The Royal Academy of Music is running a number of Instrument Masterclasses next week. Admission is free to all of them, but registration is required.

+ Mon 17 Oct – 16:00-19:00: Violin Masterclass with Ulf Hoelscher
+ Tue 18 Oct – 10:00-13:00: Violin Masterclass with Ulf Hoelscher
+ Tue 18 Oct – 10:30-13:30: Guitar Masterclass with Berta Rojas
+ Thu 20 Oct – 17:00-19:00: Piano Masterclass with Stephen Hough
+ Fri 21 Oct – 10:00-17:00: Opera Aria Masterclass with Brenda Hurley

Mathsweek 2016 is running from 15-23 October this year and there are lots of free events taking place.

The first challenge is, though, to find the suitable events for you, because the website does make life more difficult than it should. You can select “Events for the General Public”, but that covers events in the whole of Ireland. So I would like “Events in Dublin” that are for the General Public, but there is no way to combine two searches. The “Events in Dublin” also contain all events for kids.

What did I do? I chickened out and instead am just posting the link for you so that you can get your head around this:

www.mathsweek.ie/2016/events

Renowned Riverdance producer and director John McColgan recently travelled with Trócaire to Gaza and the West Bank to document the lives of people living a daily reality of military occupation and economic blockade. ‘This Is Palestine’ is a powerful exhibition of John’s photographs from that trip and features striking portraits of people who have lost family members, homes and land due to ongoing conflict and military occupation.

The exhibition runs from Fri 14 – Tues 18 Oct. Admission is free.

The National Gallery has an extensive programme of free talks, public tours and Art Documentary screenings focusing on highlights of the European and Irish Collection every day of the week. Check their website for details.

The popular series of lunch-time lectures in Dublin’s City Hall returns this October, with the theme “Traditional Music in Dublin”. It will focus on the history of traditional music in the City and will include talks about Dublin’s Piping Tradition, Luke Kelly, The Tradition Club and Fiddle Music. Each talk will conclude with an element of live performance.

The talks will take place each Tuesday in October and the titles are:
04 October – Fiddle Music in Dublin with Liam O’Connor
11 October – Na Píobairí Uilleann (The Piper’s Club) and Dublin’s Piping Tradition with Terry Moylan (NPU)
18 October – The Tradition Club, 1967-1989 with Seán Corcoran (Crann)
25 October – Dublin’s Voice: Luke Kelly with Francis Devine

Admission is free and on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.

“These Are a Few of My Favourite Things” is the title of a Walking Tour that Emily Gallagher runs on Tuesday and Saturday. It is an alternative Arts and Culture Trail and she will bring you to “Dublin’s Best Cafes, Bars, Markets, Unusual Stores, Galleries, Theatres, Arts Spaces, and more! And hear some tales you’ve never heard before!”

The tours are free but donations are welcome and booking is required via myfavouritesdublincitywalktour@gmail.com or 085-2725095

The RDS Economic Vision 2020 Lecture Series continues with John Higgins (CCO and President of Avolon Aviation).

He will speak about Ireland’s unique position as the leader in the international aircraft leasing industry; examining Ireland’s rich aviation heritage which pre-dates the foundation of the State. He will also discuss the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead as other counties seek to challenge Ireland’s established and coveted position.

Admission to this talk seems to be free, but booking is required via the website.

Mary Norris, author of “Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen” will discuss the response to her book in Europe and about her relationship with the Italian language.

Can a best selling book about English grammar by an American copy editor (subeditor) be translated into Italian? Basic differences between the languages suggest that it would be difficult. For instance, the title, with its reference to a frequent blunder in English (“I” instead of “me” in the phrase “between you and me”), is meaningless in Italian.

Admission is free, but booking is required via the website below.

“Showtime at the Royal – The Story of Dublin’s Legendary Theatre” by Thomas Myler covers the complete history of Ireland’s most famous showplace, the Theatre Royal, which closed 1962 and was the largest entertainment venue in Ireland and Britain. The book starts in the seventeenth century and looks at the venues special place in the social history of the city. There are interviews, anecdotes and reports and many unique photographs seen for the first time in public.

The book will be launched by Deirdre Purcell.

Admission is free.

A new weekly Board Games night is taking place in the Black Sheep Pub. Lots of games are available and you can also bring your own.

Admission is free.

EveryTuesday at 19:00, The Dublin Language Exchange takes place in the Czech Inn. It is the biggest free meeting of people from all around Dublin that are interested in learning languages and communicate with speakers of other languages.

Admission is free and the meetup is completely informal. No booking required.

Rumours have it that the Bluegrass Collective will perform in Sin É on Tuesday and there might even be an open Bluegrass Jam! Admission is free.

The King Kong Club is a weekly music game-show in Whelan’s.

Each week 6-7 bands/solo artists play three songs each. At the end of all the performances a clap-off with the King Kong Club Clap-o-Meter takes place and the winner goes through to a semi-final and it all culminates after six months of competition with The Grand Final, held in front of a panel of celebrity judges.

Check the Facebook Page below for the line-up. Admission is free.

This is a weelly acoustic roots and blues session every Tuesday in Arthur’s Pub.

With Anthony Mannion(Guitar/vocals) and Luke Mercer(Guitar/vocals). Admision is free.

Every Tuesday an informal sing along with Ukulele and Toy Musical Instruments takes place in the Stag’s Head. Just bring your instrument and come along. Beginners are welcome. Admission is free and further details (and a big book of songs) are available on the Facebook Page below. The get-together meets in the “snug” in Stag’s Head.

The Comedy Crunch is a free Stand Up comedy event every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Every week different comedians entertain and on top of good comedy you will get free ice cream. Admission is free. The line-up can be found via the Comedy Crunch Facebook Page (see link below).

The Lounge Quintet plays this gig every Tuesday: Jazz Standards, Latin and Bebop. Often guest musicians and singers join them. Admission is free, donations are welcome.

Every Tuesday and Thursday the International Bar invites to a Jazz night in the Lounge.

Groups led by Cote Calmet, Sean Maynard Smith, Dominic Mullan, Paddy Groenland, Georgia Cusack & Alex Mathias are performing regularly with occasional guest players, but there are also other bands from all over.

Admission is free, with a suggested donation of EUR 5. The website clearly says that there is no entry fee, but – and that makes a lot of sense – that your donations are very much appreciated (Musicians need to pay for rent and food too!) Be generous after the gig if you liked it, but if someone wants to charge an admission charge, please point out that the “rules” as described on their website are like I have explained.

Every Tuesday, a pub quiz is taking place in the Woolshed.

Admission is free. Max team size is 6 people.