The Dublin Community Blog

Africa Day at Dublin Castle took place yesterday and was great craic altogether. A celebration of African culture and tradition, the place was packed to the brim – there was a 20 minute queue to get in when we arrived at around 3pm. According to RTÉ, over 7, 000 people attended. There were stalls displaying traditional crafts, clothing and everyday utensils, short films and exhibitions, South African wine tastings and sporting events. The main stage hosted a great mix of African and Irish acts – from traditional Malawian Dance Performances to Irish hip hop group Millionaire Boyz and Irish trad lads Kila.

it ended with performances from Mundy (who opened his set by saying “Should I just sing Galway Girl and go home?”), Republic of Loose and Sinead O’Connor.

According to the 2006 census, almost 42,000 of the people living in Ireland were born in Africa.

There are a few more pics on the Dublin Blog Flickr.

Some pretty cool stuff going on in Dublin this weekend if you’re about.

The second annual Dublin City Soul Festival is in full swing and lots of events will be taking place in various venues around the city.  These include a Soul Jam and a (completely free) Soul Picnic! Click here for a programme.

Then there’s Africa Day @ Dublin Castle. Another great, free event, you enter through an African village, filled with stands from Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda. Then there will be some cracking live performances from Sinead O’Connor, the wonderful Kila and those crazy but brilliant boys from Republic of Loose. There’s lots more and you can download a PDF of the programme here.

The Dublin Community Blog has posted about the wonderfulness that is The food market @ Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, before, but I just thought I’d share some pics as a reminder of just how lovely it is; if the weather is in any way good this weekend, it’s a brilliant way to spend a Saturday.

It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve already done it in a given month or how many hung-over hens I have to push my way through: it always puts me in a good mood. There’s lots of pretty, colourful organic fruit (it’s a bit pricey though):

A delish and very authentic Mexican stall (try the organic chicken fajitas or veggie burritos served with a dollop of frijoles refritos, guacoamole, salsa, cheese and sour cream):

Wash it down with some very yummy, tangy apple juice:

And, finally, treat a few greedy scoops of chocolate-covered hazelnuts, flakey truffle thingies or even sugar-free choccies from Chez Emily:

There are lots and lots of other stalls, serving everything from mussels to noodles to cheeses. Definitely worth a visit.

And while you’re there, why not pick up some of these:

If you like your fashion with a side of science or something more serious then this is a good week to be in Dublin.

Opening at the TCD Science Gallery (if you’ve haven’t called in yet, go, go go!) is Technothreads, an exhibition about “the creative sparks that fly when the worlds of fashion and science collide”. What to expect? Shirts that hug you, the mathematics of design, 3D fabrics and ‘living’ clothes. Some more:

“The exhibition offers viewers a glimpse into the future of fashion in a world where Biotech and Nanotech are combined with traditional craft and Haute Couture skills. With work from designers such as Walter van Beirendonck, Yoshiki Hishinuma and Freedom of Creation, it promises to show off the most innovative, cutting edge and exciting designers the world has to offer as well as raising issues for global debate, such as the use of tissue culture to produce semi-living clothes.”

It opens on Saturday.

Two nights before Technothreads, on Thurs 24th, Fashion Evolution is happening. It’s a public debate about ethical fashion and it’s taking place at The Button Factory from 6.30pm. Speaking at it will be Katherine Hamnett, the lady behind all those political tees, the most recent of which is “no more fashion victims”. It will be followed by music from the very fab Dirty Epics, Star Little Thing and a few others. Tix , from here, cost €12. Get updates about the goings on by joining the event on Facebook.

Some shots from the old U2 recording studio (in the pic above it’s on the right) on Hanover Quay, Grand Canal Dock; It’s the only one-story building left in the area, surrounded by 10-floor apartment blocks and large holes in the ground where 10-floor apartment blocks are being built. I think a few albums, including All That You Can’t Leave Behind and How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb were recorded here. Most of the graffiti is on the wall just across from it which I think is, sadly, going to be knocked down.

A compulsory purchase order was handed to the band back in 2001 when the Docklands was undergoing all that redevelopment and they went to court to fight it; an online petition to save the studio was even started. And even though the studio was saved, I doubt this wall was!

While I love the Grand Canal Dock area and all that’s being done to it, it’s a shame that this little bit of Dublin history may well be on it’s way to being knocked down – fans from all over the world have somehow managed to find their way though the building rubble to leave their messages.

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In all the melee and mess of Paddy’s day and its related celebrations, there is one exhibition that you should defo take time from your shamrock-wearing schedule to check out.

Every weekend this month, Gallery Number One on Castle Street, D2, will be showcasing the work of Belgian-born New York-based pop artist Daniel Dens. To sweeten the deal, they’re throwing some cool choons from resident DJ Alex Donald and even a free Innocent smoothie!

The Sophia Loren silkscreen pictured here is in the gallery’s window and has been drawing quite a few punters in. (As beautiful as it is, I don’t think I have the €1,200 asking price handy.)

Also on show will be 70s Rock ‘n’ Roll photographer Mick Rock‘s collection of limited edition pics of David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Lou Reed and Debbie Harry, as well as work by Irish-born artist Ciaran Tully who now lives in New York.

It’s great when art galleries do stuff like this. They are very eager to show that art is something to be enjoyed and appreciated, not just purchased; so don’t be afraid to call in, even if, like me, you’re completely broke!

You can see some pics from their first smoothie Saturday on their Flickr page.

So, it’s official: Dustin the Turkey is going to be representing Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest semi-final in Belgrade in May.

I’m going to put my neck out there and say I think it’s a great idea; the song is hilarious, ridiculous, silly, frivolous – all the things that winning Eurovision songs have been in the past few years. So shouldn’t we get in on the joke?

You can watch him performing the song, Irlande Douze Pointe, here.

Here are few shots I took on Monday night at Circus Vegas, which is currently in Swords, on the Airport Rd (transparency: my family run this circus).

Even though I ran away from the circus for a 9-5ish job in Dublin, I have huge amounts of affection and admiration for what goes on here – real, live people, doing amazingly skilfull things. It’s by no means an easy life – that massive big top is still put up and pulled down mainly by hand – but every one involved truly loves it.

The sad thing is, Dubin dwellers are getting to see fewer and fewer circuses as land is guzzled up for devlopment – one of my favourite circus sites in Blackrock is now so tiny very few circuses can fit there any more, and I recently passed the grounds in Whitehall (just opposite the Bingo hall) and they are also in the middle of getting devloped so no more shows there either

In saying that, interest in all things circus has increased in the past few years – Sara Gruen’s wonderful book, Water For Elephants, was a massive word-of-mouth phenomenom, topping the NY Times bestseller list. Closer to home, the Abbey Theatre is showing Circo de la Sombra in April, a family-friendly “mischievous take on the traditional travelling circus show.”

Circus is a lovely, wonderfully old-school tradition and it’s great to see how much kids still enjoy it.

A few more pics on the Dublin Blog Flickr.