Frontlines

A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Cinema fun and treats

Do your bit for the Jack & Jill Children's Foundation and get a goody bag into the bargain at a gala screening of The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! next Sunday, March 25th at the new Odeon Cinema at Point Village. Tickets cost €10, including coffee, water, popcorn and other treats. All proceeds go directly to the foundation, which provides nationwide home-nursing care and support for children who suffer severe intellectual and physical trauma, as well as offering essential respite and support to their parents and families. Book tickets online at jackandjill.ie.

For whom the bell jar tolls

The Garden in Powerscourt Townhouse Centre in Dublin 2 has gorgeous fragrant gifts, ideal for Mother's Day. But for a gift with more longevity, how about a bell jar?

They and terrariums are very voguey in green-finger circles and they add a sense of style to the greenery in interior settings. This one has a cactus inside it – the perfect way to illustrate the complex and sometimes spiky relationship you have with your mother. The bell jars come in two sizes and have a base so you can water the plants inside. Prices from €39.

Fantastic fairy tales

Leading Irish artists such as Jack B Yeats, Harry Clarke and Paul Henry were drawn to the fairy tale, and Clarke's illustrations in particular of the stories of Hans Christian Andersen are lush, beautiful and romantic beyond words. The visual, literary and historical come together in a study morning entitled Fables and Fairy Tales in Irish Art, taking place at the National Gallery of Ireland, next Saturday, March 24th.

Speakers will include Dr Nicola Gordon Bowe, art historian and biographer of Harry Clarke, who will speak on the recurring images in fables and fairy tales in Irish art; Dr Jarlath Killeen of TCD, who will discuss folk tales in Victorian literature; the National Gallery's Niamh MacNally, who will explore Clarke's magical fairy tale images, and illustrator PJ Lynch, who will explain his approach to depicting the fantastic. Prof Nicholas Allen of NUI Galway will chair a panel discussion. Tickets €25, students €15. See nationalgallery.ie

Eileen Battersby

The Collector

The Chester Beatty Library opens a window on the artistic treasures of the great cultures and religions of the world. Its rich collection of manuscripts, prints, icons, miniature paintings, early printed books and objets d'art from countries across Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe offers visitors a visual feast – all the result of the collecting activities of one man.

The Library is celebrating the Persian festival Norouz next week with workshops on the art of miniature painting. Contemporary artist Roxana Manouchehri will demonstrate the traditional Persian style of miniature painting which can be seen in many of the library's collection of paintings (including Rustam kills Zal's white elephant, left).

Places for the workshops, to be held next Saturday, March 24th (10am-4pm) and Sunday, March 25th (noon-4pm), are limited and booking is essential. The cost is €50 per person, materials provided. Book from next Monday, March 19th, at cbl.ie or tel: 01-4070750.

Kenmare food carnival

Other towns might have food festivals, but Kenmare is going all out and having a "food carnival" in mid-July. A touch of the fun comes to the Kerry town next week when four of Kenmare's top chefs cook a four-course meal to launch the summer event.

The dinner is happening in the Sheen Falls Lodge (above), under executive chef Heiko Rebandt. Next Friday night, March 23rd, he's opening his kitchen doors to Martin Hallisey of Packie's (last year's Kerry chef of the year at the Irish Restaurant Awards) and Bruce Mulcahy of Mulcahy's. Pastry chef Benoit Lorge will be on dessert duty.

There will be pre-dinner champagne, canapes, a charity auction and dancing. Tickets cost €95 a head, including champagne and wine with the meal. The Kenmare Food Carnival takes place from July 13th to 15th. Tickets for the launch dinner from tel: 064-6641600, or sheenfallslodge.ie.

Catherine Cleary