Festival Archive 2024

Culture Date with Dublin 8 took place on Wednesday 8th through Sunday 12th May, 2024. It was the 6th year celebration of our annual event and the first time we extended the festival across a 5 day period.

Throughout the five days Dublin 8 came alive with an eclectic mix of over 80 free and low cost events, exhibitions, guided tours, markets, family friendly activities, talks, walks and more in over 50 locations in the area.

This year was our biggest and best to date as we partnered with over 70 organisations, including the area's leading top visitor attractions, museums, churches, world class breweries, parks and independent cultural spaces to bring together this year's programme.

This year's festival highlight saw a specially commissioned project by Humans of Dublin to highlight the stories of the people in the community of The Liberties which culminated in an exhibition showcase at The Bank on James’ Street. We also partnered with The Goo magazine and Totally Dublin to present the inaugural ‘Late In D8’, a programme of live music and dancing in some of Dublin 8’s best venues.

Culture Date with Dublin 8 is an initiative of Dublin City Council South Central Area Office and independent creative producer, Grace McEvoy and in collaboration with our programming partners.

Festival Programme Launch

The Culture Date with Dublin 8 programme was launched on Wednesday 17th April with a photoshoot in the beautiful surroundings of Marsh’s Library with the Lord Mayor of Dublin Daithí de Róiste, the Liberties Majorettes, Peter Varga of Humans of Dublin and Irish language comedian Áine Gallagher.

We held an in-person programme launch later in the evening on Wednesday 17th April at Roe & Co Distillery. It was a wonderful opportunity to gather all of our programming partners, old and new, to network, meet one another and hear more about the Culture Date with Dublin 8 initiative. There were speeches from Grace McEvoy, Project Manager of Culture Date with Dublin 8, Bruce Phillips, Area Manager, DCC South Central Area Office, Jack Roche of the Liberties Community and Jennifer McMahon founder of Irish Women in Jazz, followed by a short music performance.

A special thank you to Roe & Co for hosting this wonderful event.

Programme Highlights & New Collaborations

This year Culture Date with Dublin 8 established new collaborations and partnerships as part of this year's programme of events.

Read more below.

We commissioned the popular Humans of Dublin project to shine a spotlight on the vibrant neighbourhood of The Liberties. This partnership marked an exciting venture to celebrate and share the rich tapestry of our local community here in D8.

From tales of resilience to moments of joy, we shared unique and authentic stories showcasing the captivating spirit that makes The Liberties such a special place. This project was delivered as a social media campaign in the lead up to the programme launch and culminated in an in-person exhibition hosted in The Bank on James Street as part of the festival.

Thank you to the Digital Hub for being our venue partner.

Queen of the offbeat and Ireland’s only guerrilla Irish language activist, Áine Gallagher, presented her Cup of Focals project in pop up performances at various locations throughout the festival.

Culture Date With Dublin 8 partnered with The Goo magazine to present the inaugural ‘Late In D8’, a programme of live music and dancing in some of Dublin 8’s best venues.

You can read more about this programme here.

“We are pleased to introduce our inaugural Late in Dublin 8 series of complimentary music gatherings and nocturnal celebrations. Culture Date with Dublin 8 highlights Dublin 8 as a leading cultural destination in Ireland inviting both visitors and residents to explore or rediscover the area's remarkable museums and historical landmarks. As well as the area's rich heritage we also hope to shine a spotlight on the creative and cultural scene, celebrating the area's nightlife, local establishments and the talented musicians and artists who contribute to making the area a vibrant place to live, work and visit”.

- Grace McEvoy, Festival Director

Heritage Sites and Museums across Dublin 8 provided a variety of free events over the Culture Date with Dublin 8 festival including:

