LAST UPDATE | 20 Sep 2024

IT’S CULTURE NIGHT tonight and there is a long list of almost 2,000 events to attend across the country. 

According to the Culture Night website, tonight’s events will be “lighting up iconic public spaces in the city centre, electrifying the urban landscape and bringing good vibes”. 

One of the more interesting events is taking place at Wood Quay Amphitheatre in Dublin, Seisúin Palaistíneach (Palestinian Session), which is described as “an evening where melodies transcend borders, and stories from different corners of the world come together”. 

Featuring a crossover between Irish and Palestinian traditional music, Seisiún Palaistíneach promises “a spirited exploration of joy, resilience, and shared human experience”. 

Another notable one is City Sounds, a late night dance event on from 9pm until midnight tonight.

Revellers are invited to “experience Dublin’s streets in a brand new light” on three dancefloors “curated by some of the island’s most innovative soundsystem collectives”.

Locations at Central Plaza, Essex Street and Capel Street, will have their own “distinct vibe and rhythm, showcasing the rich diversity of Ireland’s electronic music scene”. 

There is a lot going on tonight across the whole country. Here are some more events to look out for. 

Read Mór

This year the Arts Council has teamed up with the Irish Prison Service for a “book gifting initiative”, as part of an effort to expand the night’s events to those who could no normally attend.

Read Mór 2024 will see a list of 30 book titles from Irish writers given as gifts to the country’s prisons, including novels, short stories, poetry and non-fiction.

Author Pat Sheedy will visit Portlaise Prison on Culture Night to discuss his work A Hundred to One: 100 convictions. 1 Million Euro. The devastating true story of a compulsive gambler.

Sheedy himself served time in prison and has overcome addiction. Born in Limerick, he completed a creative writing degree in prison and won the Listowel Writers’ Week short-story prize twice.

Author and poet Colm Keegan will visit Shelton Abbey to discuss his collection of poetry, Randomer.

At Clover Hill Prison, author and poet Emmet O’Brien will discuss his collection of poetry The Illusion of Perception, while Carlo Gebler will visit Loughan House to discuss his work The Wing Orderly’s Tale.

Illustrator Will Sliney will visit Cork Prison to talk about his work Hell to Pay: A Tale of the Shrouded College and author Annmarie Ní Churreáin will visit Arbour Hill Prison to talk about her collection of poetry The Poison Glen.

RTÉ 

For those who can’t attend in person, RTÉ will be broadcasting on radio, TV and online from 7pm tonight. 

RTÉ One and RTÉ Player will broadcast a “music and arts extravaganza” hosted by Denise Chaila and featuring the RTÉ Concert Orchestra with special guests.

The programme will also feature live performances from Villagers, Joe Chester and Gemma Hayes.

A highlight will be a pre-recorded performance of David Gray and Colm Mac an Iomaire on Sceilg Mhichíl.

RTÉ Radio 1 will broadcast a Culture Night special  with Seán Rock live from the Mermaid Arts Centre in Bray, featuring live music, conversations and performances. 

The Journal’s picks

Athy Library will be hosting ‘At War With Mercy’, a work inspired by the songs and writings of the late Canadian songwriter and author Leonard Cohen. It was developed by the writers John MacKenna and Angela Keogh.

The show is billed as “a musical and dramatic exploration of war, peace and mercy through Leonard Cohen’s songs and the stories”. 

Local children’s author Olivia Hope will host a storytelling and act-along workshop for children and families in Killarney at 4pm. 

The workshop will feature a dramatic reading of her book ‘Little Lion Girl’, with audience participation as well as the chance for young people and parents if they like to get involved in lion mask craft making.

At Dublin Ink, tattoo artists will be sharing their skills and showing visitors how to tattoo – using bananas. The event is billed as one for the whole family and there will also be a temporary tattoo station set up for kids.

In the Phoenix Park in Dublin, there will be a family-friendly, car-free 5km bike disco around from 7pm to 8pm, starting and ending at the Phoenix Monument on Chesterfield Avenue.

There will be a bike DJ playing music and cyclists of all abilities are welcome. 

Droichead Arts Centre will be hosting Night Moves, featuring a visual arts trail and a trad music trail with stops across Drogheda. There will also be late-night classical music, opera and poetry at the cafés in the town - The Coffee Box, Il Forno and Leyland Café.

DCU is hosting a range of family-friendly events on its St. Patrick’s Campus in Drumcondra. 

The public are invited to enjoy “a fun-filled lineup that includes circus performances, live music, art workshops, immersive tours, exhibitions, and sensory play”.

Annie Morton and her troupe of fire performers, Babylon Inferno, will be making appearances on the streets of Longford this evening. They are a group of street circus performers who specialise in fire performance.

The Department of Justice and the Irish Prison Service are hosting an exhibition called ‘Notorious Bad Characters’ displaying the records of women incarcerated by the state during the early 20th Century.

“Through displays of detailed historical records, visitors will be provided with a rich narrative and insight into the experiences of a selection of notable women in Irish prisons, exploring their journeys and hardships of the prison systems, their convictions, punishment and the pleas for clemency from family and communities.” 

An additional exhibition of creative works by women of the Dóchas Centre will also be on display.

All Culture Night events are free of charge.

For more information about tonight’s events, see the Culture Night website here.