Children: Baboro, Galway's children's arts festival, opens tomorrow with Out of that Childhood Country, when Gay Byrne will interview the comedian Tommy Tiernan (right), the actor Marie Mullen and the writer Roddy Doyle.
The week's other events include productions of The Emperor's New Clothes, Cinders and (in German) A Cloud's Journey, plus exhibitions and workshops. Call 091-569777 or see www.baboro.ie.
Books: For four days from Thursday, Clonmel will be hosting its annual Impressions Literature Festival. This year's guests include Andrew O'Hagan (left), author of The Missing and Our Fathers, the playwright and novelist Sebastian Barry, Mark Little of RTÉ and Haifa Zangana, an Iraqi novelist (and Guardian columnist) who was imprisoned by Saddam Hussein's regime. Call 052-27877 or see www.southtipparts.com.
Theatre: Roald Dahl's Danny the Champion of the World opens at the in north Dublin, on Tuesday for a brief run. See www.thehelix.ie - but be quick, as tickets have been selling fast. Older audiences might enjoy Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë's classic love story, which is at the Pavilion Theatre, in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, from Wednesday. See www.paviliontheatre.ie.
Festival: The Belfast Festival at Queen's will run for 18 days from Thursday. Participants from over 15 countries will descend on the city to entertain with music, comedy, theatre and talks. The ever-popular Spiegeltent will be a hive of activity, and on the opening night a combination of fireworks, projection, music and entertainment will set the autumn sky alight. See www.belfastfestival.com.
Music: The Harlem Gospel Choir will raise the roof in Vicar St, Dublin 8 tonight when they take to the stage at 7.30pm. See www.vicarstreet.com for tickets. In Cork tonight you can catch Salmonella Dub at Cyprus Avenue. For tickets see www.tickmaster.ie. For something of a different beat, head to the National Concert Hall tomorrow to see Jack Jones and his 18-piece band. www.nch.ie.
Spectacles: The fifth Irish Steel Guitar Festival kicks off today in Drogheda and over the weekend guitarists including Bruce Bouton, a renowned session musician from Nashville, Gerry Hogan, Richard Nelson and Stephen Smyth will be playing. Call 041-9831078 for details. On Friday, Podge and Rodge (left) are live at Vicar Street with their show, Desperate for Housewives. See www.vicarstreet.com.