Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Comedy
The Irish have a reputation for hilarity - mostly off-the-cuff, iconoclastic humour - but
the funniest of them generally find their way out of Ireland and onto bigger stages - such
as Dara O'Briain, Dylan Moran and Chris O'Dowd, who's a bona fide star thanks to films
such as
Bridesmaids
(2011).
The highlight of the comedy year is the annual
Bulmers International Comedy Festival
(
www.bulmerscomedy.ie
)
, which takes place at 20-odd venues over three weeks, usually in
September, and features a barrel-load of local and international talent. Big laughs.
Film
Of the five cinemas in the city centre, three (Screen, Irish Film Institute and Lighthouse)
offer a more offbeat list of foreign releases and art-house films. Save yourself the hassle
of queuing and book your tickets online, especially for Sunday-evening screenings of pop-
ular first-run films. Out on the piss Friday and Saturday nights, most Dubliners have
neither the energy nor the cash for more of the same, so it's a trip to the cinema at the end
of the weekend. Admission prices are generally around €6 for afternoon shows, rising to
€10 after 5pm. If you have a student card, you pay only €6 for all shows.
Live Music
POPULAR
Dubliners love their live music and support local acts as enthusiastically as they do tour-
ing international stars - even if the latter command the bigger crowds and ticket prices.
You can sometimes buy tickets at the venue itself, but you're better off using an agent.
Prices for gigs range dramatically, from as low as €5 for a tiny local act to anywhere up to
€110 for the really big international stars. The listings sections of both paper and online
resources will have all the gigs.
TRADITIONAL & FOLK
The best place to hear traditional music is in the pub, where the 'session' - improvised or
scheduled - is still best attended by foreign visitors who appreciate the form far more than
most Dubs and will relish any opportunity to drink and toe-tap to some extraordinary vir-
tuoso performances.
place in the pubs of Temple Bar over the last weekend in January. For online info on ses-
sions, check out
www.dublinsessions.ie
.
