SUMMERTIME

A selective guide to events and activities this summer and Playwright Michael Harding takes of his favourite places in his native county Cavan.

Daytimes

At the Chester Beatty Library, European Museum of the Year 2002, located in the grounds of Dublin Castle, there are exhibitions of Oriental manuscripts, prints, icons, miniature paintings, early printed books and objets d'art. Visitors can have a bite to eat at the Silk Road café and, if the sun comes out, sit in the library's roof garden. Admission is free, and there are public tours every Sunday at 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. and on Wednesdays at 1 p.m. throughout August. At Galway's Town Hall Theatre, running tonight and tomorrow night, is the Sebastian Barry play, Our Lady of Sligo. The play tours for the rest of the month and the first few weeks of September, playing at Dún Laoghaire's Pavilion Theatre, the Hawk's Well Theatre in Sligo, and finally the Belltable Arts Centre, Limerick, Tuesday, September 10th to Saturday, 14th. This is the first Irish production of the play. Booking in Galway is at 091-569 777.

Childtimes

Pack your picnics this Sunday and take a trip to the gardens of Mount Stewart, near Newtownards, Co Down. Beginning at 3 p.m., there will be music from the Ulster Jazz Band, playing ragtime tunes and traditional music, with a number of solos. Take a rug, a folding chair and music-loving children, who might like to clap their hands or tap their toes to an afternoon "lazy Sunday jazz session" organised by the National Trust. For more information, contact the Mount Stewart office at 048-427 88387.

My native county: Cavan

Playwright Michael Harding

Three of my favourite places:

1 The first place would have to be Glangevlin in the west of Co Cavan. I spent three wonderful years there in the 1970s when I was in my early 20s. It's a mountainous countryside, like Co Donegal, remote and a very ancient place. The Irish language survived there up to this century. They have wonderful folktales there.

2 Then there's another place, Lough McNean, which is close to Glangevlin. It's a beautiful lake and it's a place where the poet, Cathal Buí Mac Giolla Gunna, lived and wrote the famous poem, 'An Bonnán Buí', about the yellow bittern not being able to get a drink because of the ice. I pass nearby on the way to Enniskillen and it's a place I love.

3 Then I would say Cavan town itself and Lough Uachtar beside the town. I would have gone to the lake very often in my childhood. We grew up not far from it and you had to cycle out to it. It's near Lord Farnham's estate and it's full of hardwood trees.

Catherine Foley

Just-in-times: Late 0ffers

The Irish Landmark Trust is celebrating its 10th anniversary in style and

has just opened its 10th property, Salterbridge Lodge, a Georgian pavilion in the bosky Blackwater Valley, Co Waterford. Due to popular demand, the trust is offering weekend and midweek stays in all its properties. From lighthouses, romantic villas and a Dublin townhouse to an estate house in the wilds of Co Donegal, the selection is highly unusual. From October to February, the trust will be offering discounts to writers and artists looking for that quiet space to work. Give the trust a call at 01-6704733.

• All About August is edited by Angela Long and Sheila Wayman august@irish-times.ie