Music, dance, art, history and food are all playing a part of what will make up a lively Culture Night in Limerick.
It is the night when young children up to our older citizens can take part and witness a variety of art and cultural activities across our public spaces in galleries, museums, workshops, studios and parks.
There are two big late night events—the first at the city's historic King Johns Castle.
A live music concert featuring the best of local and national live electronic music kicks off at 7pm and is a partnership between Limerick Arts Office and the Sionna festival.
Groups including Spray, B2B Holly Lester, Chaz Maloney Brawni and Bon Voyage will perform.
Later that evening at the Dance Limerick venue, Top 8 will perform a wide and diverse mixture of dance styles including hip hop and break dance to contemporary and afro fusion.
Later, city and guest DJs will perform late night at The Commercial in the city centre.
Toby Omoteso, who is part of Top 8, said they will be showcasing all the elements of hip hop, dance and DJ music and movement and Culture Night is a great opportunity to perform for a wide audience.
High Kicks dance project also brings people with special needs, as well as our older citizens into community group dancing and they will perform their own contemporary dance also at Dance Limerick venue at Johns Square.
Limerick’s strong pork production history is marked with the Pigtown Culture and Food series and will first parade through the city centre to the Milk Market.
Read more: Thousands of free events to celebrate Culture Night
They will have mask making workshops, a display of their giant pig, family pig floats and a petting farm for kids and families, as well as numerous food treats.
An interactive exhibition on culture, climate, community and change takes place at the Hunt Museum, as well as a sustainable fashion show on Thomas Street.
A special night of stories and remembrance of the late Jim Kemmy, former Labour TD and Mayor of the city, takes place at Limerick City Hall on Merchants Quay.
Clare
The 'Quare Clare’ poetry slam, which is an open mic night session of performance poetry at the Glór theatre from 8pm.
It takes place in conjunction with Pride week in Ennis and the LGBTQ community.
There will be two guest poets Jim Crickard and Julie Goo, and local poet Sarah Clancy also.
‘Timeslip’ at the Restore Art Gallery in Parnell Street in Ennis is a series of paintings recreated from photographs from the Clare archives, featuring locations at the time of Ireland’s turbulent war years between 1919 and 1923, and the same locations today.
Put together by photographer and artist David O’Rourke, it features famous events from that time, including the burning of Ennistymon and the arrest of Eamon de Valera at the famous O’Connell monument in the centre of Ennis in 1923.
A night of music to remember the late Johnny Fean, Pat Costello and Paul ‘Swive’ O’Donoghue takes place at the Wolfe Tones GAA club in Shannon in, which Ray Fean, Johnny’s brother. and guests will celebrate the lives and careers of those popular musicians sharing stories and performances with music and song.
You can print your own tote bag with a message of sustainability at the Antique Press Print Designs located at The Aloe Tree in Ennistymon from 6pm.
Clare artist Tessa Badenhorst has custody of an old printing press going back three generations of her family and it will be back in business on Culture Night as she cuts lino designs, paints them and puts them through the old printing press.
A rare antique with a modern climate message for Culture Night.
Tipperary
Art, Climate and Community are the themes of an exhibition at Kickham Barracks Arts Centre in Clonmel, Co Tipperary were five outdoor artworks are installed on the barracks walls.
The art works look at the issue of climate change and how it impacts on everyone and three are by professional Tipperary artists, with the remaining two created by artist engagement with local community groups in Clonmel.
Fetch Coffee House in the town is hosting a music event in association with the When Next We Meet festival, with local singer-songwriters Eve Whelan and Ross Boland performing two different sets of original music.
Philadelphia-born but Loughmore, Co Tipperary-based artist Laura Dunne will meet visitors to the Narrow Space Gallery in Clonmel where her exhibition, Beyond Adam or Eve, features a mix of still-life paintings of apples and landscape paintings.
She will give a demonstration and talk about her work throughout the evening.
The historic town of Fethard features an event starting at the Millennium Bridge in The Valley from 6.30pm, History Speaks, which will see historic figures from the area "come back to life" to recount their tales on a walking tour bringing history to life with storytelling, music and poetry.
Ormond Castle in Carrick-on-Suir is presenting a performance by Duo Frizzante, local musician Marion Ingoldsby on keyboard and Tramore native Cathy Desmond on violin and viola, with an hour of melodies drawn from Irish bardic tradition.
Also in Carrick is a short film showing at 8.45pm by local film-maker Sheenagh Geoghegan, "Our Lungs Were".
Meanwhile, Cashel Library hosts an evening with singer-songwriter Charlie McGettigan.
A "countdown to bedtime" is being held at 8pm by the Rockwell Orchestra at Rockwell Music Academy, where the musician will play their favourite lullabies in an opportunity to expose young children to a variety of instruments through familiar melodies. Pyjamas are encouraged.
Cork
Music, the arts, comedy, fashion and literature, are part of 150 live performances planned for Culture Night in Cork city.
One of the main events in Cork will be a celebration of the interplay between sound, vision and movement, presented by The Electronic Music Council.
Faoi Choim na hOíche will be in Cork's City Hall from 9pm until 2am.
The event celebrates the local impact of the people and places which shape the community around electronic music in Cork.
Hula hooper Grace Billings from Melbourne, Oz, is making her first #culturenight2023 visit to #Cork. She will be performing at Candy's Sweet As Circus Cabaret in the Marina Market, 9.30-midnight — one of 150 live events planned for the city as part of #CultureNightCork. @rtenews pic.twitter.com/YzQtgTr2Tk
— Paschal Sheehy (@PaschalSheehy) September 22, 2023
An exhibition at the rear of the concert hall focuses on the past, present and future of electronic music, and features work from several artists immersed in the electronic music culture in Cork city.
Candy’s Sweet as Circus Cabaret, presented by Cork’s own Circus Factory, will invite audiences to participate in a feast for the senses from 10pm at the Marina Market, one of several events Cork Circus Factory is involved in for Culture Night, as the date co-incides with their own Pitch’d Festival.
Circus performer and hula hooper Grace Billings will be among those doing circus tricks at the Marina Market event.
"I would say, now is the opportunity to grab your family, grab your friends, come on down to Culture Night, there is so much stuff happening all over the city," Ms Billings said.
"It is a fantastic cultural night, so don't be sitting at home. Get amongst it, I would say."
The refurbished Elizabeth Fort is a new venue. It will host the Barrack Street Band, while the Butter Exchange Band is opening its bandroom doors on the northside of the city.
Many events will be hosted at University College Cork across its various campus buildings, while events at MTU will take place on the Grand Parade, in Bishopstown and at Cork School of Music on Union Quay.
Speaking ahead of the event, Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Kieran McCarthy said: "Culture Night is a crucial part of our city’s event calendar and key part of the city’s sense of identity.
"With so many free events on offer, there is literally something for everyone. The big thing is to plan in advance what you want to see, view, and engage in. It is an evening to turn the TV off, come into town, relax and soak up the atmosphere."
Open studio events are also taking place at Cork Sculpture Factory, Benchspace and Cork Community Art Link.
Free "Culture Buses" are being provided by Bus Éireann for the event. They will run from Cork City Hall to venues outside the city centre.
Among those who will be entertaining revellers on board the buses will be Wike Schippers and Ivy Favier, who make up the Hopeless Romantics, and rapper Raphael Olympio.
While all events are free, some require booking.
To find Culture Night events near you, visit the official listings here.
