Culture Night in Dublin celebrates ten years

Dublin hosts its biggest Culture Night yet

The tenth edition of Culture Night takes place on Friday 18 September in towns and cities across Ireland, with a record 230 venues in Dublin joining in and staying open from 17.00-23.00 with free cultural events.

Many of the events require advance registration and some of the traditionally more popular tours, such as Trinity College and the official residence of Ireland's president at Áras an Uachtaráin, are already booked up.

Among the highlights of Dublin's Culture Night are a showcase of contemporary animated films screened by the Irish Film Board; the Downstairs Dublin initiative takes place in the Georgian cellars of the elegant Merrion Square, is organised by The Irish Times and features talks, raves and even a pop-up dine in the dark dinner; watch currach boats race along the river Liffey; see the art collection of Allied Irish Bank (AIB) at its Ballsbridge headquarters; take a tour of the dining room that inspired Joyce's tale The Dead; or why not join the actors at the Abbey Theatre who dress as gangsters, detectives and femme fatales from 1940s film noir movies.

The Lazy Bike Tours involve participants pedalling their way through cultural tours on electric bicycles (bring your own helmet) while the Culture on the Move programme by Dublin Bus offers four different routes around the city centre, livening up the journey for commuters wih music and story telling.

There are plenty of family friendly events too. Full details can be found on the Culture Night website and there is also a Culture Night app available to download from the App Store.

Dublin Bus is providing free buses between 18.00 and 23.00, along three culture trails. Buses leave every 20 minutes from Bachelor’s Walk, Aston Quay and Trinity College. Culture Night was launched in 2006 in Dublin by the Temple Bar Cultural Trust (TBCT).