JS Bach composed Johannes-Passion in 1723 for Good Friday service in Leipzig. The Irish Baroque Orchestra, under director Mark Duley, performs St John Passion for Holy Week.
Performances are on Tuesday (8pm), at St Nicholas of Myra, Francis Street, Dublin 8 (01-8721122), Wednesday (8pm), at Good Shepherd Chapel, Waterford (051-874402) and Friday (5pm), at Collegiate Church of St Nicholas, Galway (091-705962).
The young Bach walked 300km to hear Dietrich Buxtehude give a concert, so a performance of Buxtehude's cantatas is something to savour. Tonight, at 7.30pm, Crow Street Consort gives a rare performance of Membra Jesus Nostri at Church of the Sacred Heart, Donnybrook, D4 (01-2838311).
Running until April 14th at Kilcock Art Gallery, in Co Kildare, is an exhibition of paintings by Mike Fitzharris and bronze sculptures by Bob Quinn (01-6287619).
From Monday until the end of April at the Hunt Museum in Limerick is On Reflection: Modern Irish Art 1960-1990, an exhibition of 50 works from the Bank of Ireland art collection.
The Mad Hatter's Tea Party takes over Deer Park in Mount Merrion, Co Dublin, from 1pm to 5pm tomorrow. Young and old are invited to dress up in their maddest hat, take a ride in a teacup, be a pawn in a giant chess game or hear the story of Alice in Wonderland. Bring a picnic to eat at banquet tables. See www.dlrevents.ie.
Or have supper at the 101 Talbot restaurant, on Talbot Street, Dublin 1, and take in the landscapes by Pat McGrath, many of them painted as he and his wife, Máirín, cycled around the countryside.
Tomorrow, at the National Concert Hall in Dublin at 8pm, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, with artistic director Anthony Marwood, performs Mendelssohn's Octet in E flat, Schoenberg's Verklaerte Nacht and the Australian composer Brett Dean's Short Stories. See www.nch.ie.
The US "funky folk artist" Erin McKeown plays three gigs to promote her new album, Sing You Sinners, on Tuesday, at Róisín Dubh, Galway, Wednesday, at Cypress Avenue, Cork, and Thursday, at Whelan's, Dublin. See www.erinmckeown.com.
At the Point in Dublin, catch Snoop Dogg (visas permitting) and P Diddy tonight and tomorrow, Dolly Parton on Monday and Disney on Ice: The Princess Classics from Wednesday. See www.thepoint.ie.
Enter Shikari play the Ambassador in Dublin on Monday (0818-719300). East-coast rockers My Chemical Romance play their only Irish gig at the RDS tomorrow.
Vicar Street next week brings us some legends of Irish music: Gary Moore on Tuesday and The Fureys and Davey Arthur on Thursday. Joe Dolan plays the Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire, on Good Friday (01-2312929).
Comics from the US, UK, Iran, Australia and Canada join the best of the Irish at Galway Comedy Festival, which runs from Thursday until Easter Monday. It's a who's who of comedy talent, with Des Bishop, Neil Delamere, PJ Gallagher, Colin Murphy and Karl Spain, among others. See www.galwaycomedy festival.com.