Event of the week
Luke Combs
Saturday, July 18th/Sunday, July 19th, Slane Castle, Co Meath, 3pm, €316.75/€236.75, ticketmaster.ie
Luke Combs, who has more than 27 million monthly listeners on Spotify, makes history as the first act to play Slane Castle on two consecutive days. Advance reports of his current set detail two hours of 30 fan-favourite songs that hit all the marks between a cowboy-booted Garth Brooks and a toned-down Bruce Springsteen. As for the in-the-round stage set-up, for all of Combs’s relatable, underdog bar-singer demeanour, it has something of the air of a spaceship, with lengthy catwalks stretching towards the corners of the site, so no matter where you’re standing, prepare to see the singer reasonably up close and personal. Special guests are The Script, Ty Myers, The Castellows and Jamie McIntyre. (For 2027 we’re putting our money on Paul McCartney, Oasis or U2 – who, you might recall, played two consecutive Saturdays at the venue in 2001.)
[ Slane Castle memories: Did you rock out to David Bowie, R.E.M. or Harry Styles?Opens in new window ]
Gigs
Matt Berninger
Saturday, July 18th, Live at Castle Mills, Kilkenny, 5pm, €64.50, castlemills.ie
Live at Castle Mills is a new canvas-covered concert series located beneath the splendid backdrop of Kilkenny Castle. One of contemporary rock music’s most admired voices is one of the event’s first headline acts. Whatever about Matt Berninger’s reflective and sometimes uninhibited work with The National, the man’s solo music is the epitome of measured calm. Berninger will be performing songs from his two solo albums, Serpentine Prison, from 2020, and Get Sunk, from 2025, as well as selected tracks from The National’s back catalogue. Special guests are Lisa O’Neill and Engine Alley.
Forest Fest
From Friday, July 24th, until Sunday, July 26th, Emo Court, Co Laois, 2pm, €480 (family weekend)/€240 (adult weekend), forestfest.ie
The success of this independent music festival continues with its fifth edition, for which a new site layout has been created for the capacity audience of 16,000. The music mood is distinctly 1980s and 1990s indie, rock and pop, with headline shows by Madness, Echo and the Bunnymen, Deacon Blue, James, The Charlatans, The Lemonheads, Feeder, Lloyd Cole and The Wonderstuff. Irish acts are plentiful also, with The Boomtown Rats, The Undertones, Dea Matrona, Something Happens, Power of Dreams, Sultans of Ping, David Kitt and Camille O’Sullivan. Fans of Irish country music will be happy with the new Kickin’ Up Dust arena (acts include Nathan Carter, Michael English and Mike Denver), while the Forest Fleadh stage features the likes of Dervish, Kíla, The Henry Girls, Cherish the Ladies, Lorraine Nash and Jiggy.
Stage
The Last Laugh
From Tuesday, July 21st, until Saturday, July 25th, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin, 7.30pm, €63.40/€52.30/€35.45, ticketmaster.ie
Fans of the British comedy titans Tommy Cooper, Bob Monkhouse and Eric Morecambe – names and faces familiar to virtually every household that had a TV set in the corner of the living room between the 1960s and the 1990s – will surely flock to this affectionate, award-winning tribute. Set in a shabby backstage dressing room, Paul Hendy’s thoughtful, occasionally morose play is more an appreciation of the trio’s respective comedic skills and how/why they apply them than an in-depth exploration of their lives. For long-established fans, however, this is a treat. Damian Williams (Cooper), Simon Cartwright (Monkhouse) and Steve Royle (Morecambe) star.
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To Be a Machine (Version 2.0)
From Tuesday, July 21st, until Saturday, July 25th, Project Arts Centre, Dublin, various times, €24/€22, projectartscentre.ie
In league with the writer Mark O’Connell, the boundary-pushing Dublin-based Dead Centre theatre company presents a combined virtual-reality and in-real-life production that is a singular and semi-illusory experience. (You’ll need to upload a photo of your face immediately after booking to make the most of the experience.) The cast features Jack Gleeson, Andrew Bennett, Faith Jones and Faye O’Reilly. Bush Moukarzel and Ben Kidd direct.
Classical
Ramelli-Savigni-Leathwood Guitar Trio
Friday, July 24th, Castletown House, Celbridge, Co Kildare, 7.30pm, €20, eventbrite.ie
The classical guitarists Marco Ramelli, Enrica Savigni and Jonathan Leathwood each have a reputation for presenting wide-ranging programmes featuring original pieces and imaginative transcriptions. The trio’s debut Irish concert will feature compositions for solo, duo and trio, as well as selections from their 2025 CD and book release, A Tempo Rubato, Vol 1, which comprises works from the romantic period.
Comedy
Paddy Power Comedy Festival
From Thursday, July 23rd, until Sunday, July 26th, Iveagh Gardens, Dublin, 4pm/6pm, €40.50/€37.15, ticketmaster.ie
A regular fixture on the comedy calendar, this edition of the Paddy Power Comedy Festival features the US acts Chris Redd, Chris Wiggins, Emil Wakim and the sparky newcomer Yvette Segan. UK acts performing over the four days include Red Richardson, Larry Dean and Fern Brady. The surprise joker in the pack is the Lithuanian stand-up Evaldas Karosas. A strong Irish line-up includes Foil Arms & Hog, Jason Byrne, Dylan Moran, Emma Doran, Alison Spittle and Tony Cantwell.
Still running
Summer in Dublin
Until Sunday, August 22nd, Kerlin Gallery, Dublin, free, kerlingallery.com
Kerlin Gallery’s summer exhibition features works from more than 15 acclaimed (mostly Irish) artists. From sculpture (Dorothy Cross’s Pillow, 2026; Guggi’s Unbroken, 2023) and photography (Willie Doherty’s Unknown, 2014) to oil-based (Mark Francis’s Collating Sound, 2025; Sean Scully’s Familia Parium Blue, 2026) and print (Nathalie Du Pasquier’s Untitled, 2026), the broad range on display is impressive. Other artists featured include Jaki Irvine, Liliane Tomasko, Justin Fitzpatrick and Ailbhe Ní Bhriain.
Book it this week
- Wexford Festival Opera, October 15th-31st, wexfordopera.com
- Haunted Dancehall, NCH, Dublin, October 24th/25th, foggynotions.ie
- Keep It Tight Podcast, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin, November 29th, ticketmaster.ie
- Kyla Cobbler, 3Arena, Dublin, February 26th, ticketmaster.ie
