Event of the week
New Year’s Festival Dublin
From Monday, December 30th, until Wednesday, January 1st, Dublin Castle, various times, €49.90, nyfdublin.com
This three-day festival is one of those all-ages audience pleasers that rarely fail to deliver. On Monday, December 30th (3.30-9pm, free), the Echoes of Ireland event features Cormac Begley, Ispíní Na hÉireann, Niamh Regan, Róisín Ó and Stomptown Brass. On Tuesday, December 31st (4-6pm, €12.90), the Countdown Concert Matinee features Aby Coulibaly, Kabin Crew & Lisdoonvarna Crew, and Saibh Skelly. The New Year’s Eve Countdown Concert (10.30pm-1am, €49.90) features Coulibaly and Cian Ducrot. New Year’s Day concerts (1-5pm, free) include Hothouse Flowers, Emma Langford and the Bonny Men, plus (at Meeting House Square, 2-6pm, free) John Francis Flynn, Saileog Ní Cheannabháin and Paahto & the Bull. Emerging Irish acts get a decent look-in, too, with a Music Trail (December 30th and January 1st, various venues, free) that includes Anna Leah, Fynch, Pebbledash, Hot Girl, Problem Patterns and Burnchurch.
Gigs
Kojaque
Monday, December 30th, Index Dublin, 8pm, €39.66, indexdublin.com
After last year’s acclaimed Phantom of the Afters album, Kojaque (aka Kevin Smith) has kept busy by doing what he does best: collaborating with like-minded musicians intent on doing things their way. This end-of-year show features the Dubliner with Soft Boy DJs as well as other sonic adventurers, such as Silent Jee, Brién and DJ Baby Guinness.
The Ritual at Slane Castle
Tuesday, December 31st, Slane Castle, Co Meath, 6pm, €200/€160/€59.50, eventbrite.com
Featuring a mix of DJs (including Colin Perkins, Holly Foyle, Sofia Kourtesis, Boots & Kats, Marcus O’Laoire and Speedy P), venues (a tented courtyard, castle rooms and an underground nightclub) and food (designed/prepared by Crudo of Sandymount and served in the castle’s historic diningroom), the Ritual at Slane Castle is a New Year’s Eve bash with a difference. Is there a dress code and a chill guide at this strictly over-21s event? You bet there is. Masks are mandatory, photography is a no-no (phones will be placed into a guarded cloakroom) and charisma is strongly advised.
Mik Pyro
Tuesday, December 31st, Whelan’s, Dublin, 9pm, €30, whelanslive.com
Not that the former lead singer of the Republic of Loose has ever been out of the picture frame, but the recent 20th-anniversary reissue of This Is the Tomb of the Juice, his former band’s album, will certainly jog people’s memories about the exceptional presence of Mik Pyro, whose natural habitat is the stage. Along with Republic of Loose songs and tracks from his masterful 2023 solo album, Exit Pyro, you can be assured that your journey from 2024 to 2025 will be a sublime, soulful and very sweaty blues/rock blend.
Comedy
Willa’s White Christmas
Saturday, December 28th, Ambassador Theatre, Dublin, 7pm, €39.90, ticketmaster.ie
The Irish comedian Willa White ends a successful year (including sell-out shows at the 3Olympia and Gaiety theatres) with a seasonal show at Dublin’s newest venue. Along with emceeing the event, White will perform his well-received routines and introduce short sets from his fellow comics Enya Martin, Eric Lalor, Joe Dowlin and (the especially smart) Jim Elliot.
Katie Boyle
Thursday, January 2nd, Coughlans, Cork, 9pm, €20, coughlans.ie
Dating, therapy, sex and shame are familiar topics for Katie Boyle, an Irish comedian home from New York for the festive season. Undertaking a few gigs to keep the coffers ticking over, Boyle is on the rise stateside. In the summer of 2023 her debut comedy album, I’ll Do It Myself, hit the top spot on iTunes’ comedy chart, while her second full-length comedy special, Terapy, filmed in November during New York Comedy Festival, is released early in 2025. In the meantime, Boyle will continue to curate Irish-related comedy shows at the Dead Rabbit, the New York Irish bar, and host her highly amusing podcast, The Shift, which discusses – yes, you guessed it – dating, therapy, sex and shame.
Visual art
Turner’s Watercolours: Scotland’s Vaughan Bequest
From Wednesday, January 1st, until Friday, January 31st, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, free, nationalgallery.ie
To mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of JMW Turner, the National Gallery of Ireland hosts an exchange exhibition. While the National Galleries of Scotland showcases Ireland’s Turner collection at the Royal Scottish Academy building in Edinburgh, the Dublin gallery displays almost 40 of Turner’s watercolours from the Vaughan bequest. A prolific artist – he left behind more than 500 oil paintings, 2,000 watercolours and 30,000 works on paper – Turner became known as “the painter of light”; his works in the exhibition range from scrupulous topographical views to vivid watercolours of Venice.
Children
What I Like Most
Until March 30th, 2025, Museum of Literature Ireland, Dublin, €15.50/€12, moli.ie
An ideal museum visit for children during the holiday period, this interactive exhibition brings Mary Murphy’s charming story to vivid life, making superb use of Zhu Cheng-Liang’s illustrations. The Dubliner’s book celebrates the young narrator’s favourite things, focusing on what means the most to her. Visitors can participate in various activities depicted in the book; youngsters can also contribute their artwork.
Still running
The Dedication 2025: Remembering Philip Lynott
Friday, January 3rd, and Saturday, January 4th, Button Factory, Dublin, 7pm, €39.87, buttonfactory.ie
Starting where the Vibe for Philo stopped (there wasn’t one in 2024), this event continues to celebrate the memory of the Thin Lizzy frontman – who died on January 4th, 1986 – with a slew of bands lashing out his songs. Bands featured include the Swedish tribute act Just Lizzy, and Grand Slam Rocks.
Book it this week
The Flaming Lips, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin, April 28th and 29th, ticketmaster.ie
Bonnie Raitt, Ulster Hall, Belfast, June 1st, Vicar Street, Dublin, June 3rd and 4th, ticketmaster.ie
Raye, Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin, August 22nd, ticketmaster.ie
Al Porter, Vicar Street, Dublin, September 5th and 6th, ticketmaster.ie
