation on Dublin as a city shaped by memory, imagination and belonging. Expect a powerful meeting of poetry and music, with performances from the choir alongside guest soloists including Bren Berry, in a setting that never fails to elevate the experience.
Arts Bubble: Human Measures
Arts Bubble events have developed something of a cult following and for good reason. Inspired by Gulliver’s Travels and the idea of shifting perspectives, this edition explores how we measure ourselves in a world of extremes. There’s no stage or separation between artist and audience. Instead, the focus is on connection, curiosity and experimentation. It’s intimate, playful and quietly profound, offering a completely different way to experience art and each other.
The First Count: Reeling in the Years – 1926
History comes vividly to life at this immersive evening presented by Shite Talk. Set in The Fumbally Stables, The First Count: Reeling in the Years – 1926 takes the first census of the Irish Free State as its starting point, transforming data into a deeply human story. Guests are welcomed by actors in character, surrounded by live music and the sounds of 1920s Dublin, with food and drink inspired by the era adding to the atmosphere. Blending podcast-style storytelling with performance, it offers a sensory way to step into the past. @thefumbally
A Libertine Feast by Camilla Hanney
This large-scale ceramic installation is a love letter to The Liberties, transforming its social history into a lavish, almost theatrical banquet. Overflowing with references, from Guinness bottles to Jacob’s biscuits, the work draws on memory, ritual and everyday life to create something both intimate and expansive. Like much of the festival, it invites us to look again at what surrounds us and to find meaning in the details. @camilla.hanney
In The Ring with Dan Donnelly & Dublin’s Boxing Heroes
This in-ring event at the National Stadium explores the life and legend of Dan Donnelly, Ireland’s first heavyweight boxing champion whose victories in the years after 1798 became a symbol of resistance and pride. His legacy lives on in folklore, most famously through “Donnelly’s Arm”, a relic that continues to capture the imagination. Hosted by social historian Donal Fallon, the evening brings together actor Barry McGovern to recreate the drama of Donnelly’s fights and Terry O’Neill who returns to the very ring where he once fought, performing an excerpt from his show Rope A Dope. New work by Emmet O’Brien connects past and present, while Niamh Ní Charra draws on her album “Donnelly’s Arm” to ground the story in song. The following day, the energy continues with a brilliantly irreverent OTT Wrestling Poetry Slam, pairing poets and wrestlers in a tag-team battle where the mic becomes the weapon. It’s theatrical, unexpected and a perfect example of how this festival plays with form and history.
