Daytrippers

Seven things to do this week

TODAY The spotlight is on Merrion Square, in Dublin, in the run-up to National Heritage Week. The square's open day is a celebration of park life, with walking tours, historical talks and a peek at the hidden park, which regular visitors will know is full of beautiful lamp posts that were once dotted around the city. The events are free but booking is required. From 10am to 5pm. Call 01-7026165 for more details.

TOMORROW Amsterdam's renowned Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra makes its Irish debut this afternoon, at the National Concert Hall. "Really magnificent, full of youthful vigour and enthusiasm," is how Richard Strauss described it in 1897. The programme at 3.15pm today is Debussy's Trois Images and Brahms's Symphony No 1 in C Minor. Tickets from €30 to €90. To book call 01-4170077 or visit www.nch.ie.

MONDAY There's a feast for the ears and the eyes in Cork this month when four international artists install their work in venues around the city. Sound Out is a sound-art project that combines visual art, music and electronics in a variety of permutations. Akio Suzuki, from Japan, is creating a listening trail around the city, Christina Kubisch, from Berlin, will install work in a tree outside the Vision Centre, on North Main Street, while Max Eastley, from London, will create a sonic sculpture on Western Road.

TUESDAY What else would you be doing on an autumn night except swotting up on wine? The Vaults Wine Club, in the bar under Connolly Station in Dublin, takes place every Tuesday in September. Tonight, at 6.30pm, you find out about wines from France. The €30 ticket price includes supper, but space is limited, so wannabe wine buffs are advised to book on 01-6054700 or www.thevaults.ie.

WEDNESDAY The memory of the late actor and director Deirdre O'Connell lives on in Dublin's Focus Theatre, and this week a one-act play by Tennessee Williams, produced earlier this year as a tribute to O'Connell, is enjoying a week-long run. Talk to Me Like the Rain and Let Me Listen - one of the few plays that Williams set outside his native south - is a tale of love, passion and betrayal. Runs nightly, at 6pm, until Saturday. For bookings call 01-6763071. Tickets cost €8/concessions €6.

THURSDAY Leviathan addicts who went cold turkey over the summer should get down to Dublin's CrawDaddy tonight for political cabaret at its finest. Hosted as usual by David McWilliams, the panel includes columnist and blogger Richard Delevan, TCD economist Constantin Gurdgiev and Green Party TD Eamon Ryan, who will be debating whether nuclear power is the solution to global warming. Tickets cost €20 plus booking fee, from www.ticketmaster.ie or 0818-719300. ...

FRIDAY Sligo's four-day literary festival, Scríobh, continues today at the Model Arts and Niland Gallery. At 11am Celia de Fréine is giving a free reading of children's poetry, including her poem Síofra Sí. Mark Garnier continues the theme at 4pm; his poetry workshop will encourage children to get involved. Then, at 8pm, the poet John Montague will be joined by the novelist Elizabeth Wassell for a reading. The weekend's other contributors include Medbh McGuckian, Paul Durcan and DBC Pierre. Call 071-9141405 or visit www.modelart.ie. ...