Daytrippers

7 things to do this week

TODAY: While everyone is reclaiming the streets or welcoming the new EU countries, get away from it all at the (deep breath) Cape Clear Island International May Mini Storytelling Festival. It may be a bit of a mouthful, but the island shindig features tale-spinners guaranteed to hold your attention. Just don't forget to check the boat timetable before you sail. Find out more on http://indigo.ie/~stories/mini.htm.

Ireland welcomes Poland to the EU with a soccer face-off between an all-star Irish team led by Packie Bonner and a squad of footballing's finest from the new member state. Q: Will it be worth heading to Donegal for? A: Is the Pope Polish? Letterkenny Institute of Technology, 11 a.m. Free.

MONDAY: As part of the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival in Belfast, Terra Folk from Slovenia bring their foot-tapping brand of world music to the John Hewitt Bar on Donegall Street tonight. 8 p.m. Tickets £7 available by calling 048-90246609.

TUESDAY: The first Gay Theatre Festival kicks off today in Dublin with a clutch of short plays at T@36, the venue at 36 Parnell Square. Don't Take Your Coat Off explores the relationship between a young gay man and his grandmother, while Karamazoo is a monologue about bullying. 8 p.m. dublingaytheatrefestival.com.

WEDNESDAY: The International Dance Festival is in full swing, featuring everything from an arts residency in Mountjoy Prison to a seminar on the nature of Irish Dance. Tonight, foxtrot down to the Project Gallery in Temple Bar for Dance Machine by Guy Bar Arnotz, a sculptural installation with an interactive audience dimension. Admission free. Continues until May 22nd.

THURSDAY: Three sisters. One dead mother. Years of betrayal and regret. Very Heaven by Ann Lambert follows the Leary sisters' return to their childhood home in Canada to scatter their mother's ashes. And the tiny Focus Theatre in Dublin is always worth a visit. Tickets €16/€12. Booking 01-6763071.

FRIDAY: The Edge and Yoko Ono opened Amnesty's In the Time of Shaking art exhibition last night, and today the stunning display of contemporary new Irish art goes on show. Featuring works from Louis le Brocquy, Sean Scully, Robert Ballagh and Felim Egan, the sales from a new book featuring all 103 pieces of art will raise much-needed funds for the organisation. Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin. Admission free. Check out the art works on www.artforamnesty.org/shaking.