Event of the week
Taylor Swift
Friday-Sunday, June 28th-30th, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, 5pm (sold out), ticketmaster.ie
By the time Taylor Swift arrives in Dublin next week she will have conquered the UK, with sold-out multidate arena shows in Liverpool, Cardiff and London. If you haven’t read about Swift’s Eras tour (which is organised as a tribute to her back catalogue) or seen the self-titled Disney+ concert film, then where do we begin? How about with the fact that it’s the first tour in history to surpass $1 billion in ticket sales? Or with the fact that, at almost three hours and 20 minutes, the show is longer than a Bruce Springsteen gig? Or with the nugget that, in preparation for the physical rigours of the tour, Swift sang the complete set list daily while running on a treadmill? Speaking of which, make sure you have enough money for merchandise that includes Down Bad Crying at the Gym sweatpants.
Gigs
Liam Gallagher
Sunday, June 23rd, and Monday, June 24th, 3Arena, Dublin, 6.30pm (sold out), ticketmaster.ie
He’s a cheeky lad and no mistake, but with a new hip and a pair of old maracas, Liam Gallagher is doing the rounds performing in its entirety Definitely Maybe, the 1994 debut album by Oasis. Advance reports of Gallagher’s celebration shows indicate that nostalgia for a generation is served up like a cake with the world’s biggest cherry on top. Along with the album’s most revered songs (including Cigarettes and Alcohol, Live Forever, Supersonic and Rock’n’roll Star), Gallagher will be singing various B-side tunes and The Beatles’ I Am the Walrus. Gallagher returns to Ireland next month to play Thomond Park, Limerick, on Sunday, July 14th.
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Johnny Marr
Monday, June 24th, King John’s Castle, Limerick, 7pm, €51.85; Tuesday, June 25th, Dreamland Ballroom, Athy, Co Kildare, 7.30pm, €51.85, ticketmaster.ie
Another Manchester musician with Irish parents arrives in Ireland for a couple of shows this week that are somewhat lower-key but no less hugely enjoyable. As well as playing Limerick, Johnny Marr returns to Athy, to the venue where his father, John Maher, and mother, Francis Doyle, first met, in the early 1960s. Expect more than a few cousins on the guest list, as well as solo songs and (perhaps) a couple by one of his famous former bands. Also, to celebrate the publication of the book Marr’s Guitars, the guitarist will be in conversation with Phil Taggart on Wednesday, June 26th, at the National Concert Hall, Dublin (8.30pm, €25, nch.ie).
Patti Smith Quartet
Thursday, June 27th, and Friday, June 28th, Vicar Street, Dublin, 7.30pm (sold out), ticketmaster.ie
Thousands of Taylor Swift fans will have had no idea who she was talking about when she sang “You’re not Dylan Thomas, I’m not Patti Smith” on The Tortured Poets Department, the title track of her latest album. Whether Swift’s mention of Smith will create new admirers for one of the United States’ most noted songwriters, poets and performers is debatable. Not up for debate is Smith’s impact on pop culture as a rounded creative activist – painter, writer, photographer, poet – and a pioneering spirit. As she inches towards her 80th year (she is 78 in December), Smith continues to inspire.
Arts festival
Clonmel Junction
From Friday, June 28th, until Sunday, July 7th, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, various venues, times and prices, junctionfestival.com
Sometimes, intimate arts festivals pack a firmer punch, and one of this festival’s more noticeable accomplishments this year is the In Conversation event with the novelist Claire Kilroy (hosted by Jackie Lynam), on Saturday, July 6th. Other highlights include a panel discussion on the legacy of the musician and composer Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin (1950-2018), on Sunday, June 30th.
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Book festival
Hinterland
Thursday-Sunday, June 27th-30th, Kells, Co Meath, various venues, times and prices, hinterland.ie
Located in the spiritual home of the Book of Kells, this conversation-based multidisciplinary arts festival once again programmes a series of events that link history and politics with the present day. Highlights include an interview with Arthur Mathews (talking about his recent nonfiction book, Walled in by Hate: The Friends and Enemies of Kevin O’Higgins), Myles Dungan on espionage in the War of Independence, and readings by/interviews with the authors Anne Enright, Leon Diop, Elaine Feeney, Sinéad Gleeson, Tiffany Murray and Martin Doyle, the Irish Times Books Editor.
Comedy
Jeremy Piven
Tuesday, June 25th, National Stadium, Dublin, 7pm, €49.90, ticketmaster.ie
Jeremy Piven, best known for his role as Ari Gold, the sharp-shooting talent agent in the HBO series Entourage, makes his Irish debut as a stand-up comedian. The actor continues to appear in movies, of course (his most recent is the well-received The Performance) but has latterly used his comedic talents to, among other things, make jokes about Hollywood and his status (or lack thereof) there, impersonate various actors and revisit his beloved Entourage character.
Classical
West Cork Chamber Music Festival
From Friday, June 28th, until Sunday, July 7th, Bantry, Co Cork, various venues, times and prices, westcorkmusic.ie
Another year, another summer and another chance to bask in the calm and intimacy of West Cork Chamber Music Festival and its programme of superb classical music. Highlights include the Signum Quartet and Aradia Quartet (Saturday, June 29th), Ensemble MidtVest (Thursday, July 4th) and Alasdair Beatson and Esther Hoppe (Saturday, July 6th).
Still running
TuneFest Dungarvan
Until Sunday, June 23rd, various venues, times and prices, Dungarvan, Co Waterford, tunefest.ie
It does what it says on the tin: a weekend of open-air trad gigs, pub session trails and street busking. Headline concerts include the Scottish trad fusion act Talisk (Saturday, June 22nd) and the Co Waterford trad group Danú (Sunday, June 23rd).
Book it this week
Soda Blonde & National Symphony Orchestra, July 19th, NCH, Dublin, nch.ie
Paddy Power Comedy Festival, July 25th-28th, Iveagh Gardens, Dublin, ticketmaster.ie
Gabrielle, March 29th, 2025, 3Arena, Dublin, ticketmaster.ie
The Flaming Lips, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin, April 28th and 29th, 2025, ticketmaster.ie
