Sporty weekend carries vocal touch

Racing, rugby, running and music from Other Voices are among the sights and sounds on offer across the country this weekend.

Racing, rugby, running and music from Other Voices are among the sights and sounds on offer across the country this weekend.

Met Éireann is predicting cool and occasionally showery weather over the coming days with rain expected on the west coast tonight along with temperatures of three to six degrees.

There is a busy rugby schedule this evening with three of the four provinces in action at home in the Rabodirect Pro12 league.

Leinster and Cardiff meet at the RDS tonight (kick off 8.05pm), Connacht will square off with Treviso at the Sportsground in Galway at 7.30pm, and Ulster will entertain the Scarlets at Ravenhill in Belfast at 7.05pm. Munster face the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea at 6.30pm tomorrow.

There is racing in Dundalk this evening with the first race off at 6.30pm.

Meanwhile, the Jingle Bells 5km run takes place in the Phoenix Park tomorrow at 11am.

The Military Road and Knockmaroon gates to the park will be closed from 10.45am until noon for the run, and heavy traffic is expected around the Castleknock and Parkgate Street entrances to the park.

A concert aiming to raise funds to build a sports park at Messines, Belgium, to commemorate the Christmas truce that temporarily halted the first World War takes place in Dublin tomorrow. The charity concert, featuring the Omagh-Waterford Peace Choir, takes place at Kimmage Manor church and will be broadcast via satellite around the world. The concert begins at 8pm, and tickets cost €10.

Concert organiser, author and journalist Don Mullan, hopes to raise €17,000 to build the sports park in memory of the men who died in the war and to build peace initiatives through sport.

The Other Voices music festival continues at St James Church in Dingle, Co Kerry, this weekend. Lisa Hannigan, Spiritualized and Edwyn Collins are among the artists performing over the weekend. More information is available from http://www.othervoices.ie.

Weatherwise, tomorrow is expected to be a bright but cold and windy day. Eastern counties are likely to remain dry but showers will affect parts of Connacht, Ulster and Munster and temperatures are unlikely to exceed seven to 10 degrees.

Further rain is expected in the north and west of the country on Sunday, and cold conditions will persist with temperatures of four to eight degrees forecast.