Christchurch Cathedral - Speciality tours including bell ringing and Yoga classes
Dublinia - Family guided tours across the weekend
St Patrick's Cathedral - Vivaldi’s Four Seasons by Candlelight concert, Free guided behind the scenes tours and ‘Wool2Ewe Workshop’ for kids.
Marsh's Library - Lego Treasure Hunt & Free Entry
IMMA - Parent & Baby Tour, Slow Art Tour, Gate to Gate Heritage Tour, Family Explorer workshop, Gallery Tour exploring the work of the Derry Video & Film Workshop & Explore the Green Cube biodiversity tour
Phoenix Park - Biodiversity tour
Kilmainham Gaol - Children's tours of the gaol and Curator's tour of women prisoners of the Irish Civil War
Richmond Barracks - Picnic at the Barracks, Irish Model Soldier Society Annual Show 2024, 1916 Executions Tour, Children’s History Workshop
Royal Hospital Kilmainham - Tour of Bully's Acre
Goldenbridge Cemetery - Tours of Goldenbridge Cemetery
St Audoen's Church - Free entry, speciality lunch time tours & St George's Brass Band outdoor concert in the park with a performance by The Liberties Majorettes
Edward Worth Library - Free tours & historical lecture with Cathy Scuffil ‘The South Circular Road on the eve of the First World War’
Farmleigh Gallery & Estate - Speciality tours exploring the highlights and stories of the estate, and a speciality lecture with Toner Quinn on ‘What Ireland Can Teach the World about Music’

We had a variety of incredible satellite and visual arts events taking place across the Culture Date with Dublin 8 festival including:

We Love Markets at The Digital Hub
The Libertine Market at Lucky’s
'Liberties Placenames and History in Images' talk with local historian Mark Jenkins
Documentary screening of ‘Fairbrother’s Fields The Tenters’ with Q & A from The Tenters Celebrated Heritage Group
Candlelit Tales - Mouth of Fire Storytelling event at the Fumbally Stables
‘Whatever you say, say nothing’ - Art Installation at NCAD Gallery by Rosemary Costello and The Liberties Weavers
'NAMACO' exhibition at Pallas Projects
Open Studio at La Catedral Studios
Estelle Birdy - Ravelling Book Launch and Reading
The Masonry - History and Art Tours
Iveagh Trust - Tours of Nellie’s Flat
Poetry in The Liberties Poetry Open Mic Night at Books at One
Library in the community - Pop up library at St Patrick’s Park
Kevin Kavanagh Gallery - Exhibition by Sonia Shiel | dirty — wow — sun
Talks at Kevin Street Library - Michael Healy (1873-1941): Stained Glass Pioneer Born in the Tenements; History of Weaving in The Liberties with Cathy Scuffil
Inland Ireland Waterways Association - Boat Tours Along the Grand Canal with Goodies from The Bretzel Bakery
Dried Floral Crowns Workshop at Adonis Flowers and Floral Sculpture Making with Flowerpop
IRELAND GOES POP A journey through the rise of pop culture in Ireland at The Circular
“May I be Counted?” An evening with Philip Kenny & Friends - Spoken word event at Tailor’s Hall
Age is a Privilege, Unless You Forget - Exhibition by Debbie Castro at St. Patrick's Hospital
Bespoke afternoon at The Royal Oak
Tours of St Pat’s Athletic FC with Dermot Looney

Breweries and Distilleries across Dublin 8 provided a variety of free events over the Culture Date with Dublin 8 festival including:

Guinness Storehouse - Speciality behind the scenes tour of the working distillery, including access to their underground tunnels and visitor centre
Pearse Lyons Distillery - Free guided tours of the distillery featuring St James's Graveyard
Roe & Co Distillery - Spirit of the Liberties Tour
Stillgarden Distillery - Free Garden Tours & Distillery Tours
Rascals Brewery - Graffiti Workshop and Storytime Event in collaboration with Alternative Dublin
Dublin Liberties Distillery - Irish Coffee Class with Daire and Stories from the Liberties with Kelly
Teeling Whikey Distillery - Dublin Coffee Done Your Way with Distillery Tour

We had a variety of waking tours taking place across the Culture Date with Dublin 8 festival including:

Dublin Decoded - Speciality tours exploring the area of The Liberties including: Medieval Walls, St. Patrick's Park to Blackpitts, Newmarket, Cork St & the Coombe: Markets, Mills & Graves and Thomas Street - James Street
James Madigan Walking Tour - Celebrating the Communities Past and Present in The Liberties
In Our Shoes Walking Tours - Walking tours of the Liberties
Liberties Weavers - Walking Tour with The Liberties Weavers
D8 Green Bridge Forum - Free to Roam Walking Tour exploring the green areas within The Liberties
Kilmanham Inchicore Heritage Group - Surrounded by Water: From The Grand Canal to the Camac
Dolphin’s Barn Biodiversity and Cleanup Group - Canal Nature Walk