The Dublin Community Blog

This clip has been doing the rounds recently and is proving extremely popular (on YouTube, at least).

If you like what you see, be sure to get down to Grafton Street this coming Saturday afternoon, when the Dublin Improv Movement will be attempting a similar feat on the stretch between Marks & Spencers and Brown Thomas. The fun starts at 4:30pm, and if you’d like to take part yourself, details can be found on this Facebook group. Definitely not one to miss, as a spectator or a participant!

A year ago, almost to the day, I wrote about blogging Cllr Eric Byrne’s campaign to have Dublin made a Fairtrade City. The official launch was held yesterday in the Mansion House, which is the official residence of the Dublin Lord Mayor who this year is Cllr Paddy Bourke.

You can read more about the launch here and visit the website here.

The Ball of Enchantment is a black tie event in aid of St. Michael’s House. St. Michael’s House was founded in 1955 by parents and is now Ireland’s largest provider of community-based supports for children and adults with an intellectual disability and their families. Services are provided through 160 locations in the greater Dublin area. Services include clinical (Speech-Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Psychology, Social Work), counseling, educational, vocational training, employment, social and recreational, residential and respite.

The ball is being held at the Radisoon Royal Hotel in Dublin 8 on 12th April, 2008. Champagne reception begins at 7:00 PM, followed by a five-course meal and dancing. There will also be a raffle and auction. If you are interested in attending the ball or donating prizes for the raffle, you can email smh_charityball@yahoo.com

Yours truly had her car towed last Saturday. Visiting friends, I had parked partially in front of their neighbours gate. So, neighbour decides to phone a towing company, as advised by the Gardai, before knocking next door. Needless to say I was rather shocked when I walked out after two hours and discovered it gone!

Helpful Garda gives me the name and number of the towing company. Heres the bit that really, really, really bugs me. On phoning, I’m told they close at 1.30pm on a Saturday. This was 1pm. I was in Cabra. My car was on the back of a tow truck making its way to Donabate. This journey involves negotiating the M50 roadworks on a busy Saturday lunchtime and the M1.

Thankfully, I was lucky enough to get a lift from my friend and the nice(!) towing company people waited for me to arrive at about 1.45pm. My car was still on the truck when I arrived, 10 minutes after the driver!

How can a towing company be allowed get away with taking your car and then shutting up shop? Yes, some might say I deserve to be inconvenienced for inconveniencing my friends neighbour, however, am I not entitled to have the option of retrieving my car?

€181.50 poorer, thats one experience I’d rather not repeat!

All you jazz fans have an opportunity to drop in to a nice musical performance on Thursday, just after your usual shopping on Grafton Street

Frank Gratkowski, German experimental saxophone master will play in Geothe Instytut on Merrion Square at 8PM. he will accompanied by Irish band Clog and dancer Marguerite Papazoglou. Have a good time!

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Oisin Gallery presents sculptures of Willard Wigan.

Thanx to poet Nell Regan I’ve learned yesterday about this spectacular exhibition.

The show is really eye catching because you have to look at art pieces through the microscope!! It started just last Friday and unfortunately tomorrow is the LAST DAY.

So hurry up, go to Westland Row an the back of Trinity College to get stunned as well.

I have lived in Dublin for well into double digits, and today I learnt that the remains of St Valentine are housed in a Shrine in Whitefriar Street Church.

In 1835 an Irish Carmelite by the name of John Spratt was visiting Rome. He was well known in Ireland for his skills as a preacher and also for his work among the poor and destitute in Dublin’s Liberties area. He was also responsible for the building of the new church to Our Lady of Mount Carmel at Whitefriar Street. While he was in Rome he was asked to preach at the famous Jesuit Church in the city, the Gesu. Apparently his fame as a preacher had gone before him, no doubt brought by some Jesuits who had been in Dublin. The elite of Rome flocked to hear him and he received many tokens of esteem from the doyens of the Church. One such token came from Pope Gregory XVI (1831-1846) and were the remains of Saint Valentine.

On November 10, 1836, the Reliquary containing the remains arrived in Dublin and were brought in solemn procession to Whitefriar Street Church where they were received by Archbishop Murray of Dublin. With the death of Fr Spratt interest in the relics died away and they went into storage. During a major renovation in the church in the 1950s/60s they were returned to prominence with an altar and shrine being constructed to house them and enable them to be venerated. The statue was carved by Irene Broe and depicts the saint in the red vestments of a martyr and holding a crocus in his hand.

Today, being the feast of St. Valentine, is a busy day at the Church:

The feastday of the saint on February 14 is a very popular one and many couples come to the Eucharistic celebrations that day which also includes a Blessing of Rings for those about to be married. On the feastday, the Reliquary is removed from beneath the side-altar and is placed before the high altar in the church and there venerated at the Masses. At the 11.00am and 3.15pm Masses there are special sermons and also a short ceremony for the Blessing of Rings for those about to be married.

Whitefriar Street Church is located between Aungier Street and Wexford Street.

So, dear readers, it just goes to show, no matter how long you live in Dublin, you’ll often find out something new about the city!

Happy Valentines Day

14th February 2008 @THESHED – ST VALENTINE’S ASHES
Door’s 10:00pm
€ 8,00 donation + bring your own drinks and food as you like

music AMY DANIO (america)

http://www.myspace.com/deniomusic

music/performance EWA GIGON (poland)

http://www.myspace.com/ewagigon

poetry NELL REGAN (ireland)

Music/poetry/performance interactions.
it will be lovely…

if you like to participate please book by text message @ 0877954727
or email mcbett@gmail.com

THE SHED

The Shed is a new workshop space and venue in the city centre, off Connolly Station, Dublin 1.
Following a specific policy, this ten month pilot project has been created to give a location to foreign artists resident in Ireland and their unconventional approach to art and communication.
The purpose of this project is cultural exchange, and the hope is to facilitate interaction between contemporary artists from different cultures and disciplines through the “Stranger than Paradise” programme, to promote diversity.
This is an independent project.

Foreign artists active in Dublin in various disciplines, who are interested in having a workspace within the venue and/or to be involved in the management of regular events, can be shortlisted presenting their CV/Portfolio and proposal to:

McBett,
The Shed
@ 17/21 Foley Street Dublin 1

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The Dublin International Film Festival starts on Friday next, February 15th and runs until February 24th.

The opening night screening is In Bruges written and directed by Martin McDonagh and starring Dubliners Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. Unfortunately this screening is sold out, however the film will be on general release in early March. If the trailer is anything to go by, this film looks good fun.

There are some very interesting screenings – a full list can be found here.

For those of you unfortunate enough to miss the first run, the Ross O’Carroll-Kelly play will have a reprise in April!  ‘The Last days of the Celtic Tiger’ is a play based on the books of Paul Howard about hasbeen Rugby talent/womanizer who still expects a call from Eddie O’Sullivan any day now and is living off his parent’s trustfund untill that happens.

In the meantime he has to balance his time between his illegimate Northdide son, drinking, cheating on his wife with the nanny and visiting his dad in Mountjoy prison.

I saw the play a few months ago and was crying with laughter.

So put on your Leinster jerseys, fake tan and Ugg boots, straighten your hair and head off to the Olympia!

Tickets start at €25 and are on sale through Ticketmaster