Event of the week
Visual Poetry: The Photography of John Minihan
Until Sunday, October 11th, Hugh Lane Room, National Gallery of Ireland, free, nationalgallery.ie
Extracting the poetry from everyday life is at the core of John Minihan’s six-decade-plus career. The first retrospective of the Irish photographer’s work to be held in Dublin features works from key moments in his career. These include internationally acclaimed images of famous people such as Francis Bacon, Samuel Beckett, Andy Warhol and Diana, princess of Wales, as well as more personal work, notably evocative images of daily life in his hometown of Athy, Co Kildare. The exhibition is curated by Sarah McAuliffe, the National Gallery of Ireland’s curator of Irish art post-1900.
Gigs
Sigrid
Saturday, March 21st, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin, 7pm, €51.40 (sold out), ticketmaster.ie
Ireland holds a special place in Sigrid Solbakk Raabe’s heart. The Norwegian singer-songwriter has been performing here since 2017, initially as a friend of Dingle’s Other Voices festival and then, as her fanbase increased, at larger festivals and venues. Her most recent album, last year’s There’s Always More That I Could Say, was recorded in a small studio near Bergen Harbour in Norway. The location was deliberately chosen, says Sigrid, to distance herself from “content culture”. Expect pop bangers from start to end. Special guest is the rising London-based singer Etta Marcus, whom you are advised not to miss.
Reneé Rapp
Sunday, March 22nd, 3Arena, Dublin, 6.30pm, €65.85, ticketmaster.ie
When her acclaimed musical-theatre career was jettisoned due to anxiety issues, California’s Reneé Rapp had little trouble stepping across the line into pop music. With two successful albums to her name, 2023’s Snow Angel and 2025’s Bite Me, Rapp is easily staking her claim in an already congested entertainment field. Special guest is Absolutely, aka Abby-Lynn Keen, who performed in Dublin earlier this month when she supported her older sister, Raye, at the same venue.
Kildare Jazz Festival
From Friday, March 27th, until Sunday, March 29th, Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge, Co Kildare, weekend ticket €75, riverbank.ie
It has experienced a couple of glitches in the past, but this year sees the welcome return of Kildare Jazz Festival with an innovative range of music acts curated by the festival’s director, Kasia Eliasz. Events include the Irish saxophonist and flautist Hayley Kavanagh (Friday, March 27th, 7pm, €15), Polish singer and composer Dorota Konchevska (Saturday, March 28th, 3pm, €15), the Venezuelan guitarist and composer Orlando Molina (Saturday, March 28th, 7pm, €15) and the Irish piano trio Origin Story (Sunday, March 29th, 8pm, €15).
READ MORE
The Divine Comedy
Friday, March 27th, Waterfront Hall, Belfast, 7pm, £51.50/£46.50; Saturday, March 28th, and Sunday, March 29th, NCH, Dublin, 7pm, €55/€51 (sold out), nch.ie
Neil Hannon might be the musical equivalent of a pair of comfy slippers, but the slippers are from Claridge’s and actually cost quite a bit of money. In other words, he’s a classy guy and a most accomplished songwriter. Now in his mid-50s, Hannon’s very early image of a feckless, handsome rake on the prowl has morphed into a college-professor type taking stock of life. Indeed, the songwriter is none more meditative than on his 2025 album, Rainy Sunday Afternoon, which has been described as his most personal collection of songs to date. The new album will be represented, of course, as will many of his other releases.
Stage
Double Indemnity
From Tuesday, March 24th until Saturday, March 28th, Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, 7.30pm, €50.05/€41.05/€32.65, gaietytheatre.ie
The femme fatale Phyllis Nirdlinger (Mischa Barton, making her Irish stage debut), manipulative wife of a rich, ruthless businessman, and Walter Huff (Ciaran Owens), a smart if morally bankrupt insurance salesman, willingly enter an unsavoury world of lust, greed and power. James M Cain’s classic crime story, first published in book form in 1943 (it had been serialised in 1936), is adapted by Tom Holloway and directed by Oscar Toeman. Martin Marquez, Gillian Saker and Sophia Roberts also feature.
Classical
Théo Ould & Alison Langer
Wednesday, March 25th, Station House Theatre, Clifden, Co Galway, 8pm, €15, clifdenstationhouse.com; Thursday, March 26th, Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, 8pm, €27/€25, paviliontheatre.ie; Friday, March 27th, Courthouse Arts Centre, Tinahely, Co Wicklow, 8pm, €25/€23, courthousearts.ie
Two rising stars of classical music, the soprano Alison Langer and the accordionist Théo Ould, team up to present a programme that includes pieces by Franz Schubert, Jules Massenet, Benjamin Britten, Francis Poulenc, Antonin Dvořák and Kurt Weill. The programme will also feature a new Music Network commission by the acclaimed Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy. The tour continues into early April; musicnetwork.ie has further details.
Pop/classical
Glas Quartet: Bridgerton Symphonic
Friday, March 27th, Draíocht Arts Centre, Dublin, 8pm, €27.50, draiocht.ie
If you’re charmed by the way the Netflix series Bridgerton refashions pop songs into classical music, then form an orderly queue for these seated shows in compact venues. It is a canny move by Glas Quartet – the violinist Ailbhe Clancy, cellist Aoife Dennedy, violist Annemarie McGahon and flautist Vourneen Ryan – who have worked with the likes of Biffy Clyro, Paul Weller and Father John Misty. You know what to expect: pop songs with strings attached. Also Saturday, March 28th, Ramor Arts Centre, Virginia, Co Cavan, 8pm, €27.50, ramorartscentre.com; touring in April and May; glasquartet.ie has further details.
Still running
Rebecca Peart: Mariner
Until Sunday, April 12th, Grilse Gallery, Killorglin, Co Kerry, free, grilse.ie
The Dublin-born artist Rebecca Peart has been inspired by the landscapes and seascapes of Co Kerry for most of her life. Her new solo exhibition features images of each and presents, Peart says, “abstract compositions travelling through longitudes of time and space, a nautical journey between lands”. The gallery is open Wednesday to Sunday, noon-5pm, or by appointment.
Book it this week
- Paul Simon, 3Arena, Dublin, May 20th, ticketmaster.ie
- Jon Spencer, Lost Lane, Dublin, June 3rd, foggynotions.ie
- Aldous Harding, Vicar Street, Dublin, June 5th, ticketmaster.ie
- Wunderhorse, Cork City Hall, August 26th, ticketmaster.ie
